Pitch
Send the idea, not a performance of the idea.
We read pitches for essays, criticism, fiction and interviews. Tell us what the piece is for, and how long you think it needs.
What we publish
Essays with a particular room in them. Criticism that leaves the work larger. Fiction that can bear a quiet plot. Interviews that survive a second question. We are a quarterly, so we are not in the business of reacting by the next morning.
What we rarely take
Pieces that explain their own importance in the first paragraph. List essays with no list worth keeping. Reviews that are mostly a verdict. We do not publish work about living private people who have not agreed to be written about, even in this fictional office.
How to pitch
A working title, a standfirst, and a pitch of no more than 250 words. Say what is at stake and why you are the person to write it. If you have written for other pages, a sentence is enough. Do not send a finished 4,000-word essay as a surprise.
Response times
Essays and criticism: within three weeks. Interviews: within four weeks. Fiction: within six weeks. Letters: we read them all, and we reply if we hope to publish. If we are late, it is lateness, not a hidden yes.
Payment and rights
Commissioned pieces are paid. We confirm the fee before you write. You keep copyright. We ask for first publication rights in print and on this site. Letters are unpaid. This form does not commission anything: it is a demo and stores your words only in the browser.