Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
Bob Dylan (1963)
Well, writers and critics, wherever you may be, we here at System Change Not Climate Change welcome your contributions to this website! And, it’s certainly no longer “too soon” to speak if it ever was. To quote another Bob Dylan classic, “The hour is getting late.” That prophecy is now the consensus view of the world’s climate scientists. Take a look at our submission guidelines and don’t hesitate to write.
Our Submission Guidelines
We publish original submissions on the broad variety of subject matter that ecosocialism encompasses—climate, the environment, science, Nature, food and water, energy, society, Indigenous ways, LGBTQIA+ rights, antiracism, economics, politics, culture, activism, revolution, and more. Because ecosocialism is by its very nature a broadly interdisciplinary field, there are too many topics to list. But what we publish should be written from an ecosocialist perspective; we are not a news media outlet, but a platform for sharing—and debating—the cornucopia of thought that our movement encompasses.
You’re welcome to send us either a short pitch or a full article. If you send a full article, though, please note at top whether it’s a news article, feature, or essay, and add a short (50-150 words) summary.
Before you do, please take a look around our site and get familiar with our content and our points of unity. Also be sure that you’re not sending something that has already been exhaustively covered, unless your piece shines a different light on that topic. And if your article has been published elsewhere, please let us know so that we can credit that outlet in accordance with its rules.
We’re sorry, but we simply cannot respond individually to all the submissions we get, nor do we pay for submissions. We try to respond within a month to all inquiries, but we are just a tiny team of volunteer editors and have zero budget.
Please note that if your submission is in response to an article we’ve published, webinar we’ve presented, or debate we’ve hosted, you should post in the comments field under that article/event or on our Fb page to keep the conversation going.
All original material on our site is offered for republication under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. If you want additional restrictions on reuse of your submission, please make that clear at the outset with a statement of your terms for reuse. Restrictions on reuse may result in turning down a submission, as one of our goals in publishing original material is to get it disseminated as widely as possible through our network of friendly publishers.
Please note that we avoid sponsorships, advertising, and other capitalist weapons.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
- Send us an email with “SUBMISSION” and your topic or proposed headline in the subject line. (e.g., SUBMISSION: “Phasing Out Fossil Fuels Rapidly: A Viable Step-by-Step Timetable”)
- If sending a previously published piece, send a link to it and be sure to let us know that we have permission to republish and provide the appropriate language, if required, to credit the original publisher
- We will headline and create a short teaser for your article, but if you have suggestions, by all means, include them. Be sure they’re attention-grabbing!
- If you have a photo or image that you think would be a good primary featured image for your story (only one, please), feel free to include it with an explanatory caption and full photographer/artist/illustrator credit, and again, be sure to let us know that we have permission to use it. We will find an appropriate image if you don’t, so no obligation there.
- See specific instructions about SOURCES, CITATIONS, and FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES below.
- Please include a short (100 word) bio, and include links to your personal or professional website and previously published works, if applicable.
Our most-read articles are typically between 700 and 1,500 words (opinion pieces, or essays, are typically at the shorter end of that range). Shorter pieces are welcome, but if you have something much longer, it’s best to get in touch with us first with a synopsis and breakdown and wait for an editor to greenlight before you spend too much time working on it. In rare instances we might consider publishing stories in several parts.
FORMATTING:
Submit as a Word .doc or .docx file only.
Text should be in 14-point serif font (e.g., Times New Roman).
Use italics for emphasis within text, not all caps or boldface. Put only a single space between sentences! (The need for double-spacing passed into history with the typewriter.)
Do not indent paragraphs. Place a single line break between paragraphs.
Turn off “word wrap.” Turn on “smart quotes.”
All dates, times, and months should be spelled out. E.g., On Tuesday, December 7, 2021, never “next month,” “last year,” etc. These stories will be archived online forever!
Do not paste photos, images, charts, or tables in the Word document. Instead, mark in the text where graphics should be placed, if necessary, and send separate files of visuals. Be sure you’re using only original works, works for which you own the publishing rights, or Creative Commons licensed works. Provide us with a caption that describes the image and gives credit to the appropriate party.
All references should appear as embedded hyperlinks. Footnotes are impossible to reproduce on our website.
We will do our best to be sure your piece is circulated as widely as possible and promote reposting by other ecosocialist and left media.
Thank you very much for considering publication by System Change Not Climate Change. We appreciate all submissions and will do our best to respond soonest, but please be patient! We are few and overextended as we work on multiple fronts to create the revolutionary, postcapitalist world we know we all need.
Photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash.
