We encourage pitches from established, emerging and even first-time writers. Before you pitch, read the guidance below very carefully!
What are you looking for?
Red Pepper is rooted in national and international movements for radical social and environmental change. A typical Red Pepper article offers background and context to political issues, challenges dominant intellectual/political thinking or mainstream media framings, addresses important issues that haven’t been covered elsewhere, or provokes debate on pressing topics for the left.
Before submitting anything for consideration, be sure you are familiar with our political approach and have read our existing coverage of the topic you want to propose. If we’ve run a similar piece recently, we are very unlikely to commission your pitch.
We are NOT a source for breaking news or rapid response commentary. We publish articles that will be relevant in the long term, to future and present readers. Do NOT send us pitches that need a rapid response and quick publication.
All Red Pepper articles should explore complex issues in an accessible way, avoiding jargon and academic language. Articles are generally 650-1,250 words long; most are c. 1,000 words. We only rarely publish longer essays.
We do not publish articles that have been generated, co-authored or aided by AI.
How can I pitch an article?
Articles published in the print edition are proactively commissioned according to issue themes and written specifically with the magazine in mind. We welcome pitches for website content, submitted via email. Your proposal / pitch should include in the body of the email:
- A 100-150 word outline your article or idea. Provide a clear overview of the story, its main argument(s), tone, style (i.e. comment, review, investigative piece, research-based, testimony, etc.) and target length
- Tell us why it is a fit for Red Pepper and what makes this piece original. Be specific, not general – if you are referencing people, places and events tell us what they are
- Links to previous published work, if applicable
- Indicate whether you are sending this pitch exclusively to Red Pepper
- NOTE: We will not read full articles or long pitches.; we will not open attachments. Even if you have written a full piece, send us a brief outline first
Send your pitches to editors@redpepper.org.uk with ‘Pitch’ in the subject line. If we are interested in your pitch, we will contact you.
Our Editorial team is very small, and may take a couple of weeks or even longer to reply. Unfortunately, we are unable to reply to every submission. We will not respond to pitches that do not follow the guidelines above.
If you do not hear from us within three weeks, please assume that we have decided not to pursue your proposal this time. That does not mean we don’t want to hear from you again in the future!
Are you open to book reviews?
Yes! We are open to pitches and especially looking for reviewers to write about the following titles:
- Coming soon!
Payment
We strive wherever possible to pay contributors. As a non-profit magazine with a strict ethical advertising policy, pay-what-you-can subscription rate and open access website, we are however extremely tight on funds.
We prioritise payment for articles to emerging and freelance writers, in particular people on lower incomes and from backgrounds under-represented in the media. We encourage writers with stable and/or higher incomes to waive their fees so it can go back into our Writers’ Fund.
At present, we can offer up to £75 for online publications. We hope to increase our fees in the future.
