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.
We are not a source for breaking news. We publish articles that will be relevant in the long term, to future and present readers. We publish a quarterly edition, with commissioning taking place in early March, June, September and December – and articles generally appearing in print up a few months after submission. Please do not send us pitches that need a rapid response and quick publication.
Articles should explore complex issues in an accessible way, where possible, avoiding jargon and academic language. Articles are generally 500, 1,000, or 1,500 words long. We publish only occasional longer essays.
Before submitting anything for consideration, be sure you are familiar with our political approach.
Pitch us an article
We are always looking for new writers and ideas. Our contributors include unpublished writers, frontline activists, academics, campaigners and experienced journalists. 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.
Your proposal / pitch should include in the body of the email (please do not send attachments):
- 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
- Why it is a fit for Red Pepper – see details above
- 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. Even if you have written a full piece, send us a brief outline first
Send your pitches to editors[at]redpepper[dot]org[dot]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 week or even longer to reply. Unfortunately, we are unable to reply to every submission. We will not respond to those 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!
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 £65 for online publications. We hope to increase our fees in the future.
Editorial Collective (2025)
Kimon Daltas is an editor and journalist, specialising in: arts and culture, particularly music and arts funding; Greece.
Twitter: @kimondaltas
Gerry Hart is a writer based in County Durham, specialising in: disability and neurodiversity; welfare; history; technology and video games; culture, and the North of England.
Twitter: @PoorConrad
Rhian E. Jones is a historian, researcher and writer from South Wales, based in London, specialising in: arts and culture, particularly music and literature; Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Wales; social mobility and class; workers’ organisation.
Twitter: @RhianEJones
Siobhán McGuirk is a researcher, writer and filmmaker, specialising in: articles on migration; feminism and LGBTQ+ rights; arts, museums, film and cultural analysis.
Twitter: @s_mcguirk
Hilary Wainwright is the founding editor of Red Pepper, specialising in: movement history; health and the NHS; political theory, and the Labour Party.
Twitter: @hilarypepper
