Submit to Briarpatch’s 2018 Labour Issue

Queries for the labour issue are due July 3.

We are seeking articles, investigative reporting, historical analysis, photo essays, timelines, personal essays, reviews, profiles, recommendations, lists, humour, comics, and art in this issue.

Your query should outline what ground your contribution will cover, give an estimated word count, and indicate your relevant experience or background in writing about the issue. If you haven’t written for Briarpatch before, please provide a brief writing sample. Send queries to pitch[at]briarpatchmagazine.com.

We’re looking for submissions that dissect complex, multi-layered stories and angles. Below is a partial list of suggestions, and we invite submissions beyond the themes listed here. If your query is accepted, first drafts are due August 3, with an intensive and collaborative editing process lasting until early September.

• Why unions matter; learning from militant labour tactics of the past
• Zero-work; anti-work; anarcho-labour
• Cyber-proletariat, online labour, digital currency, labour surveillance technologies, labour standards in tech industries
• Investigations into business lobby, corporate practices, deregulation, corporatization of non-profits
• Tax reform; debt forgiveness
• International workers’ solidarity; Palestinian labour solidarity; Indigenous–labour solidarity; solidarity with unorganized workers
• Labour leadership
• Labour after the oil bust; investments in green jobs and renewables
• Working class art and culture
• Work in the North and on reserves
• Care work; gendered work
• Labour and the body; occupational health and safety; disability and work
• The future of labour organizing in Canada

We want to dig deep and tell unexpected stories that nuance the public understanding of the labour movement. Please review our submission guidelines before submitting, and be sure to check out our guide to better pitching.

Our rates are as follows:

$75 – Profiles, short essays, parting shots (generally <1,000 words), feature art
$150 – Feature stories, photo essays
$225 – Research-based articles and investigative reportage (generally 1,500–2,500 words)

We reserve the right to edit your work (with your active involvement), and cannot guarantee publication.