Call for Submissions for a Special Prairie Issue

Chelsea Flook

Deadline extended to January 3!

This May, Briarpatch will publish a special themed issue about the Prairies. We’re seeking stories that unpack the history of the left in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, confront the challenges of radical organizing in the region, grapple with the place of the Prairies in national and international political questions, center treaty relationships, and look to the future of anti-oppressive politics that respond to the political, social, economic, and environmental realities of the people who live here.

We want stories that span geographies and sites of resistance, from the neighbourhood to the region. We are also looking to connect with Prairie-based artists, illustrators, photographers, and graphic designers!

We have interest in a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the following:

  • The Regina and Waffle Manifestos then and now
  • Austerity and anti-austerity on the Prairies
  • The CCF-NDP then and now: What’s Left?
  • People’s histories of resistance on the Prairies
  • Agrarian socialism; food sovereignty; farm labour
  • Prairie cooperatives then and now
  • Anti-colonialism, decolonization, reconciliation, restitution
  • Idle No More 5 years on
  • Unsettling education, Indigenizing the curriculum, anti-racist education work (and settler backlash)
  • Grassroots solidarities; settler–Indigenous solidarity
  • Energy politics and climate change; energy transition; alternatives
  • Pipeline resistance; hydropower; resource extraction and transportation on treaty land
  • Independent media and publishing on the Prairies
  • Feminist politics; Saskatchewan Women’s Agenda
  • Whither the Prairie labour movement?
  • Racialized policing on the Prairies
  • Anti-poverty activism
  • Rural economies

Submit a query to pitch[at]briarpatchmagazine.com by January 3.

If your query is accepted, first drafts are due February 2, 2018, with an intensive collaborative editing process lasting until about the second week of March.

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.

Please review our submission guidelines and guide to pitching before sending your query.

Our rates are as follows:

$75 – Profiles, short essays, parting shots (generally <1,000 words)
$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.