PopMatters seeks essays (1,200 to 3,000 words, usually) about any aspect of popular culture, present or past. (If you are interested in pitching a review of some specific current work or performance, please contact the appropriate reviews editor.) We prefer careful analysis of the chosen subject matter with the intention of supporting an original thesis; we aren’t particularly interested in articles that merely want to promote their subject. An assessment of what ideological work a given pop culture phenomenon performs (i.e. what has allowed something to become popular, what’s at stake in its popularity besides money, how it is situated in a historical or geographical context, etc.) is especially welcome. Ideally essays will draw on sophisticated interpretive strategies derived from a theoretically informed point of view, but will be presented for a general reader in lively, accessible language.
For examples of the diversity of topics and range of approaches we welcome, please have a look at PopMatters features and columns archives.
Please e-mail pitches (100-250 words, including your subject, your prospective source material and the gist of your approach to it) you’d like us to consider along with a brief description of your writing background (with links to clips or published samples if possible) to our Features Editors at features at popmatters dot com.
Ongoing Feature Topics
You may also pitch articles for our numerous ongoing feature topics, including All Things Reconsidered and more. Details and contacts for each are here.
Note: We are unable to pay you for essays at this time, but you will not go entirely uncompensated; your ‘pay’ is the opportunity to address our readership, currently 1 million-plus unique readers per month and counting. Some of our writers have been called upon for their opinion by such media outlets as the BBC, NPR, MSNBC, and Radio Australia. Many reputable media organizations worldwide regularly reference PopMatters articles and writers.