Dear Writers,
Here are eleven magazines and websites that pay for cultural criticism. We’ve researched payment rates and contact information for each of these publications, to make it easy for you to connect with the right editor.
Do not contact any editor without carefully studying their publication, to make sure you are proposing an article that fits their needs. If you need help getting published, I recommend joining Writing Launch for a free trial, so I can walk you through the process. Learn more here.
— Jacob Jans
Dissent is a website and quarterly print magazine that publishes political and cultural criticism. They welcome submissions for both their website and print magazine. They accept pieces on politics, economics, and culture. They don’t accept fiction or poetry submissions. According to one of their calls for writers, they pay $0.50 per word. If interested, email your submissions to submissions@dissentmagazine.org. For details, read their submission guidelines.
The Drift is “a magazine of culture and politics.” They want “socially engaged cultural criticism; class-sensitive analysis; pieces that point out what’s being avoided or talked around in politics, media, arts, or even academia; upbeat cynicism; un-self-serious screeds; generous takedowns; entries from the margins; fiction; poetry; 1-3 sentence book/ movie/ TV/ art reviews.” They generally pay $300 to $500 per piece. Interested writers can send their pitches to editors@thedriftmag.com. To learn more, refer to this page.
Kill Your Darlings is an online magazine that is dedicated to arts and culture. They generally publish essay/commentary (short 1,000 to 1,500 words, or long 1,500 to 3,000 words), memoir or personal essay (1,000 to 1,500 words), cultural criticism (1,000 to 1,500 words), and short fiction (1,500 to 3,000 words). They pay at least A$250 per piece. For details, visit this page.
Salon covers “news, politics, entertainment, culture, and technology through investigative reporting, commentary, criticism, and provocative personal essays.” Payment reports suggest that they pay an average of $0.12 per word. For more details, visit this page.
Root Quarterly is “a print-only, subscription-based quarterly journal rooted in Philadelphia, but not limited to Philadelphia-based content.” They are looking for fiction (500 to 2,000 words), personal essays or articles, cultural criticism and think pieces (500 to 3,500 words), long-form profiles of Philadelphia region artists, recommendations on what they might cover in their “recommendation” and “destination” sections, and artwork and photography. They give “very heavy preference to Philadelphia region writers” but are “open in particular when it comes to cultural criticism to a wide array of people.” They typically offer honorariums of $20 to $100 per piece. They pay 10 to 20 cents per word for longer, assigned profiles or articles. Details here.
The Baffler is a print and digital magazine that features political and cultural criticism, poems, short stories, and art. Payment reports indicate that they pay up to $0.13 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.
Bright Wall/Dark Room is an online magazine that is dedicated to “exploring the relationship between cinema and the business of being alive.” They publish profiles, interviews, personal essays, cultural criticism, formal analysis, and humor pieces. Their critical essays are generally 1,500 to 3,000 words long. They pay $50 per essay. For details, refer to this page.
The Brooklyn Rail is a journal dedicated to providing an independent forum for arts, culture, and politics in New York City and beyond. They feature local reporting, art criticism, fiction, and poetry. According to payment reports, they pay up to $0.08 per word. For details, refer to their submission guidelines.
n+1 is a magazine about “literature, culture and politics.” They feature a limited number of pieces in their magazine which is published three times a year, and a wider range of work in their online-only section. Writers can send “new fiction, essays, criticism and translation” to submissions@nplusonemag.com. According to reports, they pay 4 cents per word. To find out more about n+1, refer to this page.
Rewire.News is a daily online publication that publishes evidence-based news, commentary, analysis, and investigative reporting on sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. They “seek pitches for commentaries, analyses, cultural critiques, book reviews, or deeply reported pieces in key areas of reproductive and sexual health, rights, and justice.” Payment reports indicate that they pay up to $0.28 per word. To learn more, read their pitching guidelines.
Overland is a magazine of cultural criticism, essays, and literature. Each week they list topics that they are seeking pitches for. They pay $70 for articles of 500 to 1000 words. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
Inside 485 covers Charlotte’s restaurants, bars, breweries, experiences, culture, and art. They are looking for guest bloggers to write about Charlotte’s food and culture. At the moment, they are most interested in: reviews of “classic” or “staple” Charlotte restaurants and cultural criticism. They pay $50 per completed article. Details here.
