Write for Broccoli Issue 20

Hello, writers!

In the summer of 2017, I started working on a new print magazine named after a vegetable. Six years later, Broccoli is flourishing, green as ever, and here we are, pulling together our twentieth issue. Read on for details about pitching, including prompts for stories we are eager to commission.

First, the essentials:

✿ Pitches are due by 9:00 a.m. EST Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
✿ Send pitch emails to editors@broccolimag.com.
✿ Issue 20 stories will be assigned by February 9, 2024.
✿ First drafts for Broccoli Issue 20 will be due starting March 1, 2024.
✿ Rates: $.50/word, negotiated as a flat fee at commission.
✿ Issue 20 will go to print in spring and hit stands in Fall 2024. Commissioned writers will receive a free copy of the magazine where their work appears.

Next, some helpful hints gleaned after reviewing every single pitch sent to Broccoli since day 1:

✿ This pitch call is for writers only. Broccoli’s art call for issue 20 will go out over our social media channels and this blog in the coming weeks, so if you want to contribute art, watch these spaces for details.
✿ We do not accept poetry, fiction, or already written work.
✿ Do not send attachments. We will delete your email unread.
✿ Do not send multiple emails. If you have more than one story idea (wonderful!), put them all in a single email.
✿ Make sure you’ve got the goods. If you pitch an interview, know you can get access. If you pitch an artist, understand who holds the rights.
✿ Think evergreen. Our production cycle is too long for trend pieces.
✿ Don’t pitch us anything you aren’t truly passionate about writing. We aren’t in the content business.
✿ If you are a brand or PR agency with a client interested in being featured in the magazine, please contact hi@broccolimag.com to learn more about partnership opportunities.

We read and respond to every single pitch. We’ll get you a reply as quickly as we can, but we appreciate your patience as we take the time to review your email.

Onto the stories:

SWAN SONG: W.B. Yeats wrote of swans, “they drift on the still water / mysterious, beautiful,” and we’d like some of that mystery and beauty in our pages. Seeking an 800-word essay on the swan, combining folklore, cultural touchpoints, and insights into the lives of these captivating creatures. Fee: $400.

SNAIL MAIL: As a print-only enterprise, Broccoli has a soft spot for paper treasures and the resurgence in penpals and letter art warms the cockles of our editorial hearts. Seeking pitches for a 500-word piece on the low-fi charms and community-building power of putting something in the mail. Fee: $250.

IN PLACE: Seeking brief, immersive 400-word pieces about little-known but well-worth-visiting locales you do not see on social media. Must be a place you have actually visited; should not be a hashtag or an entry in Atlas Obscura. $200.

NEW HISTORY:Who hasn’t gotten their due? Looking for profiles of historical women or nonbinary folks who deserve wider recognition, or stories that have yet to be well told. (Previous issues have featured Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Corita Kent, Leonora Carrington, Maruja Mallo, Tina Bell, and Qiu Jin.) If you pitch a visual artist, please include who controls rights to the work—budgets and logistics are real, and we have to be able to get permissions and print-friendly files, which can be tricky for archival stories. 600 to 800 words, $300-400.

POTLUCK: Want to pitch us something else? Go for it! Broccoli is about looking at culture through a stoned lens, meaning we prioritize stories that spark wonder, curiosity, beauty, and/or a good laugh with friends. Stories don’t need to have a specific cannabis angle to fit the brief.

Happy pitching!
Stephanie Madewell, Broccoli Editor