Mildew is the secondhand fashion magazine, made by Broccoli's wonderful editor, Ellen Freeman. Issue 4 is beginning production, and that means it's time for a writing pitch call!
Here's what Mildew is looking for:
Surprising, thoughtful stories that inspire readers to think about old clothes in new ways, and that go beyond “why thrifting is more sustainable/ethical/fun/personal than fast fashion”—you can already assume Mildew readers are passionate about re-use.
In past issues of Mildew we’ve published articles on topics like: funerals for sewing needles, why Iranian secondhand bazaars are named after a Japanese soap opera, a poetics of eBay search terms, an anti-capitalist fashion magazine from East Germany, the store in Alabama where lost luggage ends up, and much more.
This magazine won’t come out until the fall, so please think about timeless stories over time-sensitive pitches. (Secondhand is seasonless!)
Here's what Mildew is not looking for:
Stories about fashion made from new materials (no matter how slow and sustainable). Mildew isn’t the right publication for poetry, comics, or fiction, either, and we don’t have opportunities for illustrators or graphic designers at the moment.
Some specific stories Mildew hopes to include in this issue:
★ CULTURE x STUFF: Tell us about a reuse practice that’s a special part of your family/community/religion/location and how it shapes ideas around ownership/clothes/trash. (Past stories include: preservation of the tallis; pambahay and pang-alis; wearing your mom’s cheongsams.)
★ TRASH ART: We want to hear about/from artists who create work (digital, sculpture, musical theater—anything goes) around themes of recycling, old clothes, found ephemera, etc.
★ NOT EASY BEING GREEN: Expose a kink in the secondhand pipeline and explore solutions.
★ GEORGIANS: We’re looking for a writer/photographer in/near Augusta, Georgia for a story assignment.
Business owners: If you have a vintage/secondhand/upcycling/mending brand you’d like to share with Mildew readers, please reach out about advertising in Issue 4—we offer accessible options for brands big and tiny. Send us an email at mildewmag@gmail.com. <3
All the important details:
★ Pitches are due at midnight EST on Sunday, February 9th.
★ We’ll be responding on a rolling basis, but we’ll try really hard to get back to every pitch by 2/15. (Thanks in advance for your patience!)
★ Timeline: First drafts of texts will be due in late February / early March. You can expect to go through a couple rounds of revisions and a fact-checking process.
★ Rates: We’ll commission 10-15 pieces of new nonfiction writing. Rates will be $.50/word, negotiated as a flat fee at the time of commission.
★ Send as many pitches as you want! But put them all in the same email, and please don’t send attachments, drafts, or completed articles.
★ If you have links to previously published writing, please include them. If you’ve never been published before, no worries! Your pitch is the best way to show us how you write. :)
★ If your story idea hinges on access to someone else’s photos or art, please do a little digging to find out who holds the rights and include that info in your pitch.
Send pitches to Ellen at mildewmag@gmail.com and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
