Pitches wanted (environment, Southern US) | 40 cents per word

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: SCALAWAG

Since the Alabama-born sociologist and Texas Southern University professor Robert D. Bullard coined the term “environmental justice” (EJ) the Black South has been at the center of the movements, legal gains, and vast bodies of research that have since been engaged in the struggle for EJ.

Catalyzed in large part by late 20th century Southern struggles like Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corp. in Houston, Texas and the Warren County, North Carolina fight against toxic waste dumping, the environmental justice movement that was birthed in the direct legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and other ‘60s liberation movements has since evolved into the global Climate Justice Movement.

We understand that the paths away from climate justice and the move towards a clean energy transition run through the South. As the new wave of fascist world leaders seeks to combat insurgent movements on the frontlines of land justice and protections for Black, Indigenous, migrant, and other marginalized communities from environmental violence and climate-related displacement, Scalawag is intensifying our focus on climate change by publishing stories highlighting how the fight for just energy futures, land preservation, and environmental protections is being waged on Southern soil.

Our “Dirty Energy, Dirty South” series seeks submissions that will offer continued analysis of disaster capitalism in the South, with a special emphasis on “dirty energy” and how it manifests as environmental racism and state abandonment.

TOPICS

We encourage submissions regarding the following topics.

• Data centers in Southern Black communities

• Impacts of federal environmental protection rollbacks in the South

• Histories of “dirty energy” and infrastructure underdevelopment in Southern communities

• Regional histories of disaster capitalism: The Gulf South, Appalachia, The Coastal South

• Trump’s “drill baby drill” oil agenda and what lifting protections against further Gulf Coast drilling means for the region

• LNG infrastructures: their genesis and continued expansion under the guise of “clean” energy and its impacts on Southern communities (MVP, coastal communities in LA, etc.)

• Coverage of clean energy-focused contemporary Southern environmentalists and climate justice movements

• South-to-South connections between “dirty energy” struggles and issues in the U.S. and Global Souths

• Climate issues, energy, and industrial networks at the intersection of genocides and warfare

• Compounding disasters and community recovery from Southern wildfires, chemical contamination, and extreme weather events

• Re-industrialization in the South

• Labor movements and worker’s conditions in Southern energy and climate-related industries, including the treatment of oil and gas field waste workers

• Climate justice and the prison industrial complex

Please send pitches to pitches@scalawagmagazine.org to be accepted and published on a rolling basis. 

Scalawag's rates are currently: 

• $.40/word for long and short form essays, photo essays, op-eds, reported pieces UP TO 2500 WORDS

• Poetry: $300/submission

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CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):

• Questions/submissions: pitches@scalawagmagazine.org

• Website: https://scalawagmagazine.org

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: Scalawag Magazine is a digital publication focused on Southern politics, culture, and social justice. It covers topics such as racial justice, labor rights, environmental issues, and local activism, with a particular emphasis on underrepresented voices and communities in the American South. Scalawag aims to foster thoughtful dialogue and provide in-depth reporting on the challenges and opportunities facing the region. More information here.

• Read through its selection of recent articles/stories, categorized into: Southern Politics, Race & Place, Arts & Soul

• Review the submission guidelines here. Note that these are the publication's general guidelines to help you refine your pitch. You must still follow the editor's specific instructions above.

• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook Database and at SuccessfulPitches.com.

• Do not forget to end your pitch with (1) a short introduction about yourself; (2) a few lines highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits; and (3) links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.

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