Pitches wanted (death, grief in games) (worldwide) | $200 per essay

[This opportunity was posted 30+ days ago and has expired.]

This is for a zine of essays about death, dying, and grief in games. We're taking pitches for 5 more essays. If you're interested in pitching, read our pitch guidelines below.

A few notes about pitching: You can pitch no matter where you are in the world, or how experienced you are. We do have to keep essays to 2,000 words max.

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE ABOUT DEATH...

It will consist of 10 stories about death, dying, and grief in games (video and analog). Each story should be between 1,500-2,000 words. We’ve reached out to 5 writers/co-writers already, but we will commission 5 more stories from pitches you send us. The rate is $200 for 1,500-2,000 words.

Here are the three essay types we’re looking for:

• Personal essay. An investigation of a theme in the writer’s life that closely parallels a game’s/games’ depiction of death. We’re looking for more than a temporal link. If a game is important to you because you played it with someone who’s passed away, or while someone you love was dying, why does that game stick with you? What is it about the systems, art, or narrative of that particular game? A good example is Brooklyn doctor Siddharta Bajracharya’s essay on fighting Covid-19, then going home and playing The Division 2. The piece jumps back and forth from Bajracharya's hospital and his living room, linking pandemic deaths and their aftereffects in the real-world New York City and The Division 2’s Washington, D.C.
• Critical analysis. A more impersonal look at the social, cultural, or ethical effects of a game’s depictions of death/dying/grieving. For example, a study of death loops in games like Outer Wilds/Minit, where the world is on a timer and ends/restarts when that timer runs out. Another example: the ethical ramifications of looting all your enemies’ corpses in RPGs. Rest in peace, all you naked, nameless bandits whose clothing I have stolen.
• PostMortem. If you made a game that deals heavily with death, explain why you made what you did. Consider the narrative/design decisions that brought players closer to or farther away from death, either as a tangible or abstract idea. Did your understanding of death change as you made the game?

If you have an idea for an essay and it falls into one of these three categories, great! Read on.

GUIDELINES

Please send an email by midnight EST on September 30th with the following information:

• The word “[PITCH]” somewhere in your subject line
• A short (400 words or fewer) summary of your idea. Mention the game(s) you want to discuss. If you know how you want to structure your piece, mention that, too.
• A very short (200 words or fewer) description of yourself and why you’re the best person to write this piece. No journalism experience? That’s fine. Other writing experience works, too. We just want to know a) why you feel passionately about your pitch, and b) that you can string a few words together.

Do not pitch us anything about Dark Souls. Thank you in advance.

EVERYONE GRIEVES, EVERYONE DIES

You are expressly encouraged to pitch if you come from a marginalized background. Our contributor pool will be at least 50% writers of color, queer writers, and trans writers, no ifs, ands, or buts.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

[This opportunity was posted 30+ days ago and has expired.]