T.O.F.U. #16 | New Call for Submissions
I don’t think I’ve made it a secret that I’ve been struggling with issues related to the magazine’s Facebook page, and I strongly believe being limited for week-long periods by the platform (for roughly three months now) is a big reason why my last attempt to start work on a new issue led to no actual submissions before the deadline.
Now, with the world at a standstill, I’ve decided to change the focus of the next issue and instead pose a question that I believe many of us are asking ourselves while we stay home and wait for this pandemic to be over.
So, let’s try this whole new issue thing again, shall we?
About the Issue
Last month, I wrote a fictional letter from a father to his son based around the idea that, despite all the bad that has come from the COVID-10 pandemic, some things have changed for the better. It was inspired by a piece written for Slate by Dan Kois, which discusses a need to make sure that some of the progress that has been made in response to this disease isn’t reversed when/if things go back to normal.
Although the piece, as well as this one written by Kandist Mallett for Teen Vogue, focuses mainly on capitalism and its shortcomings when faced with a tragedy of this order, I’m sure others have written about other changes that need to be kept. And so, I started wondering what readers such as yourself would want to keep after all of this, and what you might want to see changed after it so obviously failed us.
Thus, T.O.F.U. #16 is now set to focus on the idea of building a new normal, and whatever that entails to those who choose to contribute. To be clear, I’m not looking for one hundred articles on the need to stop consuming animals as the issue’s audience will mainly be vegan. However, discussing how the current pandemic illustrates the need to address poverty, racism, healthcare systems, the prison-industrial complex, climate change, and other such things would be great. Along with this, proposing solutions and sharing accounts of communities stepping-up to address these issues would also be of interest.
If you’re inspired by the idea and think you might have something to write, then check out the guidelines and get in touch.
Submission Guidelines
- Be familiar with T.O.F.U. and its past issues. You’ll be writing for a (mainly) vegan audience that is pro-intersectional, anti-oppression, and doesn’t have to be convinced that animals are our friends. Also, I don’t want to turn down ideas because they were already covered in a very similar manner in a past issue.
- Send a few ideas, if possible. Together, I’m sure we can figure out a great article!
- Quality and quantity. When it comes to contributing, you should be comfortable with writing at least 1800-2500 words. Smaller submissions will be considered, but the aim is to have something more substantial than a blog post.
- Original and unpublished content. I don’t want other publications mad that I’m running the same piece, and I’d like for my readers to be excited for something new from every author, if possible. Please don’t just copy and paste something from your blog into an email.
- Be excited. I’m accustomed to sending emails to people multiple times to round-up articles, but I’m not going to chase after you for long.
- Eat your veggies. Maybe this goes without saying, but you have to be vegan.
- No recipes. I’m sure you’ve got a great one, but there are enough places for vegan recipes these days. T.O.F.U. aims to be a platform for something other than vegan food, even if I do enjoy said food a lot.
- Space is limited. I’m more interested in putting out a quality issue rather than one with plenty of pieces, so just because you submit something doesn’t mean it will be accepted. Don’t worry, if I don’t think it will work with T.O.F.U., I just might have suggestions of other magazines you can approach!
Submission Pitch Due: TBD
Final Draft Due: TBD
As always, both new and past contributors are welcome to submit ideas. So, if you’re interested, please drop me a line.
Finally, just to stress this once again since it’s constantly a problem, please read at least some of the past issues of the magazine before submitting your idea. If I don’t know you personally, I’m going to ask.
Thanks,
Ryan Patey
Editor
[email protected]
