Pitches (Sick/Disabled Writers)

SICK publishes work from folks who are sick/chronically ill/mentally ill/disabled. We are looking for writing & artwork that thinks through the experience of illness and disability in new ways, or explores a topic that is framed by this experience. We do not have themes for our issues.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

Personal essays, creative and experimental nonfiction, lyric essays (800 - 2,300 words)
Poetry (submit a minimum of two and a maximum of five poems)
Reported features (1,500 - 2,000 words)
Op-eds (900 - 1,500 words)
Book & film reviews (800 - 1,300 words)
Interviews with writers, artists, creatives, activists (we can help you contact the interviewee if needed)
Visual art (submit a minimum of three and a maximum of eight images. We publish three - seven images per artist, please do not submit single images)

Full or partial draft submissions are preferred, but pitches from writers who have relevant examples of their work are equally considered. While contributions are only accepted from chronically ill and disabled people, your work does not have to explicitly be about illness or disability, but informed by it in some way.

If possible, please read a copy of SICK before submitting to familiarise yourself with the kind of work we publish. We have both print and PDF copies available in our shop. You can also read select pieces we have previous published on our excerpts page.

Some things we’re not interested in include cartoons, comics, personal or nature photography, rhyming poems, horror stories, fantasy, ‘letters to self’, listicles, screenplays, and academic writing. SICK does not publish work that includes medical advice, reviews of treatments or diets, ‘wellness’ tips, ‘warrior’ narratives, and stories of ‘overcoming’ disability.

PAYMENT

800 - 1,000 words: $150 / £115
1,100 - 1,500 words: $225 / £175
1,600 - 2,000 words: $300 / £235
2,100 - 2,500 words: $345 / £270
Flat rate of $100 / £80 for poetry & artwork

SICK aims to increase these rates as the magazine continues to grow, and we have proudly done so twice since launching in 2019. Contributors are paid upon completion or acceptance of work. If you are interested in providing funding for our publication, please email hello ( @ ) sickmagazine.org

HOW TO SUBMIT

All pitches and submissions should be sent to submit@sickmagazine.org with the word ‘pitch’ or ‘submission’ in the subject line. All submissions will receive a response by April 1st.

Please submit an equal opportunities form here.

For written submissions (excluding poetry), include a title, word count, and short bio (5-50 words) in the body of your email. Please attach your submission as a Word doc or PDF.

For poetry, include the number of poems you are submitting alongisde a short bio (5-50 words) in the body of your email. Please attach your submission as a Word doc or PDF and include all poems in one document. Please submit a minimum of two and a maximum of five poems.

For pitches, tell us in 2-3 paragraphs what you want to write about and why. Include the main topic(s) you will cover, why it’s important, a suggested title, and 2-3 relevant examples of recent work alongside a short bio (5-50 words). If you do not have any recent relevant work, please submit a full or partial draft instead. Pitches without relevant work samples are unlikely to be commissioned.

For visual art, include a short artist statement, bio (5-50 words), and send work as JPEG or PNG attachments and not in the body of the email or as zip files. We publish a minimum of three works per artist; please submit a minimum of three and a maximum of eight images.