We encourage pitches from established, emerging and even first-time writers. Before you pitch, please read the guidance below very carefully!
What are you looking for?
Red Pepper Media is rooted in national and international movements for radical social and environmental change. A typical RPM article should offer…
- Background and context to political issues
- A challenge to dominant political thinking or mainstream media framings
- Insight into important issues not covered elsewhere
- Provocative debate on pressing topics for the left
RPM is NOT a source for breaking news or rapid response commentary. We publish articles that will be relevant in the long term. A topical hook is useful, but your article should be engaging for future as well as present readers.
We aim for articles that explore complex issues in an accessible way, avoiding jargon and academic language. Articles are generally 650-1,250 words long; most are c. 1,000 words. We very rarely publish longer essays.
We do not publish articles that have been generated, co-authored or aided by AI.
How can I pitch an article?
Articles for the annual print edition are commissioned by the editorial team. We welcome pitches for website content, submitted via email. Before submitting your pitch, ensure you are familiar with our political approach. Search the site to see how we’ve previously covered the topic you want to propose. If we’ve run a similar piece recently, we are very unlikely to commission your pitch.
Your proposal / pitch should include in the body of the email:
- A 100-150 word outline your article or idea. Provide a clear overview of the story, its main argument(s), tone, style (i.e. comment, review, investigative piece, research-based, testimony, etc.) and target length
- Tell us why it is a fit for RPM and what makes this piece original. Be specific, not general – if you are referencing people, places and events tell us what they are
- Links to previous published work, if applicable
- Indicate whether you are sending this pitch exclusively to us
- NOTE: We will not read full articles or long pitches.; we will not open attachments. Even if you have written a full piece, send us a brief outline first
Send your pitches to editors@redpepper.org.uk with ‘Pitch’ in the subject line. If we are interested in your pitch, we will contact you.
Our Editorial team is very small, and may take a couple of weeks to reply. Unfortunately, we are unable to reply to every submission. If you do not hear from us within three weeks, we have decided not to pursue your proposal this time. That does not mean we don’t want to hear from you again in the future!
Book reviews
We welcome pitches of book reviews, and occasionally consider interviews with authors and very occasional excerpts.
Send books pitches and release news to books.redpepper@gmail.com
We are actively looking for reviewers for the following titles:
- Coming soon!
Payment
We offer all contributors payment of £75 for articles over 650 words. Those able to do so can waive this fee back into our writers fund.
We are always striving to increase our fees. We run as a reader-funded non-profit with a strict ethical advertising policy, pay-what-you-can subscription rate and paywall-free website. Our funds are very tight.
We prioritise payment to emerging and freelance writers, in particular people on lower incomes and from backgrounds under-represented in the media. We encourage writers with stable and/or higher incomes to waive their fees so it can go back into our Writers’ Fund.
