Vantage is proud to have published work from a wide range of freelance writers, including many who return to our pages again and again. We also receive far more submissions than we can run. Vantage is always on the lookout for talented, entertaining and incisive new student and early career voices to contribute to our pages. The guidelines below explain what we look for, what tends to work best, and how to give your pitch the strongest possible chance of being commissioned.
If it’s your first time pitching us, please take a look at our website to get a sense of the kind of stories we do. Bear in mind that we’re always eager to expand the areas we cover. Send us your concise and to the point idea in the form below. We want to know why your potential story is interesting and why other people might find it interesting. Your pitch should include a summary of the story and a sense of what it will deliver for readers. What makes it original? Does it break news? Does it move the conversation forward on a given subject? Or is it simply a rip-roaring (and untold) yarn? (That’s fine too) Of course, send us links to your bio and previous work. If interested, we’ll determine whether story goes in our next issue or on the website.
We are interested in:
Reported commentary on the topics we regularly cover, big investigations or real scoops, detailed analysis of current events that brings a new argument or reframes the debate, expert commentary on policy, thoughtful reviews of books, art, or culture that make a clear argument and show why the work matters to our readers, profiles of interesting people tied to recent books or the news, and dispatches from protests, strikes, or events connected to our beats.
We are not the right outlet for:
Newspaper op-eds, promotional pieces for activist groups, open letters, sermons or religious reflections, academic papers (academic research is fine, but it needs to be written for a general audience), historical pieces without a clear link to what’s happening now, straight event coverage, human-interest stories, summary reviews, reviews of old works, reposts of anything published in a popular outlet, personal essays
Submission and editing process
You can send us fully written pieces, but we equally prefer to shape articles collaboratively from the pitch stage forward. Vantage edits substantively. Our goal is to strengthen structure, clarity, and argument. Writers may withdraw a piece prior to publication, but final editorial decisions rest with Vantage. We expect contributors to be open to revision.
Submit all pitches and submissions via this Google form. You will be asked for a short description of the piece and links to relevant samples.
Due to volume, we cannot guarantee a response to every pitch (though William Liang will sure try). If you have not heard from us within two business days, you are free to submit the piece elsewhere.