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Pitches wanted (air) (worldwide) | ~$870 per piece
🕑 Added 2025-11-21 17:10:32 +0000 UTCCOMPANY/PUBLICATION: THE BREAK-DOWN
Deadline: 5 December 2025
We’re interested in original ideas and clear, compelling writing that breaks down complex subjects for an engaged but non-expert audience. The best guide to what we might like is to look at what we have published to date. When drafting your pitch, make sure to tell us what’s going to happen in your story, not just what it’s about.
PRINT ISSUES
We publish twice-yearly themed print issues featuring critical writing that explores how capitalism both shapes, and is being reshaped by, climate and ecological crisis. Our issues primarily feature long-form essays of approximately 3,000 words, but we are also interested in photojournalism, reporting and other formats.
Submissions for our third print issue, Airborne, are now OPEN.
“All that is solid melts into air”
From the upper limits of the stratosphere to the pollutants we breathe, and from the pollination that sustains life to the viruses that claim it, the air around us is as invisible as it is essential—at the centre of countless social, political and economic struggles.
For Issue 3 of The BREAK—DOWN, we are accepting pitches exploring the importance of air in the climate and ecological crises, its role in environmental history and activism, and its future on a transformed planet.
We’re interested in diverse interpretations of the theme, from carbon removal and mobility to struggles over urban pollution and the fate of the world’s forests.
We are looking for argumentative essays, memoir, original translations, photojournalism, reportage and dispatches from around the world. We especially welcome pitches from new writers and from writers based outside the centres of the Global North.
To be considered, pitches must include a two-to-four paragraph summary of the contribution's argument, an author bio, and a brief explanation of why the piece is right for The BREAK—DOWN. When drafting your pitch, make sure to tell us what’s going to happen in your story, not just what it’s about. For photojournalism, we require either samples of the photos you want to submit, or a clear outline of the proposed story and samples of previous work.
Pieces are paid at £650 for roughly three thousand words, although in certain cases we can increase the rate for on-the-ground reporting, photojournalism and/or where costs are higher. The deadline for pitches is Friday 5th December, and we will aim to respond the following week.
DIGITAL
We publish digital-only pieces on our website and bi-weekly newsletter on a rolling basis.
These need not be as focused on a particular theme, although a clear relationship between the topic and climate or ecology is necessary. Pitches may be for interviews, essays, debates, reading guides, etc, as well as literary non-fiction.
We welcome submissions for digital-only pieces, published on our website and in our fortnightly newsletter, at any time.
Online essays will be paid at 20p per word, to a maximum of £350. There is no deadline for online pieces. We will review pitches as they are submitted.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Please send pitches to pitching@break-down.org including 'ONLINE' or 'ISSUE 3' in the subject line. To be considered, pitches must include a short (one or two paragraph maximum) summary of the essay's argument, a short author bio, and a brief explanation of why the piece is right for the BREAK—DOWN. For literary non-fiction, we require a 2-page sample of the piece.
We aim to reply to as many pitches as possible; however, we are a small team and may not always be able to provide a response. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of submitting for digital or two weeks of a specific issue submission deadline, please assume your piece has not been accepted on this occasion.
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CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):
Questions/submissions: pitching@break-down.org
Website: http://break-down.org/
TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:
Learn more about the publication: The BREAK—DOWN is a not-for-profit media project that publishes essays, interviews, and resources examining the intersections of capitalism, climate, and ecological crisis. Its content includes long-form writing and critical commentary on topics such as fossil capitalism, political economy, and environmental justice, contributed by scholars, activists, and journalists. The platform seeks to challenge dominant narratives and foster new thinking about systemic change in the face of planetary breakdown. More information here.
Read through its selection of recent articles/stories, categorized into: Interviews, Essays
Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook and at SuccessfulPitches.com.
Do not forget to end your pitch with (1) a short introduction about yourself; (2) a few lines highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits; and (3) links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.
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