Where do I send submissions?

Send submissions here.

 

What does New Matilda publish?

We seek submissions on political and social issues in Australia and the world — writing that is witty not whingeing, independent not ideological, brave not bland. There's never been more news available to Australian readers — but too much is being left out.

We publish breaking news and stories which provide background and context to current affairs. We don't reproduce material that is available in other outlets or that has already appeared on New Matilda. We do publish commentary pieces but in an online environment which already offers Australian readers plenty of opinion-driven writing, we are keen to focus on journalism. Stories which feature original research, fresh thinking, new ideas and sharp arguments are most likely to catch our attention and that of our readers.

 

Pitches or completed articles?

New Matilda does not have the resources to deal with pitches at the moment, so we prefer completed submissions. You can pitch a brief synopsis to us, but it may take us time to respond, which will obviously reduce the chance of the story running if it's linked to the news cycle. 

 

Style

Avoid jargon and unexplained acronyms. Avoid long quotations unless they are vital. Please assume you are writing for a non-expert but engaged readership. Most, but not all, New Matilda readers are based in Australia.

 

Format

Articles should include links where relevant, but try not to 'overlink' a story. You don't need to source every fact, just the major ones, and the ones you think will add to the story. If you do include links, they should be submitted within the paragraph, and look like this: "This is a dummy sentence to explain the linking http://www.dummylink.com and you'll note the link doesn't need brackets and should appear AFTER any punctuation."

 

Does New Matilda publish unsolicited contributions?

Yes. We're happy to read complete articles which conform to these guidelines. If you're a NM first-timer, have a look around the site to get a feel for the kind of material we do publish to make sure we are the right forum for your work. In particular, make sure that we haven't already run a story similar to the one you are proposing.

 

Is there anything that New Matilda doesn't publish?

As a rule, we don't publish reviews unless they are clearly and closely related to the news cycle. We don't publish fiction or poetry. New Matilda is primarily a news website and when we do run cultural criticism or historical pieces, the connection to the events of the day must be clearly marked.

 

How long should I wait for a response?

Up to a week. New Matilda is run by a small team and we're not always able to respond to submissions immediately, particularly if it is not closely tied to the news cycle. If you haven't heard from us in a week, feel free to give us a nudge.

 

Article specifications

The stories we run are generally 800 to 1200 words long. Unsolicited pieces can be submitted to a maximum length of 1200 words. Commissioned pieces can be longer, pending negotiation.

 

Payment

Payment may be negotiated for commissioned work only. Many writers, illustrators and cartoonists continue to donate their work to New Matilda and we thank them for their generosity.

 

References

We fact check all articles we publish and we ask writers to reference their articles as scrupulously as possible by providing web links to sources. If you don't attribute statistics, media reports, quoted material, websites etc., we will send your article back with requests for references. Don't embed hyperlinks but rather include URLs in square brackets within the text. Please do not include footnotes.

 

Anonymity

New Matilda publishes anonymous material only under exceptional circumstances but if essential, anonymity will be protected.

 

How to submit

The best way to pitch ideas and submit stories is via email: writeforusATnewmatilda.com. Include your name, contact details and a short bio. Please submit articles in MS Word compatible format (with no weird formatting such as columns).

You must warrant that your work is original, has not been published elsewhere (including online), does not breach copyright nor defame any person. New Matilda will not publish material that is untrue, seeks to defame or has an axe to grind.

 

Images

New Matilda editors will source images to illustrate your story. If you have original images to accompany the article, we'd love to publish them with attribution, but you must hold the copyright or have permission.

 

Multimedia Content

We can run photo essays and videos on New Matilda. Email an outline of your multimedia proposals to writeforusATnewmatilda.com.

 

Copyright

Articles may be reproduced elsewhere but we ask that New Matilda is attributed with first publication.

 

I am a New Matilda contributor, can I update my author biography?

Yes you can. Log in to the site and select your user Preferences. Then select Account Settings > Personal Information. You can update the bio field here and if you like, you can upload a photo too.

 

Liability & Indemnity

(a) To the extent permitted by law At Large Media Pty Ltd, trading as New Matilda, accepts no responsibility or liability in relation to any material submitted for publication.

(b) At Large Media Pty Ltd, trading as New Matilda, does not indemnify contributors against any legal action brought against contributors as a result of the publication of material submitted by them unless otherwise agreed to in writing by At Large Media Pty Ltd.

(c) By submitting material for publication in New Matilda contributors agree to fully indemnify At Large Media Pty Ltd against any expenses, costs, losses (including consequential loss) or damages that may be suffered or incurred as a result of the publication of the submitted material.

Read our full Terms and Conditions here.