10 Substack Publications Accepting Guest Posts
Kickstart Your Writing Career Today
If you’re a new writer looking to get your work out there, guest-writing for a Substack publication is a great way to build your reputation and solidify your status as a writer without the seemingly-impossible barriers of writing for the mainstream media.
In fact, someone should make a list of Substacks accepting guest pieces because Dr. Google is not very helpful. Oh wait, I did it. Here are 10 publications accepting guest-written pieces in 2024.
1. Black Sheep
Black Sheep is the amazingly unorthodox Substack founded by
and . They publish unique “perspectives to remind those who stand alone that they’re never truly alone.” You can check out my recent post-election piece for them here.Submissions may be sent to submit@wetheblacksheep.com.
Subscriber Count: 3,000
2. Contra
Contra is the publication of journalist
. Currently, Pedro seeks “cultural commentary” that features creative, out-of-the-box thinking.Pitches may be sent to Pedro L. Gonzalez at pedro@readcontra.com.
3. Psychiatry at the Margins
Psychiatry at the Margins is a publication by
that is dedicated to exploring “critical, philosophical, and scientific debates in psychiatric practice and the psy-sciences.” Aftab features routine guest posts, as well as interviews and important articles about the psychiatric world.Pitches may be sent to Awais Aftab at awaisaftab@gmail.com.
Subscriber Count: 9,000
4. Narratively Magazine
Narratively is a well-established publication that is devoted to “original and untold human stories.” They seek compelling personal essays and memoir pieces that reflect the broad tapestry of the human experience while focusing on independent journalism.
Submissions may be sent through Submittable: https://narratively.submittable.com/submit.
Subscriber Count: 49,000
5. Prohuman Pathways
Prohuman Pathways is the new publication of the
, a nonprofit that promotes individuality and uniqueness in the context of our shared humanity. The publication seeks to publish essays that tell unique individual stories about repairing civic culture.Submissions may be sent to submissions@prohumanfoundation.org.
Subscriber Count: 7,000
6. Society of History Writers
A newer publication by
, Society of History Writers accepts submissions that feature both fiction and nonfiction historical writing across all genres and chronological settings.Submissions may be sent to societyofhistorywriters@gmail.com.
7. Persuasion
Persuasion is the well-established pro-truth publication founded by
in 2020 following his departure from The Atlantic. I had the privilege of writing for Persuasion last month and had a lovely experience with their editorial team on my piece Why I Am Not a PhD. Persuasion seeks submissions from both new and established writers and focuses on philosophically liberal approaches to big debates.Submissions may be sent to pitches@persuasion.community.
Subscriber Count: 67,000
8. Judith Magazine
Judith Magazine is the unapologetically Jewish publication of
. Judith seeks to uplift Jewish writers and focuses on a variety of Jewish topics—from Brooklyn to Israel. For a relatively new publication, they have garnered quite a respectable following.Non-fiction submissions may be sent to
at howard@howardlovy.com.Subscriber Count: 2,000
9. FAIR
The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (
) was founded in 2021 as a non-partisan alternative to the ACLU. On their Substack, they publish essays promoting fairness, understanding, and humanity on a wide variety of topics.Submissions may be sent to submissions@fairforall.org.
Subscriber Count: 36,000
10. Pens and Poison
And, of course, don’t forget us! Pens and Poison is now accepting guest essays and is excited to publish your literary thoughts! Send us your best personal essays and expository articles on all things literature, and we’ll share the best pieces with all of you lovely people.
Submissions may be sent to submit@pensandpoison.com.
Subscriber Count: 2,000
Best of luck with your submissions!
Thank you for compiling this list! Do you know of any that are looking for arts-related essays? I write about paintings and music mostly with a good dose of aesthetic theory thrown in. Are you aware of any publications with a similar focus who might be looking for an occasional guest writer or maybe even a regular columnist?
Helpful resource—thank you!