Shante Cosme & Michelle Legro, Mic's Editor in Chief and Story Editor are looking for Thoughtful Prompt Writers for Six New Series

How to pitch a Mic series

Make sure to note which series you are pitching for in the subject line. Most essays are between 800 and 1500 words with rates starting at $400.

Contact: features@mic.com and make it clear which series you are pitching in the subject. Please include a short bio and any links to recently published writing.

Series #1: How I’d Fix It

This series takes something that’s broken — like Congress or the reboot of Gossip Girl — and proposes a way to fix it. It’s part speculation, part exasperation, part modest proposal. Got a big and bold plan to tackle climate change or disinformation? Got a better way to cast Real Housewives? We’ve love to hear it. The more creative the argument the better. (Bonus points if you created the problem!) Here are a few examples of arguments we love: 

• Amanda Mull, “Why Are Vaccine Cards So Big?” (The Atlantic)
• Lola Rainey, ‘My Goal Is to Dismantle the System I Once Defended’ (GEN)
• Yohanca Delgado, “How I Let Go of My Time-Management Anxiety” (NYT)
• Antonio García Martínez, “I Helped Create Facebook's Ad Machine. Here's How I'd Fix It” (Wired)

Series #2: Our Space

This series profiles unique places, both online and off, that create community and connection for like-minded individuals. Think social clubs for POC, women-only spaces, spaces specifically created for better accessibility, niche internet communities. A motorcycle club just for bad-ass women of color? An MMA gym with primarily Muslim trainers? Go inside what makes these places special, how they came to be, what they’re up against, and what they need to thrive.

• Brianna Holt, “Inside the new, much-needed safe spaces for young people of color” (MIc)
• Claire Wang, “Subtle Asian Traits made a generation of Asians feel understood on the internet” (Mic)
• Patia Braithwaite, “This Brooklyn bike club centers Black joy and freedom every day” (Mic)
• Carolyn Kormann, “Corina Newsome and the Black Birders Movement” (The New Yorker)

Series #3: Hits Different 

This is a series that takes a second look at a TV show, song, album, episode, movie, scene, or clip from the past that, in our current context, just hits different. What did you understand about this cultural object or moment that you didn’t when you first experienced it? What was the world like when you first considered this thing, and what’s changed? Does it hold up as timeless, or is it better left to the past?

• Kara Weisenstein, 'Jaws' is a prescient fable for the coronavirus era (Mic)
• Shawn Cooke, 'Up in the Air' hits different during the worst economic crisis of our lifetime (Mic)
• Kara Weisenstein, When the world is too much to bear, I rewatch 'Moonstruck' (Mic)

Series #4: Call Me By My Name

A name is so much more than what people call you. It carries the history of a family, the expectations of a generation, the connotations of class. Some people are given names and some people name themselves. We are in a moment where we are renaming the world around us, questioning the names of sports teams, buildings, national parks, streets, schools. Naming is power, and this series will include both personal stories and cultural commentary about who gets that power and who takes it back.

• Kara Weisenstein, “Just keep 'Washington Football Team' forever, you cowards” (Mic)
• Karen Attiah, “The ‘Karen’ memes and jokes aren’t sexist or racist. Let a Karen explain.” (Washington Post)
• Jessie Yeung, “Why some Asian Americans are embracing their heritage by dropping their anglicized names,” (CNN)
• Actor Thandiwe Newton reclaims original spelling of her name (The Guardian)
• “Lady Antebellum Is Now ‘Lady A.’ But So Is a Blues Singer Who’s Used the Name for 20 Years” (Rolling Stone)

Series #5: Next to Normal

Are we there yet? Oh god, no we’re nowhere near there yet. This series looks at how we’ve changed, how we’re still changing, and how we’d like to change as all of this <<wave hands around>> is still happening. Are you giving up on going to weddings? Are you getting really into cheese? Are you changing your entire identity? Why is everyone acting so weird right now? Tell us your theory!

• Suzannah Weiss, “Can't bear to be in a relationship right now? Blame de-cuffing season”
• Tracey Anne Duncan, “Separation anxiety is real for couples who quarantined together” (Mic)
• Katie Way, “Here’s Why Everyone Is Acting Like An Asshole Lately” (Vice)

Series #6: Decolonize This!

Toppling Confederate statues is just a start. This series looks at the places, people, objects, and institutions that seriously need to be decolonized. This is about questioning the world, what we consume, the built environment, and the people who make the rules. What’s been whitewashed and what needs to be stripped down? We’re looking for profiles of people who are doing the work, companies that are changing the rules, politicians who are changing the game, and much more. 

• Melissa Pandika, You might need to rethink your sage burning practice (Mic)
• ​​Jazmin Kay, These teens want to dismantle America's racist history curriculum (Mic)
• Joseph Lamour, The natural wine world is white as hell. These BIPOC sommeliers are changing that (Mic)
• Joseph Lamour, Racism and cocktail culture: The whitewashed history of your favorite drinks
• Melissa Pandika Mercy Shammah's quest to decolonize the great outdoors (Mic)
• Victoria Leandra, How Veggie Mijas is decolonizing veganism (Mic)