Tips for Contributors

Familiarize yourself with our magazine—not just with the types of stories that we run, but also the specific pieces that have already been published. We seek fresh voices and topics, and we do not want to see variations on stories that recently ran in our publication or have been well covered in other local media.

We accept essays, news, general interest, personal experience, and features on topics related to urban life in Baltimore. In addition to our regular departments, we explore themes several times per year. Please send a detailed query, along with recent clips and contact information. No phone calls, please.

Editorial lead time is six months. Submit seasonal material at least six months in advance.

Queries should be sent to:
Assistant Editor
2002 Clipper Park Road, 4th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21211
Rebecca@urbanitebaltimore.com
No phone calls, please

Urbanite buys first North American serial rights and electronic rights for articles and artwork. Due to the volume of submissions, it is not always possible to respond promptly to each query. Please be patient. Thank you for thinking of Urbanite.

Monthly Departments Open to Queries

What You're Writing
"What You're Writing" is the place for creative nonfiction from our readers.

Each month, we pick a topic. Use the topic as a springboard into your own life and send us a true story inspired by that month's theme. Only nonfiction submissions that include contact information can be considered. We reserve the right to edit heavily for space and clarity, but we will give you the opportunity to review the edits. You may submit under "name withheld" to keep your essay anonymous, but you do need to let us know how to contact you. If you've already changed the names of the people involved, please let us know. Due to libel and invasion-of-privacy issues, we reserve the right to print the piece under your initials.

Submissions should be typed (and if you cannot type, please print clearly). Only one submission per topic, please. Send your essay to Urbanite, 2002 Clipper Park Road, 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211 or to WhatYoureWriting@urbanitebaltimore.com. Please keep submissions under four hundred words; longer submissions may not be read due to time constraints. Because of the number of essays we receive, we cannot respond individually to each writer. Please do not send originals; submissions cannot be returned.

For upcoming themes, please read the "What You're Writing" section in the print magazine or check the most recent issue online.

The Goods
New gizmos, new places, new faces: informing urbanites on style and shopping news.

Baltimore Observed
News and views on urban issues: development, preservation, education, business, sustainability, local history, and personalities.

Fiction
Urbanite welcomes unsolicited submissions of literary fiction. We appreciate style and substance: a distinctive voice and a polished craft serving a story that must be told. A connection to Baltimore or the urban experience is preferred, but not essential. We will consider published and unpublished "sudden fiction" of 500 words or less, short shorts of 1,000 words or less, and short stories and stand-alone novel excerpts up to 3,000 words. Simultaneous submissions are permitted provided you inform us immediately of an acceptance elsewhere. We are not responsible for lost or damaged manuscripts.

Send fiction submissions to:
Literary Editor
Urbanite
2002 Clipper Park Road, 4th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21211
or
Literaryeditor@urbanitebaltimore.com

Poetry
Urbanite accepts unsolicited works of poetry. As with fiction, we look for both style and substance. A connection to Baltimore is preferred, but not required.

Space
Exploring the city's built environment.

Eat/Drink
How Baltimore eats—adventures in food, wine, and the culture of consumption.

Art/Culture
Notes on the latest books, music, film, and the performing and visual arts.