With the intent of providing continued intelligent and entertaining content in the PopMatters’ Columns section, we are looking to broaden our staff of columnists and the voice of our writers’ community. We’re particularly interested in writers who live and work outside of the US, but that is not a deciding factor; in all cases, no matter the writer’s locale, we’re looking for those who can approach an array of cultural subject matter from their patch of the world with an international sensibility; that is, contextualize the local with an awareness of its place, historical and current, in the broader world.

Qualified writers are already readers of PopMatters (as but one vital supplement in their varied intellectual diet). They are familiar with the work of our current columnists, as well as other areas of the magazine, and they have a solid sense of what we’re looking for in content and caliber in these essays. We deliberately use the terms “essays” and “columns” interchangeably; as pieces are broad in scope yet grounded in real-world examples, and they are tied to regular deadlines and an established identity (and therein lay the “columnist” element). With these expectations in mind, we have monthly and every-other-month column slots available. Suitable writers are dedicated to regular deadlines and enjoy participating in friendly, ongoing communications with their editor.

PopMatters seeks feature essays (min. 1,200 words - no max. limit) arguing the pros and cons of anachronism in film, literature, video games, music and other products of pop culture.

In commemoration of the 20-year anniversary of the release of ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’, PopMatters is inviting submissions for a special section devoted to all things Wu. Essays run 1,200-3000 words on any aspect of the album, on the individual MCs, the RZA’s production techniques, Wu culture, the Wu-Tang as a business model, the legacy of 36 chambers, and anything else that fits.

Pitch Deadline: 15 June 2013
Final Essays Deadline: 31 July 2013
Contact: C.E. McAuley and Sarah Zupko
Email:  mcauley at popmatters dot com - and - editor at popmatters dot com

Although his first feature film, Citizen Kane, continues to be regarded by the high guard as one of the finest films ever made, Welles spent the rest of his life producing pictures that would either be widely derided or entirely neglected, if he was even able to complete them. Reduced in his twilight years to acting in wine adverts and second-rate blockbusters in order to personally bankroll projects no real producers would, Welles was always working, even at the very end of his life, on films every bit as potent and radical as the debut that eclipsed his career.

PopMatters seeks essays (1,200 to 3,000 words, usually) about any aspect of popular culture, present or past. (If you are interested in pitching a review of some specific current work or performance, please contact the appropriate reviews editor.) We prefer careful analysis of the chosen subject matter with the intention of supporting an original thesis; we aren’t particularly interested in articles that merely want to promote their subject. An assessment of what ideological work a given pop culture phenomenon performs (i.e. what has allowed something to become popular, what’s at stake in its popularity besides money, how it is situated in a historical or geographical context, etc.) is especially welcome. Ideally essays will draw on sophisticated interpretive strategies derived from a theoretically informed point of view, but will be presented for a general reader in lively, accessible language.

For examples of the diversity of topics and range of approaches we welcome, please have a look at PopMatters features and columns archives.