Learning for Justice provides several opportunities for writers to contribute freelance articles, magazine feature stories and magazine department pieces. All of these require lively, engaging writing about social justice and education. Please keep in mind that ours is a national audience of educators, justice advocates, community members and the general public seeking to learn more about social justice. We suggest that prospective writers become familiar with our style of writing, content and work before contacting us.

We accept freelance submissions and pitches for the content types listed below. Please review the guidelines specific to each content type.

We are currently looking for short articles to be published on our website. Send pitches to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org. At this time, due to capacity, writers will be contacted only if we would like to use a submission. 

Note: Please include all information about your pitch in the email. Do not send attachments.

Thank you for your interest in writing for us!

Short Articles

To be published on the Learning for Justice website

At least 1,000 words

On our website, we publish short articles that address social justice and ethical education, especially anti-bias and anti-racist themes. In general, an article should be at least 1,000 words in length (and can go up to 1,500+ words). We are seeking selections responding to an education or policy issue or a current event through an LFJ lens. The best articles offer insights or describe practices with an action-oriented “what can we do” focus. They also fuel further online discussion.

Learning for Justice will pay $500 apiece for published submissions. Submissions should be sent to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org. Please put “Article submission” in the subject line when you submit. Include your name, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please suggest a headline.

Please reach out to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org with any questions.  

Learning for Justice  Magazine

Feature Stories  

1,500 to 2,000 words  

These magazine features focus on stories and issues related to social justice and anti-bias education. They are usually accompanied by sidebars containing resources, what-we-can-do steps and short profiles. Typically, writers are freelance journalists with knowledge of issues in education, or educators with experience writing for non-academic publications.

For magazine feature stories, LFJ will pay $1.50 per word for published submissions.

Submissions should be sent to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org. Please put “LFJ magazine article” in the subject line when you submit. Include your name, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline.

Why I Teach  

600 to 800 words 

These are personal reflections about life as an educator, published in the recurring “Why I Teach” department of Learning for Justice magazine. Writers should be educators who have day-to-day contact with students at school. This piece should discuss strategies for supporting marginalized students, creating equity, inspiring hope, building community, developing an inclusive and safe environment, or information on what the general public needs to know about K-12 education. Each essay must be an original, unpublished work.

For Why I Teach, LFJ will pay $200 apiece for published submissions. 

Submissions should be sent to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org. Please put “Why I Teach” in the subject line when you submit. Include your name, the name and address of your school, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline. 

Story Corner

600 to 800 words

These are student-facing, illustrated short stories published in the recurring Story Corner department of Learning for Justice magazine. These stories are intended to be read aloud for students in the early grades and must cover topics that are appealing to children. They can be fiction or nonfiction. However, they must use age-appropriate vocabulary and sentence length.

For Story Corner stories, LFJ will pay $1 per word for published submissions.

Stories should be sent to lfjsubmissions@splcenter.org. Please put “Story Corner submission” in the subject line when you submit. Include your name, your title, an email address and a telephone number. Also, please include a suggested headline.