Sixty welcomes people of all experience levels and backgrounds to pitch ideas for writing about topics and practices that are relevant to the art and cultural landscapes of the Midwest.
Sixty defines the Midwest as: Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the tribal nations of the Midwest region.
We publish essays, interviews, comics, photo essays, and more about art and culture being produced in our region. This includes all genres of art, including visual art, sound art, film, music, theater, performance, the literary arts, and more. We are looking for writing and criticism that is thoughtful, generative, experimental, and relatable to our diverse community of readers. Priority will be given to writing by, about, and for BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ artists, artists with disabilities, and the long list of writing, art-making, and cultural practices that have been neglected in the mainstream.
Note about AI:
Sixty Inches From Center does not support AI generated writing. If you are contributing to Sixty and have or plan to use AI as a tool in your writing, you must disclose this information during the editorial process. If AI was used in a piece of writing and it was not disclosed to the editor, then Sixty reserves the right to pull the piece from publishing.
Please note that we are not accepting creative writing or poetry (i.e. Sixty Lit) submissions at this time.
We accept pitches on an ongoing basis and pay all writers and image makers $150 per publication.
Current Publishing Priorities
Coverage of arts and culture happening outside of Chicago in the Midwest
Description + Scope
Sixty aims to diversify our coverage in the Midwest by prioritizing arts coverage that focuses on specific locations around the Midwest, particularly cities/places that we have not covered before (or covered very infrequently). Sixty defines the Midwest as: Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the tribal nations of the Midwest region. The writing itself can range in form, subject, language, etc, but we prefer this coverage to be written by folks that are based in these locations and who are embedded within these systems. The goal is to support writing from folks who have their feet on the ground in these art ecosystems, and therefore have a deep understanding of their community. Absolutely NO writing that discusses a place or community as if the writer is “surprised” that any art or diversity is there. No perpetuating stereotypes here.
Writing focusing on non-visual art media: music / performance / sound / film / book reviews
Description + Scope
Sixty’s current coverage tends to be dominated by visual art. In an effort to diversify the type of art we cover, we are looking for pitches that focus on the arts outside of visual art happening within the Midwest, such as: music, sound, performance (theatre or experimental), film, video art, and literature. This could range from book reviews, interviews with authors, performance reviews, album reviews, interviews with performance artists or musicians, reviews discussing the work of a sound artist, film reviews, a profile on an organization that supports sound artists, and more.
Interviews & oral histories with and of our art elders
Description + Scope
In an effort to honor and preserve the stories and voices of our elders within our (arts) communities, Sixty is prioritizing interviews with the elders in our (art) communities. Sixty aims to help steward these stories through publishing so that these stories do not become lost to history.
Coverage on places & platforms that have shuttered
Description + Scope
In the spirit of archiving and preservation, Sixty is prioritizing coverage of arts platforms, publications, galleries, and community organizations that have come and gone. The lifespan of artist-run spaces, DIY initiatives, and arts orgs in general are often short lived and precarious due to factors like funding and capacities. Even if these places are no longer around, we still believe in the importance of documenting and preserving the work that was done in order to honor their importance and impact as well as to ensure that future generations of artists and cultural workers can learn from them and remember.
What we’re looking for:
We are interested in various formats, including essays/profiles about places/publications that have shuttered as well as interviews with the folks who ran and/or who were involved with the publications/places. Subjects could include, but are not limited to, the following: Dovetail Magazine, Ruckus Journal, Apparatus Projects, ABSTRACT (former online arts journal based in Indianapolis), Monaco (former gallery, St. Louis), Temporary Art Review/MARCH (St. Louis). We are also interested in pitches whose subject is a publication/place that has shuttered that we do not yet know about.
Bilingual Writing + Sesenta en Español
Description + Scope
Sixty would like to continue to publish content in languages beyond English. We are currently seeking pitches in Spanish (with priority to Puerto Rican & Central American vernacular), Southeast Asian languages, Native languages, and Polish. What do we mean by bilingual? You can either publish an article written in bilingual (for ex. Spanglish) or you can also write a full article in English and translate the article into your respective language (for ex. Portuguese & English). So far Sixty has published Oneida, Traditional Chinese, Hindi, Gujarati, French, and Portuguese, and we want to continue to represent the many languages spoken across the Midwest.
Sesenta desea seguir publicando contenido en otros idiomas. En este momento, buscamos escritura sobre arte en Español (con prioridad en la vernácula Puertorriqueña y Centroamericana), idiomas del Sudeste Asiático, lenguas indígenas y en polaco. ¿Qué significa bilingüe? El escribir un artículo en dos idiomas (por ejemplo, Spanglish) o escribir un artículo completo en inglés y traducirlo a tu idioma (por ejemplo, Portugués o Inglés). Hasta el momento, Sixty ha publicado en Oneida, Chino Tradicional, Hindi, Gujarati, Francés, y Portugués, y queremos seguir representando los numerosos idiomas que se hablan en el Medio Oeste.
Photo Essays
Description + Scope
In order to continue providing an in-depth look at the intersection of arts, archives, and culture within this political moment in the Midwest, Sixty is prioritizing photo-essays (a collection of images that work together to tell a story or explore a theme) that illuminates the relation between the personal and the political. We are interested in photo essays that provide deeper understanding into the lives of Midwestern artists, archivists, curators, and organizers who activate art for political and liberatory ways.
Notes on Pitching:
Pitches are reviewed based on the following criteria:
- Critical angle or authorial perspective—why should readers be interested in this piece?
- Relevance to Sixty’s communities—is this article heightening or exploring the narratives, art, and histories of disabled, Black, Indigenous, immigrant, or LGBTQIA+ people, as well as any other historically marginalized people? Is it based in the Midwest?
- Thoughtfulness of a pitch—what is the scope and angle for this pitch? How does the author intend to cover their given topic? Try to give us as many details as you can up front.
To submit your pitch please complete the form below. If you have any additional questions, you can email us at WriteForSixty@sixtyinchesfromcenter.org. Please allow 7-14 days for a response to your pitch.
Timeframe: Our editorial team meets twice a month to review pitches. Please note that Sixty has two annual slowdowns to allow our team to rest: Juneteenth to July 6th and during the month of December. During these time periods, we do not review pitches and publish more infrequently.
Sixty publishes in many different languages. You can either publish a bilingual article (eg. Spanglish) or you can write a full article in English and translate the article into your respective language (eg. Portuguese & English). So far, Sixty Bilingual has published Ojibwe, Oneida, Traditional Chinese, Hindi, Gujarati, French, and Portuguese, and we want to continue to represent the many languages spoken across the Midwest.