Writing for The Left Gazette

A guide and reference for our potential and current writers.

The Left Gazette is looking for dedicated writers — even if only casually — to publish articles on whatever philosophical, cultural, or political topics matter to them the most. As the name suggests, we cover such topics from a leftist angle, and we do so in order to increase the availability and accessibility of educated, progressive opinion pieces available on an internet with the occasional abundance of right-wing rhetoric. Furthermore, we believe that progressive voices in this regard are necessary — perhaps morally imperative — in order to direct the public’s attention towards the issues we care about the most, such as the oppression of the working class under capitalism, climate change, the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community, the struggles of people of colour, the increasing privatization of education, and so on. For the most part, we prefer writers with some form of university education for the purpose of creating a publication which may be taken seriously when publishing primarily opinion pieces — however, this is not necessary for those within oppressed communities seeking to make their voices heard.

In order to get added as a writer, you can first reach out to us through Twitter or email. Within your message, include the following:

1. What relevant educational or otherwise identity-based credentials you have.
2. A brief but detailed description of your sociopolitical views. As a broadly left wing publication, we accept writers from broadly left wing ideologies — be it moderately left-leaning progressivism, to far left Marxism. Tell us what issues matter to you the most, why they matter to you, and what you believe ought to be done to address them.
3. An example of an article you have published on Medium already, if you have done so.
4. Your Medium handle, as this information is necessary to add you as a writer.

Regarding the formatting required to publish with The Left Gazette, the requirements are simple and straightforward. We require — before the main body of your article —

1. An attention-grabbing title,
2. An explanatory subtitle which is preferably in italics,
3. Some relevant, royalty-free image, such as those found at Pexels. If you are instead using an image relevant to some current or historical event, we require that the image is given a citation — as its caption — in either the MLA or Chicago formats.

Additionally, we require that certain pieces of information within your articles have hyperlinks, such that:

1. References to concepts or figures outside the normal domain of public discourse are hyperlinked to credible sources; for example, “Karl Marx introduced the notion of false consciousness — that is, the situation in which members of subordinate classes are mislead into ignoring their inherent oppression, inequality, and exploitation under capitalism.” You only need to hyperlink to any particular concept or figure within your first reference to it/them, and need not do so for any subsequent reference to it/them.
2. References to key events, be it current or historical, are hyperlinked to credible sources; for example, “The work of Hegel was notoriously influenced by the events of the French Revolution, which Hegel lived during.” As in the case for (1), such hyperlinks are only necessary for your first reference to the event.
3. References to or quotations from a particular text are prefaced by a hyperlink to either an online publication of that text or a reliable site on which to purchase that text; for example, “Within On the Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche says…” or “Within On the Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche says…” Again, as in the case for (1) and (2), such hyperlinks are only necessary for your first reference to the particular text.

Regarding the tags you use for your article(s), there are several tags which are relevant to The Left Gazette, such as “Philosophy,” “Culture,” “Feminism,” “LGBTQ,” and “Race.” These tags are important insofar as it categorizes and organizes your article(s) under the different tabs on our publication. “Politics” is also an acceptable tag, but make sure to tag political articles with “Culture” as well for the sake of showing up under the “Culture” tag. Most importantly, and this should go without saying, ensure that the tags you use are actually relevant to your article(s).

Lastly, it is up to you whether or not you monetize your articles using Medium’s partner program. The Left Gazette neither expects nor desires to receive any of the potential earnings made from your articles which we publish.

You may refer to any of our already published articles for further examples of formatting, and you may reach out to us with any additional questions you may have.

We hope to have you as a writer!