Submissions are not only welcomed but encouraged.
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Submissions should attempt to reflect the spirit and philosophy of The Conversationalist. As a loose guideline or a more concise summary of that spirit, here are some things to keep in mind:
Overly academic sounding pieces tend to be boring, if not unnecessarily pedantic. However, this is not to say that we deride the ideas presented in academia, but rather we ask that you attempt to make it accessible. But not Buzzfeed
accessible. It's quite alright if readers open a dictionary once in awhile or have to surf Wikipedia for a little background.
Wit, humor, and sarcasm are more than welcome in original pieces and responses, however, they should be thought of
as incidental or supplementary to the overall structure; not its sole focus.
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The focus should be on understanding as opposed to whatever else the journalism world is pumping out right now.
Whether it's an original essay, response piece, or criticism they should be, for the most part, civil and sympathetic. In
other words, if you're going to "lampoon" someone, it had better be charitable and intelligent sounding.
Intellectual honesty—while adjusting for honest mistakes and misunderstandings—is important.
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Good conversations are exciting as they are varied. All styles are welcome, from Chesterton to Hemingway.
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We aren't complexity-mongerers, but neither do we think everything is just one step away from simple. We
are dedicated to, as the mathematician Eric Weinstein puts it, long answers as opposed to short ones. Though a "long answer" is more of a metaphor for thoughtfulness, not necessarily length.
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Send all submissions and/or pitches to theconversationalistmedia@gmail.com with the title of your piece as the subject line, as well as a short description of who or what you're responding to (if applicable, of course).