We welcome you to share your insights and commentary with our growing community of readers. Here’s what you need to know about becoming a contributing writer for EdSurge.
In addition to the stories reported by our journalists and fellows (see more about our Voices of Change fellowship here), we publish a selection of narrative essays written by individuals who bring unique experiences and perspectives to conversations about teaching and learning.
On behalf of our readers, we are a bit choosy! Below are our editorial guidelines:
We look for pitches that relate to our areas of coverage across early childhood, K-12 and higher education. For 2024, we’re reporting about the experiences of teachers and learners; educator and student mental health and well-being; the conditions of the modern education workforce; whether and how education is changing to reflect U.S. demographic shifts; and efforts to make quality education more affordable and accessible.
In a nutshell, your piece should offer a fresh, thoughtful narrative on issues relevant to these themes, and should draw upon your professional — and in some cases personal — background and experiences. We’re drawn to personal narratives and evidence-based opinion essays that offer untold perspectives and center educator experiences.
Here are some exemplar narrative essays by contributing writers:
There are a few ways to pitch us.
Have an idea to pitch? Please submit a story pitch — ideally two to three paragraphs including a claim or essential question you plan to explore with a few details about what you plan to include, and why your experience can help to tell this story. Along with your pitch, let us know what your current role is. You can submit here or email to voices@edsurge.com.
Have a draft already? Please submit your draft to voices@edsurge.com. Aim to keep your essay under 1,200 words and please include relevant links to sources (in the body) as evidence for your points and any photographs, videos, charts or graphics that help tell your story. In addition, please include a brief bio, links to your work and a photo of yourself.
If we’re interested in working with you to edit and publish your story, we’ll get back to you within one month with an email outlining next steps. If we accept your submission, we will assign an editor to work with you.
Please note that our editors work directly with writers, so we prefer for each writer to submit their own pitch. If someone else is submitting a pitch on behalf of a writer, they must disclose and explain the relationship.
We steer clear of conflicts of interest or subtle bias. That means if you’re receiving any perks or compensation for organizations that you’re writing about or that are related to the subject that you’re describing, and that relationship creates a conflict of interest, your pitch will not be accepted.
We also prioritize human stories told by humans. At this time, EdSurge does not intend to publish material written by, or with the aid of, generative artificial intelligence, and any exceptions will be disclosed to readers. If you have used generative AI to write or aid your story, you must disclose it when you pitch.
We’re eager to continue to build our community of readers and writers and are excited to welcome you into it! Please reach out with questions.