Pitch to write for Southwest Contemporary Vol. 14: Alien
Southwest Contemporary magazine is now accepting pitches for our Fall-Winter 2026-27 print issue—themed “Alien.”
We seek writers based in or closely connected to the North American Southwest to submit story ideas for our Fall-Winter 2026-27 issue, Volume 14: Alien. Pitches should be focused on contemporary artists working in the region who are grappling with political, social, psychic, and cosmic dimensions of the alien.
In Southwest Contemporary Volume 14, we will spotlight artists and projects exploring many questions about being, or feeling, alien.
Alienness is often felt intimately, in the body and in daily life—perhaps as estrangement from the self or others, or as a celebration of exquisite difference. What is it like to be an “outsider” or “other”? How does it feel to wholly embrace one’s uniqueness? What does it mean to be an invader, or invaded upon? What’s it like to be in a body that doesn’t belong—or finds a way home?
The concept of “the alien” has also served to divide the body politic. The Southwest border is an epicenter of one such narrative shaping culture, where authorities mark humans as “aliens”—as a class of legal and political “others,” subject to a dominant band of alien settlers and occupiers. But migration into unknown realms can also be transcendent—a process filled with curiosity, discovery, and unexpected connection.
The Southwest has long been a hotspot for alien activity. Star people and sky-beings animate Zuni, Hopi, and other oral traditions stretching back millennia. There are the energy “vortexes” in Sedona and the telescopes of the Very Large Array. Reported UFO encounters at Roswell and Area 51 have shaped the culture around government conspiracies. Now, actual portals to space have opened in the Southwest, commanded by billionaire founders. As reality starts to resemble science fiction, the genre’s fixations on escapism and encountering “the other” become mirrors on ourselves.
We encourage you to consider this theme in an expansive way. We want to cover artists who bring us into contact with other worlds and realities, who make the unknown known, celebrate difference, consider belonging, or combat loneliness.
Please note that we do not publish personal essays and are not seeking pitches about writers’ own experiences of alienation or otherness. Rather, we invite pitches that report on, analyze, or critically engage regional artists and projects exploring themes such as:
- Insider versus outsider, the “other.”
- Curiosity, discovery, and connection with the unknown.
- Social alienation and loneliness.
- Immigration and migration.
- Body dysmorphia and positivity.
- Post-humanism, transhumanism, and hybridity.
- Technological alienation or cyborgism; artificial intelligence/alien intelligence.
- Alienation from nature in the context of neo/post/modernism.
- The sublime; alien or otherworldly landscapes.
- Alien or invasive species; resilience and survival in unknown realms.
- Abduction, disembodied experience.
- Science fiction, fantasy.
- Alien encounters and narratives.
- Southwest portals to space, such as SpaceX.
- Conspiracies, UFOs, and government files; hoaxes and misinterpretation.
- Alien cosplay, subcultures, and other pop culture phenomena.
We invite pitches for print articles related to this theme in the form of:
- Studio visits/artist profiles (800 words).
- Reporting (1200–2000 words).
- Features (1200–2000 words).
- Creative essays (400–700 words).
- Interviews (500–2000 words).
- Cultural criticism (1200–2000 words).
- Travel writing / Field Reports (1200–1500 words).
- Reviews (exhibitions reviews should be timely and do not need to adhere to the theme) (300 words).
- We do not accept submissions of poetry.
Pitch Submission Guidelines
- Pro tip: Read our pitch guidelines before you submit!
- Coverage Area: Our primary coverage area spans the North American Southwest, including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and the Northern Mexico Borderlands. On rare occasions, we cover inland Southern California, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Pitches MUST be relevant to our coverage areas.
- SWC is committed to supporting and developing writers in the region. Writers based in or with strong ties to the region will receive preference over writers based outside of the Southwest.
- New to Southwest Contemporary? If you haven’t yet written for Southwest Contemporary, please share 1-2 writing samples in the “link” or “attachment” fields of the submission form. Writing samples need not be published.
- New to arts writing? We seek a diverse range of voices, perspectives, and rhetorical styles. We believe both established and aspiring writers are capable of making valuable contributions to SWC, and our goal is to empower each writer to hone their writing skills and cultivate their own unique voice.
- If your pitch is accepted and SWC commissions a story, you can expect to work closely and collaboratively with arts editor Natalie Hegert and editorial director Jordan Eddy throughout the editorial process.
- You are welcome to submit more than one pitch, but please make a separate submission for each story idea.
AI Use
Pitches determined to be AI-generated will not be considered. Commissioned assignments may not be AI-generated.
Conflicts of Interest
Based on our conflicts of interest policy, contributors are not permitted to write about their own work. If you are interested in sharing your work with us for editorial consideration for this issue, please consider submitting to our call for artists.
Fees
All contributors are compensated and articles commissioned for print will be paid according to article length and type (essay, feature, review, etc). The fee will be agreed upon at the time of commission, and typically range $100–500.
Timeline
Deadline for pitches for Alien: Friday, May 8, 2026.
Deadlines for drafts: fall between June 15 and June 29, 2026.
Issue published: September 2026.
Questions?
Contact Natalie Hegert, arts editor, at natalie@southwestcontemporary.com.
