Become a Contributor for ARC2020
Interested in European food, farming and rural policy matters? Do you have great writing skills and an ability to deliver content accurately and on time? Then you could be just what we’re looking for! ARC2020 is seeking people to write on these topics for us. We are in particular seeking contributors who are well versed in CAP, and/or agroecology, academics and practitioners, and people who can help bring the national debate in their country to a European audience. And, we pay! (Note that we don’t offer payment for academic articles, op-eds, or for report promotion. We pay journalists as well as farmers who write for us primarily) For more, contact Louise Kelleher at: louise.kelleher[@]arc2020.eu
Submission Guidelines
Pitch
- Pitch us the topic/questions/ideas you plan to explore (email, max. 2 paragraphs)
- Write in English (unless otherwise agreed)
- Once we have accepted the pitch, you and the editor will agree on a deadline and payment for the article.
Article format
Length
Articles should be between 800 and 1,200 words, unless otherwise agreed.
Structure
- Title: suggest a short, snappy narrative title
- Introductory paragraph: explain what the article is about
- Main body of text: keep paragraphs short
- Your biography (max. 1 paragraph, see examples here)
Links/references
- No footnotes – use hyperlinks to reference your points and claims as appropriate.
- Include hyperlinks directly in your text (Ctrl+K).
- Make sure you have permission for everything.
Images
- Good quality images to accompany the article are encouraged!
- If you did not take the photos yourself, you must have explicit permission to use them.
- Include an explanatory caption and relevant credit information for each photo.
- High resolution and landscape format only
- Send as an attachment in the email with your article – NOT embedded within the text.
- Links to relevant short videos are also encouraged – e.g. for speech, sometimes a verbatim transcript doesn’t do it justice
How to submit your article
Submit your article by email, as follows:
- text of article + your biography in the body of the email
- Text of article + your biography in Word format (in an attachment)
- images for publication (in an attachment)
- your photo (headshot) in .jpg or .png format (in an attachment)
What happens next?
The draft may be edited. The editor may email to ask you to adjust or rewrite certain sections or to confirm some changes to the text. Some style or grammar edits or other subedits may occur without consulting, including the order of paragraphs and the title.
Terms and Conditions
Authors have a right to publish their work elsewhere after its publication on the ARC2020 website. We ask that link back and attribution is given to the original.
ARC2020 has final copy on all content published. This means that ARC2020 – not the submitting author – has the final say on how the article appears on the ARC2020 website. Once you submit, there is no onus on ARC2020 to keep in touch with regard to changes you may feel should be made.
Who is my audience?
The ARC readership consists of a range of knowledgeable stakeholders such as farmers, academics, policymakers and engaged citizens. Please write accordingly i.e. you do not need to explain what the Common Agricultural Policy or Agroecology are. However, intricate or niche policy terminology or specific scientific concepts should be appropriately explained.
Remember that the readership is from all over Europe, so they are not necessarily likely to know the minutiae of your own country or region. So some terms (e.g. name of the Parliament in your country) may need to be explained in a way they would not have to be if writing for your home audience.
What should I write about?
Write about what you know. Do not expect to get commissioned for an opinion piece on what’s wrong with the food system. Do research, interview people, or write about something you are a practitioner in. Check out our topics section, or our CAP and agroecology sections, for more on what we typically write about.
Suggested style guidelines
- Write in an accessible, journalistic manner.
- Open with the big eye-catching thing. Don’t be chronological, unless there is good reason to be.
- Keep paragraphs short.
- Avoid the passive voice.
- Avoid jargon – and if you use it, explain it.
- For example, if you are reporting on a conference or event, chronological storytelling and indoor pictures of presentations and the back of people’s heads are a no no. Instead find your most memorable part of the conference – a field trip, a person, an activity – and prioritise that. Then mention the most relevant findings/ideas from the conference/event.
- A detailed writing guide will also be provided. (Here it is)