Submissions

Taproot Magazine is an ad-free, independently published bimonthly print magazine, celebrating farm, food, family and craft through writing, photography and the arts, both fine and domestic. Our magazine is divided into three sections:

Head - essays about living a more connected life
Hands - recipes, crafts and projects to make yourself
Heart - the personal experience of more connected living

We love hearing your stories! If you are interested in submitting something to us, we encourage you to first familiarize yourself with our pages by spending some time with an issue or two. If you are already familiar with our magazine, please consult our editorial calendar (right) to see if your submission would work well with one of our upcoming themes. All submissions, and questions about submissions, should be sent to: ideas@taprootmag.com. (Read our Frequently Asked Questions below for many more details about submitting.)

A note about inclusion: Taproot Magazine was created with the intention of seeking out and lifting up the stories of food, farm, family and craft that connect us all. "Living Fully and Digging Deeper" was our motto to start with and remains our underlying goal. We also believe that it is our role as a publishing voice to lift up the often unseen voices (as a result of cultural racism, sexism, ableism, and beyond) in those areas of shared interest that we write about. We have so much to learn from one another by listening to each other's stories, and we believe one way that can happen is when we share our unique experiences, skills, and passions. To that end, Taproot is committed to being an inclusive magazine and community, open to all. We are committed to representing people of color, folks of varying abilities, body sizes, and orientations in our pages both in the photographs and artwork representing people in the pages but also through the artists and writers we publish. We know we can do to more to make that happen at Taproot, and we hope you'll stay tuned to watch us do just that.

Our submissions have and always will be open! If you have a story to tell, or if you know someone whose story we should be sharing, please do be in touch! We are listening.

-The Taproot Editorial Team

UPCOMING THEMES + DEADLINES

Please note: As of December 2023, we have adjusted our publication frequency and editorial calendar. We have also paused subscriptions while we shift to a pay-per-issue preorder model. Thanks for your patience!

Issue 60::LOVE
submission deadline: December 15, 2023
Late Winter 2024

Issue 61::FLOWER
submission deadline: January 1, 2024
Late Spring 2024

Issue 62::LAND
submission deadline: February 1, 2024
Mid-Summer 2024

Issue 63::THREAD
submission deadline: April 1, 2024
Late Autumn 2024

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Submitting to Taproot Magazine :: Frequently Asked Questions

Simply, how do I submit?
Email us at ideas@taprootmag.com with your submission attached as a word document. Art submissions can be jpegs or links to your work elsewhere. Please include the issue/theme name in the subject line of your email. A brief bio and publication history (if any) is helpful as well.
You will receive acknowledgement of your submission, but we regret that we are unable to answer all emails.

Can you tell me what you’re looking for in submissions?
We are looking for unique, thoughtful, creative pieces exploring the topics of food, farm, family and craft. We are looking for stories about the many makers, doers and dreamers of our time. We are looking for traditional and modern crafts. We are looking for recipes, and techniques to be carried into the kitchen, the garden, the pasture, the urban homestead, the rural farm. We are looking for art that celebrates all of these things!

Do you accept queries? I have a really good idea but I’m not sure if I should write an entire article for submission.
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with our publication. If your good idea seems to naturally fall into one of our themes, it’d be worth you taking the time to put pen to paper. We'd love to review a submission from you for an upcoming issue of Taproot. We cannot, however, critique ideas... and have moved away from the query/pitch submission approach as it has proven difficult to juggle around deadlines. We ask instead that writers simply submit their written (final draft) article for review. Updating this process has significantly helped our review board in selecting new pieces in a timely fashion, making sure that articles are received within a timeframe for our selection and deadline.

If you accept my piece, will I be paid?
Yes! This is important to us. Our contributors are paid, though the rate varies depending on the type and length of submission. We'll talk more about this if and when your work is accepted.

How long should my article be?
On average our articles range from 800-4000 words.

I wrote a piece on my blog/local newspaper/online journal that I think would be a great fit for Taproot. Do you have accept previously published material?
We do not accept previously published work. We want to provide original material to our readers.

Do you accept simultaneous submissions?
Absolutely! If your piece is accepted elsewhere, we appreciate when you let us know it is no longer available.

How far in advance can I submit to an upcoming theme?
As soon as the themes are announced! The world of publishing works well in advance of seasons. This takes forethought for a writer wanting to submit to us and takes planning on the part of Editors. (For example, the issue you enjoy at the beginning of the new year was created at the end of summer.) If you are submitting to multiple themes, please send each submission separately with the issue/theme name in the subject of your email.

I'm an artist, and I want to be in our magazine! How can I share my work with you?
Thanks for your interest in sharing your artwork with us! The visual creativity (artwork, illustrations, and photography) that fill the pages of Taproot is part of what we believe makes our independent magazine stand out and we need artists like you to create this aesthetic. We’d love to review your portfolio for consideration. Emailing a link to your online portfolio is the best way to do that. If we think you're a good match for Taproot, we will keep your contact information and portfolio on file. Our editorial board pulls from this list of artists during layout, when we need artwork created for specific articles in upcoming issues.

How can I submit a knitting pattern to you?
We love receiving knitting submissions and are always excited to be introduced to new designers! When submitting a knitting project, you do not need to send a completed pattern with your initial submission. Please submit a concept, description, and sketches of the piece along with attached or linked samples and photographs of other patterns you've written. Should we choose to include your piece in the pages we will contact you for the complete pattern. We expect the final patterns to come to us tested and tech edited. Designers will be responsible for either providing photographs along with their pattern or providing us with a sample piece (to be returned) for in-house photography.  

I didn’t hear back from you after you received my submission!
If you have not received an email from Taproot’s Editorial staff by the date mentioned in the original email, it means we did not find a place within the pages of this issue for your submission. We do appreciate your support and encourage you to submit again. If you feel that any of our upcoming themes speak to you and your craft, we'd welcome another submission from you in the future.

Can you tell me why my piece wasn’t accepted? Or give me feedback on my piece?
There are many factors that go into accepting a piece. Sometimes a piece doesn’t make it into our pages because it is too similar to something else we’ve published. Sometimes it doesn’t fit well with theme for that particular issue. Sometimes it just isn’t quite up to par in quality of writing/art/photography standards we are aiming for. Sometimes we might not accept the first submission from someone, but their second (or third!) fits just right. And sometimes, we hem and haw and fret and worry and wish that we could just add thirty more pages to fit in all the wonderful pieces that simply don’t fit into our pages we make for each issue! We regret that we’re unable to provide feedback. Our team is a small one, and we are using our time as wisely as we can to create the magazine. Perhaps search out a writer’s group to share your work with and get feedback from? Please continue to create. And please continue to share it with us!

 

Past Issues


2012 ~ Issue 1 :: SOIL, Issue 2 :: PATHS, Issue 3 :: RETREAT, Issue 4 :: WOOD

2013 ~ Issue 5 :: DREAM, Issue 6 :: WATER, Issue 7 :: GATHER, Issue 8 :: RECLAIM
2014 ~ Issue 9 :: BREATHE, Issue 10 :: SEED, Issue 11 :: MEND, Issue 12 :: BREAD
2015 ~ Issue 13 :: SONG, Issue 14 :: WILD, Issue 15 :: FOLK, Issue 16 :: SHELTER
2016 ~ Issue 17 :: MYTH, Issue 18 :: PRESERVE, Issue 19 :: WANDER, Issue 20: SHARE
2017 ~ Issue 21 :: WEAVE. Issue 22 :: GROW, Issue 23 :: TRADE, Issue 24 :: REST
2018 ~ Issue 25 :: HEARTH, Issue 26 :: HEAL, Issue 27 :: BLOOM, Issue 28 :: GRAIN, Issue 29 :: AGE, Issue 30 :: FEAST
2019 ~ Issue 31 :: REVIVE, Issue 32 :: TEND, Issue 33 :: EXPLORE, Issue 34 :: RELISH, Issue 35 :: BUILD, Issue 36 :: WEAR
2020 ~ Issue 37 :: SPARK, Issue 38 :: FORAGE, Issue 39 :: TIDES, Issue 40 :: CURE, Issue 41 :: EXTEND, Issue 42 :: CALM
2021 ~ Issue 43 :: ROOTS, Issue 44 :: EMERGE, Issue 45 :: PLAY, Issue 46 :: FABLE, Issue 47 :: SUSTAIN, Issue 48 :: NEST
2022 ~ Issue 49 :: REFRESH, Issue 50 :: SOW, Issue 51 :: IMAGINE, Issue 52 :: SAVOR, Issue 53 :: AMEND, Issue 54 :: COMMUNE
2023 ~ Issue 55 :: LUNAR, Issue 56 :: CULTIVATE, Issue 57 :: BLUE, Issue 58 :: HARVEST, Issue 59::STITCH