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Submission Guidelines
KneeDeep Times editors welcome story, film, photo and art submissions on a wide variety of climate resilience topics. Editors are actively working to expand the magazine’s freelance and editorial pool to better reflect California’s diversity.
We sometimes seek time-sensitive pitches on specific topics. Please scroll to bottom to view active pitch requests.
KneeDeep pays up to $1/word for most stories. Preferred lengths are 500 or 1000 words.
We prefer solution-driven stories about the greater San Francisco Bay Area. But we welcome stories about California, the West Coast, or even elsewhere in the country as long as you can add information about what it has to do with our region (example two part story: New Jersey Shells Out for Retreat + Coast Leaders Talk Graceful Withdrawal).
KneeDeep also pays for professional photography, art, and film.
KneeDeep also welcomes opinion or perspective pieces, or letters to the editor (300-1000 words). But we reserve the right to decide whether to publish them or not.
Feel free to contact us, either to introduce yourself and the types of stories you like to cover, or with pitches. Contact the editor Ariel Rubissow Okamoto.
Citizen Stories & Snaps
KneeDeep welcomes citizen stories and personal reflections on climate adaptation and resilience on the California Climate Quilt. Our editors are also available to help you shape and share your story this way. While we do not pay for quilt squares, we hope to organize some occasional prizes for best images and stories soon!
Picture of the Month
The editors chose a Picture of the Month and feature it at the bottom of the home page. All submissions must be of high resolution and in a horizontal format, and include an interesting caption, either telling the story of what we are seeing in the picture or of what the photographer felt and was trying to capture in the image. We pay up to $100 per picture of the month.
Republication Guidelines
KneeDeep welcomes republication of its stories. See our guidelines here.
Other Recent Posts
Join KneeDeep Times for Lightning Talks with 8 Local Reporters at SF Climate Week
Lightning Talks with 8 Reporters for SF Climate Week
ReaderBoard
Once a month we share reader announcements: jobs, events, reports, and more.
Staying Wise About Fire – 5 Years Post-CZU
As insurance companies pull out and wildfire seasons intensify, Santa Cruz County residents navigate the complexities of staying fire-ready.
Artist Christa Grenawalt Paints with Rain
Snippet of insight from the artist about her work.
High-Concept Plans for a High-Risk Shoreline
OneShoreline’s effort to shield the Millbrae-Burlingame shoreline from flooding has to balance cost, habitat, and airport safety.
In a Climate Disaster, Your Car Won’t Save You
Fleeing wildfires without a car might seem scary, but so is being trapped in evacuation gridlock — and the hellscape of car-dependency.
On Napa’s Milton Road, No Resident Is an Island
On Edgerly Island, homes sit behind a sinking, century-old levee. The community is at risk from sea level rise – unless they can agree to pay the cost of resilience.
What Exactly Is a “Supercharged Wind Event?”
In headlines about wildfire, a new supervillain emerges: wind. In January, it became the LA fire’s manic henchman. But what, exactly, is a “supercharged wind event”?
Converting Communities Into Watershed Champions
Everyday Climate Champions Podcast
UC Berkeley’s Brilliant Breakthrough in Carbon Capture
Researchers have developed COF-999, a new material that absorbs CO₂ directly from the air without rapidly degrading — a game-changer for carbon capture.
Calls for Pitches
- Know someone in your community, business or government “being the change” ???? KneeDeep is always looking for stories about people innovating, acting, doing, helping, growing, stewarding …. Send us your ideas for profiles.
- KneeDeep is also interested in small town or small community portraits. What are the special things in these particular places at risk from climate change, whether it’s flood, fire, inequity or other challenge? What steps are local neighbors and leaders taking to protect and sustain their special place?