2023 Submission Guidelines

Updated info for all writers

Welcome to The Walkabout!

It’s time this publication gets the chance it needs to be successful. Originally started in early 2021, it was abandoned for two years before being rebooted in May, 2023.

So, without further ado, here are some updated guidelines for writers who would like to submit their personal essays to this publication. If you’d like to read about the values that guide this publication, check that out here.

What to Submit:

1. We want your best stuff. We’re talking high-quality work; work where it’s obvious you’ve spent time on it, and also run it through Grammarly and a spell-checker before sending it over.
2. We prefer story-driven non-fiction essays with a clear beginning, middle, and end. More or less following this format: What happened to you, how it impacted you, how the conflict was resolved (if it was), and what learnings you have from the experience.
3. We want stories about personal or societal transformation. Please make sure that your story, on some level, is about this topic. Whether it’s transformation from going through a difficult experience, participating in a rite of passage, learning something new about yourself, or anything else that demonstrates a process of change, we’ll leave that up to you. Stories that speak to a Hero’s Journey arc of challenge, healing, and renewal take center stage here.
4. We want stories that tell the truth. Speak your truth, even if it’s messy and difficult to disclose. We want 100% unadulterated you, warts and all. Also, as honesty is one of our core values, we seek submissions from writers who write under their real name, not pen names. We understand that you might have a perfectly valid reason for writing under an alias. We respect that and do hope you can find a good fit for your work in another publication.

What NOT to Submit:

• Listicles or anything SEO driven (these are personal essays, after all)
• Essays with clickbait titles
• Rambling, unfocused writing or rants
• Essays you’ve submitted to other publications
• Anything with hate speech

The brass tacks:

• We prefer unpublished drafts.
• Please submit only one piece at a time.
• Include titles and cover photo (make sure that you include the credit for the photographer and/or source, even if it’s you).
• Cite your work (if applicable).
• Requests to be added as a writer should be made via the Google Form at the bottom of this post. Depending on life busyness, it can take a week or two to add you to the publication, so please be patient with us.
• Please give us 24 hours to review your draft. Not every submission will be accepted, so if you don’t see it posted within that 24 hour timeframe, it’s a pass. Please don’t take it personally if your submission is not accepted! In most cases, it’s because it’s not a good fit for the publication at this time, or it does not adhere to the above guidelines.

We’re interested in stories that could fit into any of these departments:

• A New Path: Transformative ideas for conscious, clear-eyed living in a rapidly changing world.
• Running There: Becoming better through exercise.
• Spirit Trail: Serendipity and the trail you took to find what you were meant to do on earth. Some would call this your mission.
• The Four Directions: Sharing wisdom from Native American and Indigenous peoples’ principles, rituals, spirituality, and frameworks for living.
• Detours: Reflections on wrong turns; suffering, loss, addiction, and being led astray.
• Best of TW: Every month, we’ll hand-pick stories to feature that put forth novel ideas and clarity for the road ahead.

Best Practices for Writers of The Walkabout:

• Please follow the publication and our newsletter. Please also follow us on our social media pages, currently Twitter and Instagram.
• Interact with the content. Read essays from start to finish, highlight them, comment on them, clap for them. Let other writers know you appreciate their work.
• Please do NOT email asking when your essay will be published.

One last thing:

We’re looking for new perspectives. If you’re a writer that isn’t seeing your interests, values, or experiences reflected in mainstream media, we want to hear them here. Fresh voices from traditionally underserved communities, such as Native Americans and all first nations people, those drug addicted or in recovery, gender non-conformist, immigrants, and all people of color, are highly encouraged to submit stories.

Whew! That was a lot, wasn’t it? Let’s celebrate the journey together.

Thanks for your interest in The Walkabout, and blessings on your way.