Mushing welcomes story, art, and photo contributions. Mushing will consider but assumes no responsibility for, unsolicited proposals, manuscripts, and photographs. All such materials not accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope will not be returned. Mushing is not responsible for unsolicited contributions or lost or damaged photo material. Mushing and First Paw Media, LLC. retains all reprint rights.
DO NOT send us AI-generated garbage. If you do not value original work, we are not interested. We are on the faculty of several universities and have tools that can detect AI-generated content.
You can learn more about our guest submission guidelines here.
Our deadlines are changing due to issue dates changing. The editorial deadlines for articles and images will be the 15th of each EVEN month, two and a half months before the publication date. For example, for the November/December/January issue, our editorial deadline will be August 15th. Our February/March/April editorial deadline will be October 15th.
Mushing showcases the highest-quality imagery—mushing’s greatest contemporary feats as well as classic, timeless images that define every era of the culture. We welcome images of big-name athletes and, of course, the dogs, but we are equally interested in publishing incredible images of the mushing lifestyle’s unheralded and unknown.
We seek images that speak to the soulful eccentricities of mushing, shots rich in context, character, and feeling. Creative shots, the others won’t run. We welcome experimentation. Mushing’s is a creative vehicle to showcase your hard work.
Before submitting images, please review a recent issue of Mushing to become familiar with the style of images we run. Be selective with your submission—we have limited gallery space and need not look at thousands of images from a single photographer. Only send those that you see as a great fit for Mushing.
Mushing welcomes queries and/or completed manuscripts that showcase the sport and lifestyle’s people, places, and culture. Initial contact should be in the form of a query that includes the following:
Manuscripts should be exceptionally well-written and free of grammar and punctuation errors. Revise, revise, revise—and then revise some more. As Hemingway says, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.” Take the time and care to ensure your submission is as close to being ready for publication as you can make it.
Please direct all queries to submit@mushing.com or mail to the address below.
The Vision: Short, focused pieces that take as their subject a specific person, place, thing, or event. Typically, these will be set in a particular moment in time, as well. 300-1000 words.
The Trail: This is the place for narrative pieces that may–but don’t necessarily have to–include more inner dialogue, and less of a connection to a clearly defined, real-world subject. 300-1000 words.
History: A battered trail notes; an old film reel; your grandpa or grandma’s dog-eared mushing diary—Artifacts tell the story of a thing, and highlight some deeper connection to it. 300-1000 words.
Intuition: Poetry, Prose poem, or very short fiction (less than 500 words).
Media: Review and/or discussion of a compelling piece mushing-related media. Extra points for thinking outside the box. We don’t just want to know what it is; we want to know why it matters. 300-1000 words.
Features can run anywhere from 1200-4000+ words. If you need 4000 words to tell your story, then by all means, do it. But if it can be told in 2000, then you can save yourself—and us—a lot of time by being as frugal as possible with the number of words you use.
In addition, features should go beyond a simple story that takes us from point A to point B. They should go from point A to point D, visiting B and C along the way. The best features take a deeper dive into the history, culture, eccentricities, and/or conservation issues of a particular people and place. We want a beginning, middle, and end. We want characters who want something. We want pieces with movement.
Features typically fall into one of the following categories:
Adventure: Off the beaten trail, Culture; Exploratory.
Racing: Stories range from on-site race reports and journalism, breaking news, stories from the trail, Q&As with mushers, and fun, useful events/activities lists.
Travel: On the beaten path; Guided; well-established mushing locations.
Locale: Having to do with a particular place and/or time.
Profile: Stories about people who have shaped the culture and sport of dog mushing.
Culture: Stories organized around a cultural nugget of the mushing world—likely less about people or place.
Canine Health: Stories about sled dog veterinary care to long-form stories about canine health, genetics, exercise physiology, nutrition, animal husbandry, and more.
Essay: Work that takes place partly, or perhaps mostly, inside the author’s head. Note: To be considered, essays must be exceptional.
Gallery: Clearly focused on a specific collection of photos and/or artwork, whether a single artist or a thematic piece. Note: please see photo submission guidelines.
The best way to determine whether what you have might fit as a feature with Mushing is to read the work featured in past issues. Think you can match the tone, breadth, and economy of language that made the cut in a past issue? Then we want to hear from you.
We read every submission, and we do our best to reply to all queries and submissions as promptly as possible. With that said, please allow at least three months before sending follow-up inquiries regarding your submission. As a quarterly publication, we often make editorial decisions at least three months before a given issue’s publication date; more likely, pieces chosen for a given issue were selected 6-12 months in advance. Please keep this in mind when considering the seasonality of your submission.
Finally, please format all submissions as follows:
Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be returned unread.
We are a small magazine so we cannot pay what the big boys pay at the moment, but maybe with your thoughtful stories and amazing photos we will get there someday. So, we will pay $100 minimum and 10 cents a word for most written pieces (see above) and we will pay for photos depending on size and use. We will pay the same for both online and print submissions.
We arrived at this compensation plan by talking to writers and photogs in the outdoor industry and this was their recommendation for a magazine our size.
All creative contributors will benefit from Net 30 terms once their work is accepted. We know you have bills to pay, and we will not make you wait.
After your submission has been approved we will set up payment to you and contact you for further information at that time.
Via USPS/Canada Post or UPS/FEDEX:
First Paw Media Submissions
2521 E. Mountain Village Dr. Suite B834
Wasilla, AK 99654
Via Email: submit@mushing.com