CONTRIBUTE TO FIELD NOTES
Every city holds more than one story. Show us yours.
Boroughs explores cities through the people who give them character. Each print issue takes us somewhere new. Field Notes continues that exploration online, opening the pages to independent writers, photographers, and artists with a perspective worth sharing.
We’re interested in the places you know, the communities you move through, and the things you notice that someone passing through might miss.
LOCAL VOICES, LIVED EXPERIENCE
Writers must be from the city they’re writing about or have lived there for at least 10 years. You don’t need to live there currently, but your connection should come from having made a life there.
Boroughs is interested in the knowledge that develops over time: the places that hold your history, the communities you belong to, and the changes you’ve witnessed firsthand.
In your submission, tell us where you’re from, how long you’ve lived in the city, and how that experience connects to your story.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Personal stories and essays
Writing rooted in the experience of a city. Growing up in a neighborhood. Leaving and returning. Finding community. Watching a familiar place change. Tell us what happened, where it happened, and why it matters to you.
Photography and visual essays
A connected series of images that takes us into a place or a way of life. A dance floor, a night shift, a barbershop, a housing estate, a gathering place. We’re looking for a point of view and a thread connecting the photographs.
Art and illustration
Drawings, paintings, collages, comics, and other visual work shaped by a city and the experience of being there. Include a few words about the work and its connection to the place.
Conversations
An exchange with someone whose work, ideas, or everyday presence reveals something about their city. A DJ building a scene. An organizer bringing neighbors together. A cook, skater, shopkeeper, or artist with something to say. Tell us who they are, your connection to them, and what you want to explore.
WHAT MAKES A FIT
Place should be essential to the work. Help us understand how a city feels, how people live within it, or what is happening beneath its familiar image.
We welcome personal, questioning, funny, intimate, and unexpected perspectives. A submission doesn’t need to explain an entire city. One street, one room, or one encounter can be enough.
We’re not looking for generic destination guides, “best of” lists, press releases, promotional profiles, or portfolios without a specific project or story attached.
HOW TO SUBMIT
You can send a pitch or existing work. There’s no need to produce a new piece before contacting us.
Please include:
Your name and a short introduction.
The city or neighborhood connected to the work and your relationship to it. Writers should confirm whether they’re from the city or have lived there for at least 10 years.
A brief description of the project and what you want to share.
For writing: a pitch of around 150–300 words, or a completed draft with its word count.
For photography or art: 5–10 preview images in a PDF or an accessible project link, with a short description.
For conversations: the proposed subject, the angle, and whether you’re already in contact.
Relevant website, portfolio, or social links, if you have them.
Whether the work has appeared elsewhere.
Please send preview files or links rather than large, full-resolution attachments. Make sure linked files can be viewed without requesting access.
PUBLICATION & CREDIT
Field Notes is a curated digital section of Boroughs. We’re starting small and selecting work for its perspective, quality, and connection to the publication.
Contributions are currently unpaid. Selected work will receive a dedicated feature on the Boroughs website + socials, prominent contributor credit, a short biography, and links to the contributor’s work.
Please submit only work you created or have permission to share, and identify any collaborators who need credit. Submitting work does not guarantee publication.
By submitting, you give Boroughs non-exclusive permission to publish your submitted work on Boroughszine.com and share it across Boroughs’ social media channels, with credit to you as the creator. You retain ownership of your work and may publish it elsewhere.
We may resize or crop images for display and format text for publication. Substantive edits will be discussed with you before publication. Any use in a print issue will require a separate agreement.