Most essays we publish are between 2,000 and 5,000 words. In general, we have a 6,000-word maximum. 

Though we do publish classic memoir and personal essay, we're increasingly interested in essays that offer point of view on an external topic (immunization, basketball, prayer, the Boer War, pleasure), with or without a first-person narrator. Such an essay might involve research, or blend journalistic or historical inquiry with literary writing, or otherwise fall between traditional categories.

We also welcome email queries:

• General nonfiction queries: Creative Nonfiction Editor Lauren Winner, lwinner@imagejournal.org
• Essays on film, music, books, theater, dance, and art in other media: Culture Editor Nick Ripatrazone, nripatrazone@imagejournal.org. Essays in our culture section include reviews, but also pieces that use one or several works of art as a jumping-off place for a broader kind of essay. 
• Profiles of or interviews with contemporary visual artists: Visual Arts Editor Aaron Rosen, arosen@imagejournal.org 

We don’t publish scholarly or academic essays.

A Word document is preferable, but a pdf is also acceptable if you have special formatting that requires it.