We Want Critics & Fanatics!

Let us pay you to review your favorite movies, books & more! | Reviews Sub Call #1

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Dear friends,

Let’s face it—who amongst us doesn’t like to judge? We’re human, after all. Gossip is one of the oldest (and dare I say, one of the funnest) forms of storytelling. Critique, then, might be called a higher form of gossip. And the best kind of critique also makes for excellent storytelling.

As you know, we’re currently open for short stories, creative nonfiction, and flash and many of you have sent in your beautiful work to us already. However, we’ve also been fielding questions from many of you on whether we include reviews as part of our flash or nonfiction categories.

Moreover, as we wander around Substack, we’re witnessing a very alive and growing culture of reviewers and academics and snappy, zesty, hilarious critics that are both intellectual and enjoyable to read. We want to feed and (not gonna lie) also define that space.

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So, we’ve decided to open up for a separate reviews call…with our own strange twist!

If you’ve already submitted a story or an essay to us, you can still send a review! We’ll pay $50 per published review. Each review must be ~1500 words (we’re not the word-count police so don’t overthink it)—just give us something entertaining and enlightening. The topics we’re interested in include (but are in no way limited to):

• Books

• Movies

• Television

• Visual Art

• Theatre

• Music

• Other Substacks/Blogs/Newsletters

• A ghost town on Google Maps

• The many different kinds of silence

• Airports, bus stations, motel lobbies

• Made-up worlds

• Your hometown

• A politician

• The contents of a stranger’s shopping cart

• Shoes

• Your 21,347 screenshots

• Your favourite snacks

• Anything Internet

• The religion you abandoned

• The religion you reclaimed

• God

• A year in your life, any year

• Tarot decks

• Aesthetic trends

• A person

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✦ Deadline: December 31st ✦

All submissions are—and always will be—free. To run a magazine that doesn’t charge fees and pays writers, we rely on our readers. If you’d like to help sustain Strange Pilgrims, you can:

1. Become a paid subscriber

2. Leave a tip when submitting

3. Request paid editorial feedback (via the submission form)

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We are now at 140 paid subscribers! Our hearts are full and we are so damn grateful. Thank you so much for believing in us. On January 8, our first selected piece will go out and we can’t wait for you all the read it.

For those of you still considering a paid subscription, this is what your support will help us with:

• At 250 paid subscribers, we can cover operating costs — paying writers, commissioning art, design, and keeping the lights on (in our heads and on the site).

• At 500, we can release beautiful quarterly digital issues.

• At 1000, we can dream of going to print!

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If you have more questions, please look through our FAQ to see if we might have already addressed it. Otherwise, shoot us an email.

Everything you've ever wanted to know about our literary magazine

Alright, friends. Let’s get critical!

Shannan & Karan