Submissions

Boom: A Journal of California has ceased publication as a subscription product. The publication has migrated to a freely accessible online-only publication at boomcalifornia.com.

Boom California embraces work in many different formats, although we normally publish the short and long-form essays, which are refereed through a double-blind peer review process. We invite written, photographic, artistic, and multimedia submissions in all formats and lengths, with essays from 800 to approximately 8,000 words.

Topics of particular interest to Boom California include:

• Immigration
• Race
• Inequality
• Social Justice
• Gender
• Queer Studies
• Labor
• Latinx Population and Culture
• Asian American Population and Culture
• African American Population and Culture
• Poverty
• Social Movements

Within and across these topics, our goal is to highlight California within broader global contexts, exploring them through various underexplored cultural modalities, including but not limited to expressions in history, religion, food, the environment, crime, music, film, media, and elsewhere.

Boom California accepts the following types of content:

• Scholarly essays – short form (800–2,000 words) and long form (5,000-10,000 words)
• Reviews – critical engagement with significant books, media, exhibits, events, etc. (1,000–2,000 words)
• Interviews – engaging leading figures in California culture or history
• Portraits – portraits of contemporary and historical artists, writers, activists, and cultural producers (2,000 words)
• Postcards – creative non-fiction stories grounded in a particular place (2,000 words)
• Photo/art essays – generally between 8 and 12 images with an introduction, making a contribution to the distinct visual representation of California 

If you would like to pitch an article or idea, please email [email protected] with a short 100-word proposal. Articles that are under consideration by another publication or that have been published elsewhere will not be considered, although we will consider excerpts from recent and forthcoming books on California culture.