Guidelines for contributors

Who can contribute?

LabLit.com heartily welcomes original (unpublished) quality material from any interested reader who has something to say or show and would like to contribute to any regular (or irregular) section.

What sorts of pieces are considered?

The format is flexible and all items related to LabLit.com’s brief will be seriously considered (see the About section for more information on our mission). Please keep in mind that your piece should be largely understandable to a non-scientific audience.

• Profiles: in-depth interviews of interesting people in context
• Interviews: shorter, question-and-answer transcript-style interviews
• Essays: a discourse intended primarily to invoke serious thought or discussion
• Humor: amusing observations or parody
• Lab Rats: pieces in which scientists describe their own situations or experiences (seriously or humorously); we are particularly interested in those that confound popular expectation
• Cartoons/Artwork: related to science
• Reviews: of books, films, theatre, tv, art, poetry or music related to the Lab Lit genre (keeping in mind that 'Lab Lit' is not 'science fiction'; read this for the distinction). Please feel free to review old works as well as new ones, especially in the case of novels and films, and it’s ok if LabLit.com has already featured a review of the same work. These can be short and sweet or long and scholarly; exceptionally good ones will be highlighted as features in the main Table of Contents
• Poetry/Fiction: related to science (must be in the 'Lab Lit' genre, not science fiction, see above)
• The Lab Lit List: think we’ve missed something in our ever-growing list of works in the Lab Lit genre? Nominate your favorite book/film/play with a brief description of why it deserves to be included (and/or feel free to pen a Review while you’re at it!)
• Other: we welcome ideas for future survey questions, competitions, data points, or anything else currently not featured on LabLit.com

What’s the arrangement?

If your work is selected, you will keep the copyright but will be asked to grant LabLit.com a non-exclusive license; we also reserve the right to copy-edit if necessary (for example, to correct spelling/grammar or to make minor modifications if we think laypeople won’t get it; major modifications will be discussed). This forum is currently a labor of love, so we will be unable to pay for contributions at this time; we do, however, offer scope for self-promotion and linking out to the external sites of your choice.

Ready to contribute now?

If you have a piece to submit, or want to discuss a proposal, then please contact the Editor by email.