Introduction
Two Bricks gathers new writing and research from across liberation movements. We welcome writing across differences and struggles in order to foster new connection and accountability. We are also open to submissions from writers of all abilities and backgrounds.
The purpose of this page is to offer guidance and reassurance, whether you’re a new writer or a seasoned pitcher. The principles and processes outlined below aim to clarify how we approach submissions and the lens through which they will be read before publication. This is not to discourage, but make accessible a process that many find intimidating.
All submissions will be handled with the utmost care. The ultimate intent behind our editorial process is to help writers find their voice and ensure each submission is the best it can be. We hope this is an educational experience for all involved.
Please note: as a new project, these guidelines are subject to change and revision as discussions continue across the community we are building.
Pitching
We welcome both completed pieces and ideas for things yet to be written.
If you have an idea, please fill out the contact form here. Let us know what the main topic is, what form you’d like to present it in (essay, poem, prose, etc.), and the angle you intend to take. We are happy to discuss any idea you may have and offer advice on approach and structure if needed.
If you have a complete piece of writing, please email it to contact@twobricks.blog. Preferably, please use either Google Docs or Cryptpad. Editors will make suggestions and ask questions using the ‘Track Changes’ function.
Ideally, no article should be longer than 1,500 words, but we have no strict limits. We are also open to series. Different forms of writing may warrant different lengths. All of this can be discussed with your editor.
So far, this site has been funded out of our own pockets and the editorial team currently works for free. For that reason, we are unable to pay all our contributors at present. We hope to change this in future.
That being said, we would like to prioritise offering a fee to writers who are formerly incarcerated. If we receive multiple submissions that are eligible, we may stagger these to one per month.
Editorial
All submissions will be read the editor, and possibly by one of regular contributors. If any suggested changes are made, these will generally be limited to:
- formatting to fit our house style;
- fact-checking and citations;
- typos and grammar;
- compatibility with our principles and values (see below).
It is not an editor’s role to control your voice or police your tone; it is an editor’s role to maximise accessibility for our readers and help uplift voices that are not often heard.
Principles & Values
Abolition and transformative justice – We cannot rely on the state and its anti-social systems to alleviate harm or achieve justice. We centre accountability for ourselves because we do not trust any other social institution to hold itself accountable. If we wish to hold power to account, that must include the powers we hold amongst ourselves.
Anti-oppression – We are nested within wider systems of power that uphold privilege for some and destitution for others. We centre the experiences of those most susceptible to power’s bitterness, in order to provide equitability for all. We do not tolerate racism, sexism, colourism, classism, queerphobia, or any form of oppression. We are a home for liberation movements of all forms.
Legal responsibility – We are committed to providing a voice to the formerly and presently incarcerated, but we are not ignorant of the risks involved in speaking out against the UK carceral system and the Crown’s “prosecution services”. We will ensure that all submissions are checked for legal sensitivities – such as contempt of court, self-incrimination, or the incrimination of others. Any submissions that pose a risk to yourself or others will be handled with extra consideration. We are also happy to publish your work under your own name, a pseudonym, or anonymously.
Material literacy – Our emphasis on production processes (whether our own or the objects of our considerations) is integral to our concerns. Whether discussing mining, militarism, or prison greys, our object analysis follows the principles outlined by Edward S. Cooke, Jr.:
Systematic and sustained analysis from the inside out thinks through materials and techniques to understand function, desire, and meaning. How something is made is as important as why it is made and what it looks like. The ultimate goal of this sort of object-driven inquiry is a material literacy informed by cultural curiosity and an appreciation for diverse approaches to problem solving that supplants an inclination to judge, classify, and rank in hindsight. Objects, more than simply reflections of static values, are complex entities that defy easy categorization. They act as active, symbolic agents that emerge in specific contexts and can change in form, use, or value as they move across time and space. Human activity creates material culture, which in turn makes action possible while also recursively shaping and controlling action. Studied in this way, objects are truly at the center of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural study since they arise from specific socio-economic contexts, mediate social and cultural relations, and become important bearers of meaning and memory. Material literacy is key to acknowledging and understanding this complexity.
Stylistic pluralism – We do not privilege one form or style of writing over another. We do not privilege certain forms of articulation, styles of language, or modes of expression over any other. As formal as our processes may appear, we do not require that submissions echo these more careful forms of document. We do not censor or police other than in the pursuit of harm reduction. If you are writing on a particularly emotional or violent topic, trigger warnings may be suggested.