Cole’s Climb is now Quandary Magazine. Read about the rebrand, and how you can get your copy in our new About section!
We’re stoked you want to be a part of Quandary Magazine, and even more stoked that you took the time to read the guidelines!
What We’re Looking For
Quandary Magazine is an outdoor interest magazine, sharing the stories of incredible places and people that encapsulate the adventurous spirit of the great outdoors.
While the precise presentation can vary, submissions should stay generally within these themes. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of examples of the kinds of content we may publish:
Field reports and accounts of your personal adventures
Profile pieces spotlighting a particular individual in the community
Investigations exposing problems or difficulties impacting the outdoor way of life
Photo essays showcasing images powerful enough to stand on their own
Poetry related to the outdoors or nature
Here at Quandary Magazine, we also subscribe to the Roosevelt style of sportsman conservation. My personal definition consists of three basic pillars:
Outdoor spaces should be preserved so that future generations can enjoy them
People invested in the outdoors generally become better advocates
Conservation is not — and should not be — inherently anti-human
To this end, articles or pitches taking an anti-human stance (e.g. “Everyone should just stay inside and let nature reclaim the earth because people are icky”) probably won’t be a good fit.
Unfinished Stories
If you’d like to propose a story you have not yet written, but would like to undertake, please include a clear summary of the story you’re looking to tell, along with ideas for who you would interview (if applicable.)
Rights, Responsibilities and Warranties
As a contributor, you keep your copyright, while granting Quandary Magazine limited rights to print your content. You can’t change your mind and try to yank your submission after I’ve gone to print. That’s crazy. You also promise to only share your own work. If it turns out it’s not your work, and angry people with lawyers come knocking, I’m not taking the fall for you. You can see my formal policy here1, which I will ask you to acknowledge before printing.
Right to Refuse Publication & Editorial Discretion
Quandary Magazine does engage in editorial discretion and reserves the right to refuse to publish any submission for any reason. Rejection is not necessarily a reflection of your work’s quality; it just might not be a good fit.
Contact
Phew! Now that’s out of the way, please reach out to me with your pitches and submissions at Cole@QuandaryMagazine.com, with PITCHES in the subject line. I’ll do my best to respond to everyone I get.
Happy writing, and don’t forget to subscribe!
You, the CONTRIBUTOR retain the copyright to any photos, drawings, writings, and other materials — henceforth referred to as WORKS — submitted to Quandary Magazine, However
CONTRIBUTORS agree to grant Quandary Magazine irrevocable rights to reproduce these WORKS in print, online, and for the purposes of advertising.
Furthermore: CONTRIBUTORS give warranty that the WORKS are their own intellectual property which they have the rights to share with Quandary Magazine for commercial distribution and
Agree to hold harmless Quandary Magazine, its staff, and its interests in any disputes, legal or otherwise, that arise from distribution of the CONTRIBUTOR’S WORKS.