Undark, subtitled Truth, Beauty, Science, is a new magazine to be launched by the world famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in April. Editor Tom Zeller Jr is aiming for an international audience and seeks to explore science as a ‘frequently wondrous, sometimes contentious, and occasionally troubling byproduct of human culture’.
Undark will publish twelve pieces of long-form, narrative-driven journalism each year, accompanied by a regular and ongoing mix of shorter features, profiles, essays, op-eds, book excerpts, Q&As, reviews, blog posts, photography, digital video, information graphics and data visualisations.
For a long-form article submit a 2-3 page proposal that outlines the narrative thrust and expected length of the piece, highlights key characters and subjects, and clearly articulates how the proposal meets the magazine’s mission of shedding light on the often fractious intersection of science and society. For shorter articles, in the first instance write a 200-300 word enquiry describing how the piece would fit Undark’s editorial mission. With all proposals include a brief bio and some examples of relevant writing, either links to pieces online, or attached documents.