Work With Us
Submission Guidelines
KneeDeep Times editors welcome story, film, photo and art submissions on a wide variety of climate resilience topics. Editors are actively working to expand the magazine’s freelance and editorial pool to better reflect California’s diversity.
We sometimes seek time-sensitive pitches on specific topics. Please scroll to bottom to view active pitch requests.
KneeDeep pays up to $1/word for most stories. Preferred lengths are 500 or 1000 words.
We prefer solution-driven stories about the greater San Francisco Bay Area. But we welcome stories about California, the West Coast, or even elsewhere in the country as long as you can add information about what it has to do with our region (example two part story: New Jersey Shells Out for Retreat + Coast Leaders Talk Graceful Withdrawal).
KneeDeep also pays for professional photography, art, and film.
KneeDeep also welcomes opinion or perspective pieces, or letters to the editor (300-1000 words). But we reserve the right to decide whether to publish them or not.
Feel free to contact us, either to introduce yourself and the types of stories you like to cover, or with pitches. Contact the editor Ariel Rubissow Okamoto.
Citizen Stories & Snaps
KneeDeep welcomes citizen stories and personal reflections on climate adaptation and resilience on the California Climate Quilt. Our editors are also available to help you shape and share your story this way. While we do not pay for quilt squares, we hope to organize some occasional prizes for best images and stories soon!
Picture of the Month
The editors chose a Picture of the Month and feature it at the bottom of the home page. All submissions must be of high resolution and in a horizontal format, and include an interesting caption, either telling the story of what we are seeing in the picture or of what the photographer felt and was trying to capture in the image. We pay up to $100 per picture of the month.
Republication Guidelines
KneeDeep welcomes republication of its stories. See our guidelines here.
Other Recent Posts
The Hardest & Most Important Thing to Do Next: Education
This August BCDC approved a public sea level rise education program to be spearheaded by the Exploratorium, in lieu of a fill removal project for their redevelopment of Pier 17.
Teresa Cheng’s Caffeinated Mission to Decarbonize California Manufacturing
Cheng spoke to KneeDeep’s UC Berkeley reporting partner about decarbonization work during the Trump era.
Nailing Down Opportunities for Nature-Based Infrastructure
A new tool from the Estuary Institute gives planners ideas for where best to work with nature around the Bay to protect shores from sea level rise.
Helping Farmworkers Navigate Ugly Weather and Raids
Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga and her nonprofit ALAS are trying to give coastal farmworkers resources amid lost income to climate change and ICE raids.
Alameda Flood Group Keeps Chin Up Despite Claw Backs
A group of 30 Oakland-Alameda partners refused to give up on a Bay Farm Island sea level rise adaptation after losing a $50 million grant.
Birds, Not Bats, Flock to Burned Oak Savannas
A new study has found that birds are thriving in the nutrient rich oak savannas that burned in the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire. But bats, not so much.
The Rancher Using Goats to Fight California Wildfires
Hoof by hoof, a family-run targeted grazing operation is reducing fire risk for homes, schools, and open spaces.
California’s Solar Boom Is Powering Clean Energy Careers
California’s solar energy is breaking records. Workforce programs like GRID Alternatives are preparing new solar installers to meet the growing need.
Suisun Marsh, a Zone of Potential in a Sinking Ecosystem
A fresh report from SF Estuary Institute and the prospect of major development along the marsh’s borders are putting Suisun back in the news.
Composting as a Ritual for Renewal
A farm high in the Contra Costa County hills helps folks learn from the land and connect with nature.
Calls for Pitches
- Know someone in your community, business or government “being the change” ???? KneeDeep is always looking for stories about people innovating, acting, doing, helping, growing, stewarding …. Send us your ideas for profiles.
- KneeDeep is also interested in small town or small community portraits. What are the special things in these particular places at risk from climate change, whether it’s flood, fire, inequity or other challenge? What steps are local neighbors and leaders taking to protect and sustain their special place?
Jobs, Internships, CBOs: Opportunities with Community Reporting Network
Starting summer 2025, KneeDeep will be looking for a freelance, part-time community editor for a one year pilot project. The new editor will manage a special grant to expand reporting, citizen storytelling, and climate science and health education in under-represented communities. Responsibilities may include: mentoring journalism students from community colleges, meeting Bay Area communities where they live, working with local CBOs and neighborhood groups to support citizen storytellers, and re-imagining KneeDeep content for broader audiences (short-form video, audio, WhatsApp, etc.)
Part-time freelance stipend for the editor $1000-$1500 per month.
Prefer bi-lingual, Spanish speaking applicants who live in the East or South Bay.
Jobs: Assistant Editor
KneeDeep is looking for an Assistant Editor to help with all levels of magazine editing and production, and to guide social media and audience growth.