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
Training Future Farmers To Grow More Than Food
At a Bay Area collective for BIPOC and queer farmers, Brooke Porter and Alexa Levy are fighting to build an inclusive food system from the soil up.
Don’t Tidy, Leave Winter Homes for Insects
Your messy garden might be saving beneficial insects. Before you reach for the rake, learn about how dead leaves and stems help pollinators overwinter.
Follow Us on Bluesky
KneeDeep Times is excited to share our news on Bluesky. You will no longer find us on Twitter/X.
Lighting a Fire Under K-12 Climate Literacy
In a sixth-grade Petaluma classroom, children are exploring how to make wind energy, fulfilling new state mandates to build climate literacy.
Can Sitting in Traffic Give You Parkinson’s?
A new study investigates whether long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution can increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s in three California counties.
Wildfire in the Big City?
San Francisco’s 2025 Hazards and Climate Resilience plan says the city’s urban forests pose a moderate wildfire risk. One resident thinks preparedness could be challenging.
Science Is Like Punk Rock
Biomedical engineer Cynthia Prieto-Diaz is bringing DIY air quality monitors, community cleanups, and a punk spirit to environmental activism in San Leandro.
When Housing and Climate Crises Collide
Marin’s failure to develop truly affordable housing sparks debate about equitable growth and climate resilience in a fast-gentrifying county.
The Solar Battery You Already Own
As California aims for net zero, bidirectional EV charging may be key to achieving clean energy goals. Kurt Johnson talks solar, EVs, and SB 59.
Bolinas Can’t Ignore Pacific Advance Much Longer
As sea levels rise, a Bolinas architect is sparking a new conversation on coastal retreat. Steve Matson’s vision could relocate this Marin County village to higher ground.
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?