Because we are volunteer-run and have no money to compensate staff or contributors, we have created a unique corner of the internet to house the gaming pieces you want to write, and readers want to read, but paying publications don’t seem to want to publish. We want your weirdest and most earnest gaming thoughts and feelings.

We want to be a site that fosters discussion that isn’t happening elsewhere. We like looking at games sideways, and we want to encourage our contributors to do the same. Get weird, get wild.

It’s easy to pitch us! Send one or more of our editors an email with a short description of your idea. What do you want to write about? Why do you want to write it? How long do you think it’ll be? Feel free to send links to your other work, but it’s not a requirement—we welcome beginning writers as well as well-established ones.

Who Should Pitch Here?

At Sidequest, we pride ourselves on lifting up the voices of those who experience marginalization, fear, or impostor syndrome on the basis of gender. That doesn’t mean we’re a site exclusively talking about gender in games; while those critiques are certainly welcome here, we also want to celebrate the diversity of thoughts people of marginalized genders have. Nor does this mean that we’re interested in policing the identities of our writers—if you feel like you need or would benefit from an inclusive space to write about games, you’re probably welcome here.

We explicitly want to define our community as one of inclusiveness, not exclusiveness. We aren’t interested in saying who can’t be here, but rather opening the doors to people who don’t feel welcomed in other spaces. Because this policy may be confusing, we’ve created a Q&A to hopefully answer some questions folks might have about who we hope will pitch us at Sidequest.

I use he/him pronouns. Can I write here?

Yes. Your pronouns are yours, and will be respected, no matter what they are.

What if I transition in the future? Will I be kicked out?

No. Nobody will be removed from this community because they transition at a later date. Further, though we can’t change your profile URL, we will be happy to update your name on the site to reflect any changes you might make.

Is this a site only for trans people?

No. Sidequest is open to all people of marginalized genders, including nonbinary people, cis women, trans people and anybody else who feels that their gender may be a barrier for entry into other spaces, whether that’s because of prejudice or impostor syndrome.

Is this site only for queer people?

No. Gender and sexuality are separate concepts, and you are still welcome to write for this site if you are straight as long as you are of a marginalized gender.

What We’re Not Looking For

• Straightforward reviews of AAA games. They’re not likely to find much traction here, so we encourage you to take a different approach—hone in on one aspect, play the game wrong and see what happens, or immerse yourself deep into the lore. Don’t be afraid to play with your coverage as much as you do the game!
• Well-trod ground. We all want to weigh in on the ‘are games art’ debate, but we’re looking for contributors who can approach it in a different way. Pitch us a piece on analyzing screenshots as artistic pieces, or something on the connection between video game preservation and art restoration. There’s always a new way to look at an old conversation, and that’s what we want to see!

What We’re Looking For

• Everything else. Seriously, try us.

Want to pitch us? Excellent! Check out our editorial staff and send one or more of us a brief synopsis of your piece, an estimated wordcount, and any relevant samples you’d like to us to check out. Please note: we welcome writers even if they haven’t been published elsewhere, so feel free to include Tumblr posts, blogs, school essays, or nothing at all.

Want us to cover your game? Great! Hit us up at editors@sidequest.zone with information and we’ll see about assigning your game to a writer. Because we’re volunteer-run, our coverage of new games tends toward features and essays rather than day-of reviews, but we’re always looking to cover new, exciting games as they release.