Submissions

We are always looking for non-fiction stories, essays and opinion pieces. No Filter Zine publishes under four categories: Recollections, Revelations, Rants and Raves.

While we’re all grounded, here are some ideas to inspire you to write a non-fiction essay for No Filter:

Think about something you did as a teenager that you really wouldn’t want your mum to find out about. Write about that.

Have you ever been fired? Why? Write about the role, the circumstances, the characters and the outcome. Make sure you spend time introducing and describing the characters and how you felt about them – and any lessons you learnt from your experience.

Tell the story of your strangest and most intense relationship. That could be with a friend or a partner, a pet or a grandparent. 

Your story can be anything between 500 and 2500 words and make sure you describe specific details so the reader can feel like they were there. Events, characteristics, phrases that stood out and emotions you felt.  There is no style guide, as we like to maintain the unique voice of every writer, but George Orwell’s six rules for writing is always helpful:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
7. Wherever possible, avoid adverbs.

(Okay number 7 isn’t Orwell’s, it’s ours.)

No Filter’s requirements are simple: your story must be non-fiction and totally honest, authentic and truthful. To submit to No Filter send your pitch or idea to editor@nofilterzine.com.