Thank you for your interest in submitting work for consideration for the Bee.

We will next be open for submissions of new work between Monday, 14 July and Friday, 29 August 2025. We will share details of how to submit your work at the start of that period.

This will be a time-limited opportunity. All work submitted will be read. We will contact everyone who submits work within three months of the closing date.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our editorial support and, should your work be accepted, you will work with our editor to prepare it for publication.

Throughout the year, we run three to four open calls for submission of new work, and we will announce further calls here and in our regular newsletter, which you can subscribe to for free here.

General Guidelines

We welcome work from writers who are working class or from working-class origins.

All submissions must be the original work of the writer.

We are interested in work of all lengths and in fiction, nonfiction, commentary, essays, and journalism. We are also interested in visual arts and photography submissions. Work will be published on the Bee website and considered for a forthcoming print edition.

Any work submitted for consideration must not have been published online or in print previously.

Agreement

If we accept a piece for publication, you will be issued with an agreement for usage of the work. The agreement covers the following: that New Writing North (on behalf of the Bee) will retain the first publication rights on the work produced, and the non-exclusive right to use the work online and in print in perpetuity. We reserve the right to be involved in any future exploitation of the work.

Payments

We pay all of our writers and contributors, and we have varying scales of pay for commissions depending on the length and complexity of the piece, as well as the work involved in producing it.

For journalism and non-fiction pieces, we work to a rate of 30p per word. This method of payment is industry standard. At the point that we agree the commission with you, we will be clear about the word count we are asking for. For example:

For longer commissioned essays and photography, we will agree a fee that reflects the complexity and length of the work, and which, if necessary, will also cover research and travel costs.

For short fiction, we pay a standard publication fee of £400 per story, regardless of length.

How you will be contracted and paid

We will issue you with a letter of agreement stating the terms of the commission, rate of pay, and payment process. You will be paid when you finish your piece to a standard we can accept for publication. We make payments when we receive your invoice, and settle all payments within one month of receipt.