Alternate Currents Blog Call for Contributors
Alternate Currents Blog Call for Contributors
Submissions Open February 16th - March 15th
Amplify’s publishing program attends to the specific histories, ecologies, and cultural knowledge of our region. It supports and circulates inquiry-driven work that affirms publishing as a site of care, experimentation, and shared learning. Central to the program, the Alternate Currents (AC) blog is an evolving online platform and archive that extends creative research produced in the region to national and international audiences.
To further that goal, we’re pleased to open a call for 2026 AC blog submissions. Up to five contributors will be awarded $500 each to develop and publish their work on the platform. In addition to financial compensation, selected contributors will receive feedback and editorial support from members of Amplify’s staff to help them fully realize their work.
Original contributions that deepen critical thought and discussion around the complexities and pluralities of place are welcome and encouraged. While Amplify’s publishing program as a whole supports a wide range of genres, the AC blog is specifically oriented toward works of nonfiction–including (but not limited to) essays, photo essays, criticism, research, interviews, and hybrid forms around 1,500 words–that document and interpret the cultural traditions, ecologies, and civic histories of our region.
Our definition of “region” extends to encompass the Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion, the Loess and Glacial Drift Hills, and the Missouri Alluvial Plain in what is now Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana. Artists, organizers, researchers, scholars, and writers working within the region, or with meaningful connections to it, are welcome to apply.
-
Applicants will be asked to submit:
A submission proposal that briefly describes their piece and the form it will take.
A work sample that exemplifies their characteristic style and individual voice.
-
Any artist, organizer, researcher, scholar, and/or writer working within the region, or who is connected to it through kinships, lived experiences, or lineages, is eligible to apply.
Applicants must be at least 19 years old.
A formal education is not required to apply.
Previously published work is not eligible.
English and Spanish language contributions are welcome.
-
Submissions will be reviewed in a three-phase review process:
Amplify Arts staff will review to ensure applicants meet eligibility requirements and have submitted a complete application.
All eligible applications will be reviewed and scored by an internal panel of Amplify Arts staff and Community Advisory Group members.
Based on aggregate rankings, panel members will recommend up to five applicants to create work for the AC blog.
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
The submission proposal puts forth a compelling concept with potential to deepen critical thought and discussion around the cultural traditions, ecologies, and/or civic histories of our region.
The work sample shows a well-developed style and an adept use of form.
The application is compelling overall and a good fit.
-
February 16th: Application Opens
March 15th; 11:59pm: Application Closes
March 17th - March 27th: Submission Review
March 30th: Application Status Updates Delivered
Amplify’s programming is made possible with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.