Background
7STOPS is a monthly online magazine founded in 2011 by Dustin Coates, Josh T. Franco, and Meagan Elliott and joined by Editor Kate Gavino. The name comes from the number of stops Dustin has on his subway commute from Greenpoint to Flatiron each morning. Every month, in the hopes that other commuters are looking for new and interesting reading material when not playing Angry Birds, we publish seven variations on a theme.
7STOPS is highly allergic to snark. Pith and criticality, however, are more than welcome. We look for pieces that come from the heart, whether said heart is angry, enamored, socially conscientious, caught in a fantasy, or utterly down to earth. Likewise, we welcome pieces that critique public personas, institutions, or social trends if they are well researched and earnest in their intentions.
We also seek pieces that will take our readers outside of major metropolitan centers—like our dear Chief, they are often reading on train commutes and we want to offer opportunities to consider life outside the metropole. If you have a pitch that is city-centric, however, please do not hesitate to submit.
7STOPS welcomes non-fiction works pertaining loosely or tightly to a given month’s theme. We also accept proposals for visual submissions; an editor will write a review, introduction, or will arrange for an interview with or profile of the artists to be published alongside the work.
The magazine also welcome reviews of art and music shows and other cultural events. While we prefer these in the form of long-form essays situating the writer and the event in their contexts, we will consider shorter standard review length pieces if we consider the event particularly interesting, or if the writer has an especially striking angle.
The Nit & The Grit
We accept pitches for works that have not yet been written, however we require at least one full writing sample in a style similar to that of the proposed piece along with your submission.
Final works should be between 1700-3500 words; we prefer longer rather than shorter.
Pitches should be sent to .
Include the word “Submission” in the subject line.
While pitches may be written in the e-mail body, writing samples should be attached as .doc/.docx, .pdf, or linked to if online. Submissions that include .pages attachments will be deleted and ridiculed.
Please notify us if pieces have been submitted elsewhere. This will not necessarily bar the pitch from consideration.
Editors meet weekly to discuss and decide on pitches.