Gapers Block accepts all sorts of submissions, including tips, news releases, materials for review, event announcements and, most importantly, articles and features from local writers. Below are submission guidelines for our various sections.

Our mailing address is:
Gapers Block Media
PO Box 13524
Chicago, IL 60613

However, if it's emailable, please email it to . If there's a particular staffmember who you think would be most interested, feel free to send the item to them directly. (You'll have to find their personal email address yourself; most of us are easily googlable.)

A bit about formats: The best way to send us news releases or other information is in the body of the email. Please don't send us Word attachments! In this age of rampant computer viruses, would you open a .doc from someone you don't know? PDFs are marginally better, but in the body of the email is best.

Merge

We welcome your suggestions for our "news" section — which is actually a lot more than just news. We're also looking for interesting websites, cool stories, online resources — whatever, as long as it has a connection to Chicago or the vicinity. Things don't get posted in Merge unless there's a link we can point to, so please include one. Take a look at what we've posted before, and send in your links to . If we use the suggestion, we'll be sure to thank you in the post — unless you're a publicist, in which case the post is thanks enough, right? :)

Slowdown

We are interested in all sorts of events — concerts, performances, art openings, lectures, gatherings, you name it — for Slowdown, our event calendar. When submitting an event, please include the name of the event, date and time, a brief description, cost and a way to get more information — either a phone number or website. Send it to (and only this address). Please note: submission alone does not guarantee that the event will be make it on the calendar. We receive hundreds of event announcements a week, and there is no way we're posting all of them. Please don't take it personally if we don't list your event.

Topical Blogs

Gapers Block's topical blogs include A/C, covering arts and culture; Book Club, covering our actual book club as well as the local lit scene; Drive-Thru, covering food and drink; Tailgate, covering sports major, minor and miniscule; and Transmission, covering music. Each blog has its own dedicated staff, and accepts story ideas and materials for review. Some are also open to article submissions from outside authors. Please contact the editor of each blog with any questions or submissions.

Detour

Detour is our weekly feature section. We have four slots per month for which we solicit contributions. We welcome writers, photographers, artists and other creative types.

The feature must have some connection to Chicago. This could mean either A) the author lives in Chicagoland or B) the story is about some aspect of Chicago or the surrounding area. Either way works for us. Minimum article length is 1,000 words; there is no upper limit, but keep it within reason. Stories should be submitted in either .doc or .txt format. Artwork (photography, drawings, etc.) is welcomed along with feature submissions. All images must be in a Photoshop-readable format, preferably .jpg or .gif. Include a one- or two-sentence bio, including a blog or other web address if you have one.

We cannot guarantee that everything submitted will be published. We reserve the right to edit any work; time allowing, we will share these edits with you, and we may ask that you revise and resubmit your piece. Understand that it is in both our and your best interest that we do this. For best results, run your story idea by us ahead of time, along with an estimate of when you'll have it done. Email Andrew Huff, editor in chief, at .

Rearview

Rearview photos should be Chicago-centric but needn't be all skyline shots and tourist postcards — send your portraits, street photography, photographic explorations and excursions our way. As long as it's not a photo of the Empire State Building, we're kosher. Take a look at some of the photos in Rearview or in the Gapers Block Flickr Group Pool to get an idea.

As of August 2007, we're changing out photo submission methods from two to just one.

Submit via Flickr:
• If you have a Flickr account, you can add your photo for consideration for Rearview by adding it to the Gapers Block Group Pool. If you don't have a Flickr account, we suggest you sign up for one. The pros are worth it.
• Photos should be no smaller than 700 pixels wide or high. If the photo is too small, we will not use it.
• You can submit as many as you like to the pool, but only three per day.
• Submission to the pool does not guarantee publication. However, your photo will be seen by fellow photographers and the Flickr community at large.