This article was last updated 7th November 2024.
Collage by Templeton Elliott
Getting a foot through the door is one of the hardest aspects of entering any creative industry. The microcosmic nature of skateboarding, and its media landscape, can be a both a positive and negative for those finding their feet. As a small culture, perhaps there is a stronger likelihood of meeting people involved with publishing or knowing a sponsored skater who might point you in the right direction. However, if you don’t live in a scene which is already getting attention then the chances of forging those in-person connections maybe be slim. On top of that, only a handful of magazines have a formal masthead or easily located contact details. Whether personally or digitally, simply lacking the means to bridge a connection can be discouraging overall.
With that in mind, Skate Bylines reached out to various magazines around with hopes broaden up accessibility to entering the world of skate media. The titles featured here have published work by authors who aren’t their in-house staff or regular contributors and have confirmed they’re open to pitches.
If your magazine or outlet fits that bill, please contact us via skatebylines@gmail.com with the subject ‘Skate Bylines — Open To Pitches’. Likewise, if you have a story you’re thinking of pitching somewhere but aren’t sure who could be a good fit or sure how to approach a publication, don’t hesitant to get in touch and we might be able to help bridge a connection.
For more on pitching, visit our story how to pitch to magazines and brands featuring insights from contributors to Quartersnacks, Closer, Thrasher, Free, Jenkem, Village Psychic, Mess, and many more publications: Making The Big Leagues.
Skateboarding Magazines, Publications and Publishers — Open to Pitches
4PLY Magazine
4PLY are an online magazine which focus on data driven analysis of skateboarding and skate-adjacent articles.
pitch to 4plymagazine@gmail.com.
Closer Skateboarding Magazine
Closer are a quarterly print magazine based in San Clemente, California and published stories focused on skateboarding’s contemporary culture, photo articles, or niche aspects of skate culture.
pitch to jaime@closerskate.com
Free Skate Mag
A pan-European magazine with a worldwide lens, Free publish six times a year and are based in London England. Free are open pitches for print and web stories focused on European skateboarding, think pieces, essays, interviews and video features.
pitch to freeskatemag@gmail.com
Mess Skate Mag
Mess are based in Canada and are open to submissions worldwide. They focus on producing stories which are either light in tone or document underrepresented skateboarders, whilst bridging a gap with mainstream skateboarding.
pitch to info@messskatemag.com
Plank Skate Mag
Plank is a bi-annual skateboarding and culture magazine based in Brooklyn, New York which looks at art and culture through a skater’s lens. Plank publishes interviews, essays, comics, poetry, and fiction both about skateboarding and not.
pitch to plankskatemag@gmail.com
Skate Jawn
Founded in Philadelphia and now based in New York, Skate Jawn publish six print issues a year with a focus on the East Coast.
pitch to homies@skatejawn.com
Quartersnacks
Quartersnacks are based in New York and publish stories about NYC, East Coast skateboarding, skate videos, and observations on skateboarding media.
pitch to quartersnacks@gmail.com
Red Fez Books
Red Fez Books are a small publisher based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. They publish a couple of books per year and are open pitches on the crossover between skateboarding and various cultures including food, travel, art and activism.
pitch to joshsutton@mac.com
The Skateboarder’s Companion
The Skateboarder’s Companion are U.K.-based and cover stories focused on British skateboarding across skaters both new to the scene those well established.
pitch to theskateboarderscompanion@gmail.com
Vague Skate Mag
Vague Skate Mag are based in Leeds and Liverpool, U.K. They accept pitches about skateboarding and overlapping cultures from anywhere in the world.
pitch to vagueskatemag@gmail.com
Village Psychic
Village Psychic are based in Brooklyn, New York and accept pitches from anywhere in the world. They publish stories which are light in tone and offer an insightful looked at nuances within skateboarding culture.
pitch to thevillagepsychic@gmail.com
Wider Circulation Publications — Open to Pitches
The following publications aren’t skateboarding magazines but published features on skateboarding and are open to pitches.
Huck Mag
Huck are a culture magazine, based in London, England, who occasionally publish stories about skateboarding.
print stories, pitch to joshjosnes@tcolondon.com
web stories, pitch to ben.smoke@tcolondon.com