BIPOC Editorial Series 2024-2025

We are so excited for this year’s 2024 – 2025 BIPOC Editorial series. In its fourth year, Network Weaver’s BIPOC Editorial series continues to amplify the voices of BIPOC network weavers, connectors, leaders, and mappers and invites community workers, builders, carers, and anyone reimagining network leadership practices through a lens of liberation to write us into the future.

We especially want to amplify the visions and voices of Black, queer, Indigenous, refugee, disabled, economically exploited (& more) folks engaged in systems-shifting work, including transforming, trying on, and reporting back about liberatory leadership practices that have impacted their work and communities

This season, we’ve asked each of our contributors two questions:

What inspired you to write this particular piece?
What does liberation mean to you?

Below, you’ll find our frequently asked questions and examples of past contributions to the series. Please share with your networks & on Social Media! You can find us on Facebook @NetWeaver.

Here are some frequently asked questions we’ve received about the BIPOC Editorial series:

Am I eligible to submit?

Are you a BIPOC network weaver, leader, or a person interested in liberatory leadership practices? Are you part of a network and invested in building a liberatory future? Are you pushing your networks to be more equitable, sustainable, and values-aligned? Then we want to hear from you and all about the work you are doing and who you are doing it alongside.

What kind of submissions are you looking for?

We are looking for submissions that help us better understand the transformative shifts happening in networks and communities right now and how BIPOC leaders are navigating them in this pivotal time.

What touchstones are guiding you or your network toward equity and liberation?
What tools and practices have supported your leadership journey?
What indigenous practices have been informing your network weaving?
Perhaps you have some insights to share about network governance or leadership practices that have helped you or others build more sustainable and connected communities
Or other insights about:
- art and liberation
- self-organizing systems
- skills sharing
- network mapping
- rebellion and creativity
- liberatory network leadership models
- embodying & living out our values
- remediating harmful interpersonal practice
- storytelling for social change
- purpose-driven learning and unlearning
- shifting inequitable systems.

If you are still at a loss for what to submit, take a look at some examples of BIPOC Editorial Series submissions that we published last year:

The Gong-Gong Beater: An Indigenous Information Sharing Medium for Sustaining the Influence of Community Networks by Charles Kojo Vandyk
Attuning to the Harmonies of Home by Sydney Harmony Simpson
On Aso Oke: Weaving Community by Dennis Akin
The DNA of Organizational Transformation –Structure, Relationships and Shared Purpose by Derick Carter

Do you have any special formatting requirements?

We ask that you submit a Word document or pdf written in 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1” margins. Send the complete draft of your 500-750 word blog post to Network Weaver for approval at NetworkWeaverBlog@gmail.com. The subject line should read Name, BIPOC Blog Series Sub. Please attach your blog post as an attachment rather than copying and pasting it in the mail.

How does the editorial process work?

If your contribution is chosen for publication, we will send you a follow up email asking for a headshot, an updated > 75-word bio, and a small 1-5 sentence blurb about what inspired you to write the piece. Our blog manager will lovingly edit your submission, and you can expect 1-2 rounds of revisions depending on the written project. Our editorial ethos is one of co-creation and curiosity, mainly focusing on edits for clarity and concision and prioritizing the voice and the vision of the piece you set out to write.

How does compensation work?

Our blog manager will communicate the following steps within 1-3 days. If your contribution is selected for publication, we will send you a follow-up email asking for a headshot, an updated > 75-word bio, and a small 1-5 sentence blurb about what inspired you to write the piece. The pay is $250 per article. All payment for the blog series is electronic. Once we initiate a payment, please allow 7-10 business days for the payment to clear, and email us with any questions and concerns.

How long will the submissions be accepted?

Network Weaver will be accepting pitches until July 2025.

CLICK HERE for the BIPOC Editorial Series guidelines document