In The Fray Magazine | Call for Submissions | March-April 2015: Free Speech

The massacre of twelve people at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo provoked outrage around the globe. Street demonstrators and world leaders alike denounced religious extremism and defended the principle of free speech. While they decried the violent acts, however, some prominent voices reacted to the attack by speaking out against the opposite evil—anti-religious extremism—which they saw in Charlie Hebdo‘s deliberately offensive portrayals of organized religion. “One cannot insult other people’s faith,” Pope Francis said in an interview—drawing a fierce rebuttal from critics, who likened his view to, among other things, a wife-beater’s defense.

In The Fray magazine is looking for essays, reportage, and photo essays that have something to say about free speech—its importance and its limits, its necessity and its consequences. When does cultural sensitivity become excessive political correctness and censorship? To what extent does free speech make a democracy more vibrant, and to what extent does it make a culture more hateful?

Please review our submissions guidelines at inthefray.org/submit and send a one-paragraph pitch to the appropriate section editor NO LATER THAN APRIL 30, 2015. You may attach a complete draft if you have one.

We also welcome submissions of news features, commentary, book and film reviews, art/photography, and videos on any other topics that relate to the magazine’s themes: understanding other people and cultures, encouraging empathy and compassion, and defying categories and conventions.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please distribute this call widely across your social networks, or let us know how we can spread the word.

In The Fray Contributor