In The Mood Magazine is a pop culture journal about the things we like to watch.

Newsletter: Submissions are always OPEN. We publish once a month for our paid subscribers, and especially welcome timely pieces on new releases or seasonal topics (e.g. horror in October, summer films).

Magazine: Submissions are currently OPEN.

Theme: BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS
‍Deadline: August 31st

What’s more unforgettable, and unattainable, than a Hollywood ending… maybe a Hollywood beginning? From first shots to last words, from directorial debuts to late style, we’re looking for experimental film and pop culture criticism on beginnings and endings.

💡 Some topics and films we’d love to see pitches for:

- Iconic opening or closing credits (Saul Bass, Enter the Void, Do The Right Thing, Good Time, Kiss Me Deadly, James Bond)
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- Novel end credit sequences: blooper reels, mid-credits scenes, failed stunts in Jackie Chan movies…
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- Some of our favourite first scenes: Under the Skin, Weekend, Mad Max Fury Road, Street of No Return
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- Some of our favourite final scenes: Beau Travail, All That Jazz, The Way Way Back, Morocco (1930)
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- First lines, final shots (e.g. freeze frame endings)
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- Hotly debated film/TV endings

- An investigation into the post-credit scene
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- A filmmaker’s debut film or final film
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- Hollywood endings/happily ever afters
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- Movies with "first" or "end" in the title (First Man, First Cow, The First Omen, The Living End, Encounters at the End of the World, It’s Only the End of the World)
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- Films/TV with twist endings or cliffhangers
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- Films that represent a cultural turning point, a beginning or end of a movement (Hayes Code, Hollywood’s ‘70s Golden Era, Canada’s Tax Shelter Years…)
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- A franchise beginning or ending

- The end/death of cinema, celebrity, TV

Please note that this will be a double issue: Beginnings will launch in Fall 2025 and Endings in Winter 2026. We are still only accepting ~10 pieces total across both issues, so send us your best (we love surprises)!

What we publish

We’re looking for writers with a distinctive voice, who aren't afraid of getting personal, and who are curious about why we watch what we watch. We appreciate thoughtful analysis but also a playful tone; we want intelligent pieces that aren't too full of themselves. We don't think of ourselves as an authority, but a confidante.

🎬 We publish the following about film, TV, pop culture, and moving image media—click for some examples we love:

• Personal essays, non-academic essays

• Conversations, roundtable discussions, interviews

• Poetry

• Round-ups, lists

• Experimental pieces, fan fiction, spec scripts

• Games, questionnaires

• Visual art, comics

• First-person, on-the-ground pieces about going to movies or working behind the scenes

• Film diaries

• Anniversary pieces (but try to think beyond just "this movie is still great!")

• Works on other moving image media, e.g. music videos, celebrities, commercials, filming locations, interesting areas of the film industry

❌ Things to avoid: 

• Straight up reviews

• Excessive plot summary

• Academic or overly formal tone

• Flat-out pans (if something is bad, tell us why that's interesting!)

• We generally focus on media made post-1970

• Clickbait/hot takes

Please explore our past issues and our newsletter to get a sense of what we publish!

How to submit

‍We strongly prefer completed pieces (max 1,000 words), but we understand that writing on spec is not a realistic prospect for many writers. With that in mind, we still accept pitches.

‍👇 Please include:‍

• Completed piece (max 1,000 words - doesn't need to be perfectly polished!)
  ‍OR if you’re pitching: a short paragraph about your piece (topic, format)

• Why you think this is a good fit for In The Mood

• If pitching: 1-2 writing samples (they don’t need to be published)

• Short bio or link to your website

Send submissions & queries to:

inthemoodmagazine@gmail.com‍

What then?

For magazine submissions, we review all of them at the end of our submission period, after which you’ll receive a response from us with our publication decision. Usually this is within 10 days of the submission deadline.

Please keep in mind that a rejection is not necessarily a reflection on the quality of your work! We get a large number of submissions and only have a very limited number of spots, which unfortunately means we have to pass on many great submissions.

If your piece is accepted, it'll go through an editing process. As a volunteer-run passion project, we pay a modest honorarium of $30 CAD per feature, sent upon publication. We acknowledge that this is not a market rate, and won't be doable for some writers.

Thanks for pitching to In The Mood, we're looking forward to reading your work. And remember, we love surprises! 😈