Thank you for your interest in contributing to Oakland Voices and our Community Voices program. We publish stories and perspectives of local interest submitted by readers.
Oakland Voices values the voices of those who live, work, play, and pray in Oakland. We want to amplify the experiences and perspectives of the people of Oakland, including those who aren’t journalists. We encourage folks who may not consider themselves writers and public figures to share their stories.
We review and publish submissions that haven’t appeared elsewhere.
Op-eds
Opinion essays – 700 words or less
If you want to write an opinion essay for Oakland Voices, email it to oaklandvoices [at] gmail.com. Paste your essay into the email. Do not send as a PDF. Include URLs for statistics, facts, or sources mentioned in your essay.
We’re looking for commentary on issues relevant to Oakland. We also like personal stories that inspire people to live differently or have empathy with others.
Please include URLs for statistics, facts and reports mentioned in your essay submission. With your commentary, please include a short biography about yourself (2-4 sentences) and attach a headshot photo of yourself.
Letters
You can also share your thoughts with a letter to the editor.
We want to publish letters that are relevant to current debates, provide new information or nuance. We also want to correct errors or misunderstandings in published work and public narratives.
Letters should be 250 words or less. Do not include any personal attacks.
Please include:
- The headline of the piece you are responding to, as well as the publication date.
- Your name, neighborhood within Oakland or city of residence.
- Your phone number so we can reach you.
Email us at oaklandvoices [at] gmail [dot] com.
How to submit
Please include the text of the submission in the body of the email. Do not send it as a Word or PDF attachment.
Also, include a short biography about yourself (2-4 sentences). Please include URLs for statistics, facts and reports mentioned in your essay submission.
Where to send:
Send your submission by email to oaklandvoices [at] gmail [dot] com.
We do not publish anonymous submissions or pseudonyms, except in extraordinary situations, such as when authors fear for their safety, citizenship status, their livelihood, etc. We will disclose that reasoning to our readers. Writers should also not have any conflicts of interest with the subject of the essay.
Writing tips:
Sample op-eds and essays
Trashing Oakland is costing us all. Take care of our mess! (2024)
Voting for a Ceasefire Resolution means Supporting Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Students in OUSD (2024)
Oakland Police must stop high speed pursuits (2022)
Suggest a story
Do you have a story idea? Pitch your story idea directly to one of our active correspondents. You can also email submissions to our team.