Propose a thread
Most threads on Rorotoko begin with our invitation. Some begin with a proposal.
Since 2008, Rorotoko has published scholars, scientists, artists, and writers, each telling readers something true about the world, in their own words.
Invited threads are always free. This page is for proposals, from an author or artist directly, or from a publisher, publicist, gallery, museum, or agent on their behalf.
A proposed thread uses the same prompts, the same editing, and the same pages as an invited one. It carries one small label: Sponsored.
We take threads that will teach an intelligent reader something true. We don't take everything.
You pay only after we accept.
The form takes about five minutes. We reply within three working days.
Propose a thread →Publishers, publicists, galleries, and museums: 25% off any thread, from three threads a year. For a list, a season, or a line of threads in your subject, write to
r@rorotoko.comHow it works
- Tell us about the work. The form takes about five minutes.
- We reply within three working days.
- If it's a fit, you choose a thread and we agree on dates.
- You pay after acceptance, not before. If we don't accept, you pay nothing.
Types of threads
Archive thread, $199. You write it. Your three parts are published in the archive and in the list of past threads, each with a permanent page and a unique link to the full thread. They do not appear on the homepage.
Homepage thread, $349. You write it. Everything in the archive thread, plus a place on the homepage on each of its three days, just below the day's featured thread, and posts from Rorotoko's own channels.
Prepared thread, $549. We write it with you. We draft your three parts from the work, or from a 45-minute Zoom conversation, and you edit and approve every word. Everything in the homepage thread.
Every thread includes
- Three parts on three dates agreed with you
- Permanent pages in the archive, with your links and a citation line
- Editing for clarity, and your approval of the final text
- Share cards and ready-to-post text for your own channels
- A mention in the Monthly Stitch, our newsletter
- A Featured on Rorotoko badge for your site, press kit, or cover
Open to all
Course outreach, $299. We make a teaching guide with discussion questions from your thread, then write to 25 to 30 instructors who teach courses where your work fits, with the guide and a link to your thread.
One-sheet, $49. A designed one-page PDF with your cover, photo, the line, a short description, your bio, the thread link, and the badge.
The return, $149. When the paperback comes out, or a year on, a fourth part: what happened next. It runs on the homepage that day, below the featured thread, and joins your thread.
What we look for
Work with an idea in it: nonfiction, scholarship, fiction that has something to say, art, music, film, a line of research. University press, small press, self-published, or not yet out. We ask one question every time: will a reader who has never heard of you learn something true?
We don't write reviews, give stars, or promise sales. We publish your account of what you know, next to everyone else's.
Who reads Rorotoko
Academics, writers, students, artists, and curious readers. The archive holds more than 2,350 interviews with scholars from university presses, alongside independent writers and artists. Your thread joins that company.
Rorotoko is independently run, with no ads and no paywall. Proposed threads help keep it that way.
To propose a thread, fill in the form here. Questions first? Write to r@rorotoko.com.