Contact

Thank you for your interest in the Migration Information Source, the digital magazine of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). For more on its work, visit the About page.

We welcome feedback from readers and article pitches. Contact us at [email protected].

MPI cannot provide legal advice or assistance with immigration or refugee individual matters. 

Submissions

Migration Information Source contributors include some of the most respected voices in the migration field, as well as emerging voices in academia, research, and beyond. We welcome submissions from researchers, academics, practitioners, and others with knowledge of their topic; we  especially prioritize analysis from authors working in or who are from the region that they intend to write about. 

What Should I Know First?

The Source will consider unsolicited drafts and proposals for articles, but we prefer to receive an outline first. (See submission section below for more.)

MPI only publishes exclusive articles that have not appeared elsewhere. While we are willing to consider articles adapted from books, academic research, or other sources, the material you plan to submit must be unique to the Source.

Submissions must be human-written, not generated by AI. 

Our editing style is hands-on. Various changes may be necessary to make submissions compatible with the Source's style, audience, and content requirements. The Source is explicitly not an academic journal and is designed for a general audience readership. It is therefore important to present data and analysis in an accessible fashion, and to avoid jargon and excessively technical writing. We are looking for writing that flows well, expresses ideas and policy analysis clearly, and provokes thought among non-specialists and specialists alike.

While we publish findings from individual research projects, the results must be placed in a larger context so that their relevance is clear to non-experts. 

The Source is not a vehicle for advocacy or editorializing. Articles are designed to be descriptive rather than prescriptive or opinionated. 

What Topics Does the Source Cover?

The Source publishes analysis on all types of human migration and mobility. While the focus is chiefly on international migration and migrants, in some cases, we will consider articles on internal displacement. 

We accept proposals from external authors for Feature articles and Country Profiles. Feature articles focus on revealing, explaining, and contextualizing trends or policies in evidence-informed, non-advocacy ways. Country Profiles offer a broad perspective on a particular country’s migration context, including relevant history, policies, debates, and current immigrant and/or emigrant populations. We encourage you to review our recent Feature articles and Country Profiles to understand the type of content we publish. 

How Do I Submit an Article?

The Source will consider unsolicited drafts, but we prefer to first receive short proposals.

The best way to proceed is by sending an email describing the piece you would like to write, including an attached outline and CV, to [email protected]. This will allow us to offer feedback at an early stage of the article’s development, with time efficiencies for author and editor alike. 

We accept submissions on a rolling basis. However, the Source's editorial calendar is typically set weeks in advance. This is worth keeping in mind, especially regarding potential articles that may be time sensitive.

What Are the Specific Guidelines for Drafts?

We are generally looking for articles between 2,500 and 3,000 words, not including a bibliography. Please footnote citations, ideally to Chicago Manual of Style. 

At the top of your submission, please include a short biography of 50 or fewer words which covers your current position and publishing, career, or educational highlights. Please note that this information is subject to editing.

Submit the material as an attachment in Microsoft Word.

If you are providing tables or graphs, please attach them as a separate document with the underlying data and data source for each figure. Please label the information as "Tables" or "Graphs." Indicate approximately where each table or graph should be placed in the text by the sentence "[Table/Graph x about here]" in brackets and between paragraphs.

The Source Editor will provide additional guidelines as necessary.

Once again, thank you for your interest in writing for the Source. We look forward to hearing from you.