⚡️ Contribute to Kernel Magazine's second issue
Also: Reboot's new opportunities board
Hey all! I’m here to introduce a new Reboot series — a curated opportunities board — plus a call for nonfiction pitches, creative work, and editors, designers, and developers for Kernel’s second issue.
When we started Reboot, Jessica and I sought to distinguish Reboot from the slew of hackathons and job fairs that dominated the “tech for social good” space. We were worried about techno-solutionism; we began with book talks in order to ask questions about why we’ve built this world before jumping to how tech can fix it.
Yet we’d always end up asking: How do we connect theory to practice? Once you’ve read all the books, what do you do with the info? If you’re a technologist looking to reconcile your values with your career, where should you work?
There are no easy answers, but we can leverage this incredible network by:
Publishing interviews that highlight an array of pathways to impact
Nurturing fellowships and communities to spark organic collaboration
Now: Connecting readers to opportunities from other community members
Every month, we’ll publish a newsletter featuring a small number of curated opportunities, along with descriptions and organizational contacts.
We define opportunities broadly—jobs, internships, volunteering, writing pitches, fellowships, projects, freelance—but source them narrowly—prioritizing listings from trusted partners, active community members, and things you might not find at your standard tech career fair. We’ll also include the latest ways to get involved in Reboot itself. It’s less about black box resume drops and more about spotlighting and supercharging the amazing work you all already do.
If you want to submit an opportunity for next month, fill out this form.
(All financial relationships, e.g. opportunities surfaced by organizations who have given us grants, will be clearly disclosed. To unsubscribe from just the opportunities newsletters, see this footnote.1)
While we work on compiling external opportunities, this first newsletter will focus on ways to get involved with Reboot itself. We’re a fully volunteer-run nonprofit, so community contributors are super important. I’ve also made some of my best friends and proudest memories working on these projects together.
Contribute to Kernel Magazine
Kernel is Reboot’s flagship print magazine, and its mission is to provide a space for critically imagining the future. We are invested in understanding how technology and technologists play an active role in doing so.
Why are we here? We believe that technology can be transformative, for both better and worse, and that as technologists, we have a responsibility to own our role in this transformation. We believe technology exists within broader systems of power, and that understanding these systems as well as individual actors within them is critical to driving material change. Finally, we believe there is serious intellectual work to be done.
How will we get there? We believe in analysis that is both generative and adversarial. We value different viewpoints and placing authors in conversation and debate. This discourse might take a variety of forms: deeply researched essays with a critical eye, personal essays, speculative utopias and dystopias, creative short stories or poetry, edited conversations, published community responses, and more.
Pitch nonfiction
Submit here | Deadline: May 16 | Comp: $200-300
Essays are Kernel’s bread-and-butter, whether personal essay or historical analysis. That said, we’re also open to interviews and alternative formats if it’s best for the piece.
While we don't expect pieces to contain bullet-pointed action items, we want to see work about the ideas, movements, people, and tools that might bring us to the future. Almost any topic related to technology is of interest; that said, we’re especially excited to see work on climate, labor, and technology in a non-US/non-Western setting.
Contact jessica@joinreboot.org with questions.
Submit fiction, poetry, and art
Submit here | Deadline: June 30 | Comp: $50+ based on length
In addition to essays and analysis, we will spotlight short stories, poetry, and/or art that dovetails with our mission. Please submit completed pieces (not pitches).
Fiction: We enjoy fiction that weaves themes of technology (in any sense of the word) throughout, whether subtly or overtly. Please keep submissions under 3000 words. We have no requirements on structure or plot.
Poetry: Please submit up to 4 poems, and specify if these are intended to be a collection, or if publishing them individually is acceptable. We welcome free verse, experimental poetry, and any other form.
Other: We welcome other creative forms, including visual art and multimedia.
Contact jessica@joinreboot.org with questions.
Edit written pieces
Apply here | Deadline: Rolling | Comp: $500
We are looking for editors to workshop three to four pieces each. You will be our main point-of-contact for each author whose piece you are editing, and we’ll strive to pair you with authors whose topics you are interested in or are compatible with.
Contact jessica@joinreboot.org with questions.
Design or code
Apply here | Deadline: Rolling | Comp: Negotiable
We are looking for a designer and a web developer to bring the magazine to life in the physical and digital worlds.
Designer: Responsible for designing and creating the cover art for the magazine, procuring or creating illustrations to accompany each piece, and creating the print layout for the magazine (InDesign experience preferred).
Web developer: Responsible for maintaining our web presence at kernelmag.io with updates for the upcoming second issue.
Contact emily@joinreboot.org with questions.
Join Camp Reboot
Join here | Deadline: May 7
We maintain a private Discord community for discussion, book clubs, meetups, contribution opportunities, and all-around good vibes.
New members are onboarded in a 4-week cohort program called Camp Reboot, where you’ll gather in small and large groups to meet new people, discuss core issues in tech and politics, and begin articulating your personal theory of change. You can check out last season’s agenda and reading list here.
We’ll be running the next season soon, so fill out this super short form by EOD Saturday and look out for an email with details.
Contact jasmine@joinreboot.org with questions.
That’s all for today! Please forward this post to any friends who might be good fits, and if you want to submit an opportunity for our first external opportunities roundup, you can do so here.
Feel free to leave a comment with ideas for this board or listings for opportunities in your network.
If you want to unsubscribe from just this newsletter type, go to your Reboot account page and uncheck the sections you no longer want emails for.
I also highly recommend downloading the Substack app, which makes it much easier to manage my many newsletters. (Disclosure: I work at Substack as my day job.)
Lovely opportunities.