Pitch Us
Lounge publishes essays from the people who live inside healthcare every day. We published works by clinicians, researchers, educators, and innovators who carry both intellectual depth and lived experience.
We’re looking for pieces that examine healthcare through fresh lenses, challenge conventional thinking, and reveal insights that can only come from those who do this work. We publish essays grounded in evidence and experience, not ideology or grievance.
What we publish
Our essays typically fall into these categories:
Clinical realities – How healthcare actually works (or doesn’t), examined from the ground level with enough detail to matter
Structural analysis – Why systems produce the outcomes they do, what drives clinician behaviour, where incentives point
Historical perspective – How we got here, what worked before, why things changed
Forward-looking critique – What’s emerging (AI, new practice models, policy shifts) and what it means for care delivery
Recent pieces include essays on the Canada Health Act’s unintended consequences, medical imaging stewardship, screen time recommendations and evidence-based medicine, and the relationship as the atomic unit of healthcare.
How to pitch
Send 2-3 paragraphs in the form below that show:
- What you’re arguing – The core claim or insight, stated clearly
- Why it matters – What changes if people understand this differently
- What supports it – Key evidence, examples, or observations you’ll draw on
Your pitch should demonstrate that you’ve thought deeply about this topic and have something specific to say. We’re looking for arguments that are both intellectually rigorous and grounded in real experience.
Example pitch structure:
Imagine you were pitching “The Atomic Unit of Healthcare”:
Healthcare began with relationship, the Paleolithic healer who knew her patient’s fears, the Neanderthal who cared for Shanidar 1 for years after his injuries. We’ve since built systems optimized for everything except preserving that fundamental connection.
When patients choose naturopaths with weaker evidence bases because the relationship is better, that’s due to system failure. When a small Halifax clinic achieves better outcomes than conventional clinics despite serving vulnerable populations, the difference isn’t their protocols, it’s that they’ve organized around relationship as the primary unit.
Using Harrison White’s sociological framework and case studies from Halifax, this essay argues that healthcare reform fails when we treat relationship as a transactional connection between providers and patients, rather than recognizing relationship itself as the atomic unit of care.
What happens next
If your pitch is a fit, we’ll start work with you on a draft. We work editorially with authors, sometimes extensively through several rounds of edits, to help pieces reach their potential.
Final essays typically run 3,000-6,000 words.
Can I write on behalf of my organization/employer?
Lounge publishes individual voices, not organizational positions. You’re welcome to draw on your institutional experience, but the perspective should be yours.
Do you pay writers?
Not currently. Lounge is a nonprofit publication building toward sustainability.
I have an idea but I’m not sure it’s right for Lounge.
Pitch it anyway. The worst that happens is we say it’s not the right fit.