Most of what reaches the Robyn Dodd inbox is not a complaint. It is a reader trying to work out which door to knock on: where a pitch should go, how the weekly letter differs from the archive, whether a contributor from KwaZulu-Natal can write about a Western Cape kitchen, or who to ask when a back issue never arrived. This page is the short version of those answers, written so you can find the right desk without sending three emails first.
Most messages that reach the desk are about pitching, contributor guidelines, corrections, or a letter that stopped arriving. Pick the route that fits, and you will usually hear back the same week.
Send a short outline, the region it covers, and whether you can report it in person. Kitchen Notes, Weekend Drives and Shelf Life are open to outside writers; Makers and Studios is usually commissioned.
If the letter goes quiet, check the spam folder first, then write to us with the address you signed up with. Delivery problems are fixed by hand, not by a bot.
Spotted an error in an archived essay, or want to reuse a photo journal? Include the article title and the date it ran so we can trace it in the archive.
The desk is small and based in Cape Town, so replies arrive during South African office hours. If a question is already covered, the questions page is the fastest place to start, and our privacy policy explains how subscriber details are kept.
Short answers to the things people ask before they pitch, subscribe or write in. If your question isn't here, the contact page is the right place to take it.
Yes. Contributors come from KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng as well, and we run pieces from smaller towns whenever the reporting holds up. Send a short outline, the region you're writing from, and one paragraph on why the story needs telling now.
Once a week, usually on a Thursday. It carries one longer read, a short note from the editor, and whatever came in from readers that felt worth passing on. No feeds, no daily drip.
Sometimes, with permission and a credit line back to the original. Write to us with the piece, where it would appear, and how long it would stay up. The terms page covers the standard conditions.
We do. Weekend Drives and Makers and Studios often run image-led pieces, and we prefer documentary work made on location over styled shoots. Share a small selection and a rough route or subject.
Email is best, and corrections get read before anything else in the inbox. If a piece needs a factual fix, say which paragraph and what the correct detail is.
Still unsure where your question belongs? The contact page lists the right address, and the terms page covers reuse and permissions in more detail.
A few working definitions we use across the archive, so that pitches, letters and reader questions land in the same place. These are house rules, not legal terms.