About Companion

Companion is a biannual print publication from the Creative Studio at GAIL’s that explores topics within food & drink, history, nature, sustainability and craft. Each issue is a free-wheeling exploration into a particular theme close to our hearts – weaving together cultural deep dives, personal essays, short stories, poetry and recipes, originally commissioned photography and illustrations. It is a space to celebrate the creative disciplines that intersect with our business and inspire us as people — and an invitation to pause, reflect and connect with the stories that shape the world around us. 

While we are a UK-based magazine, we accept and encourage submissions from around the world.

Issue 1

In our first issue, we explore all things bread and baking. We use the language of wine to explore the terroir potential of wheat, visit a prison bakery in Brixton where inmates bake from scratch and take an historical tour of baking-related relics in London’s East End. We also stop by the Sourdough School to speak to ‘Britain’s Sourdough Queen’ Vanessa Kimbell about baking for mental and physical health, and Ampney Brook Farm in the Cotswolds to capture the biodiverse beauty of a regenerative wheat farm. There is Eastern European folklore, a poem about Nigerian Agege bread, a recipe series featuring ancient Italian uses for stale bread – and much more.

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ISSUE 2 THEME: COMMUNITY

For our second issue, we’re delving into the theme of ‘community’ – especially (but not exclusively) how it intersects with food. We will dive into all the ways that community is relevant to us as a bakery and a business while inviting contributors to define and celebrate ‘community’ through their own lens. 

Bakers, and bakeries, are naturally intertwined with their community. It quite literally takes a village to bake a loaf of bread – from the farmer to the miller to the baker – and a traditional loaf is meant to be broken and shared. Bakeries, too, have long served as community hubs: not just providers of a community’s daily bread but a gathering place for neighbours, colleagues and friends. How do we choose to show up for our community and enrich the lives of those who visit us? As we look to the future, community is evermore important: we must rebuild a meaningful relationship with our environment and restore diversity in our food and farm fields to support the ongoing health of the communities we serve. 

But we are equally fascinated by the stories of the communities beyond us – and all the ways in which community is defined, expressed and celebrated around the world. And for that, we turn to you. 

We are seeking long and short-form writing, short fiction, poetry, photographic essays and other artforms that bring the ‘community’ theme to life. Send us your boldest, most creative and radical ideas. We want stories that surprise and delight us, teach us something and transport us to other worlds – whether real or imagined. 

Your piece does not necessarily need to focus on food or baking, though a loose connection to food is ideal. We are also interested in stories of social and cultural history, fashion, art, design and all else related to human culture and the human experience. Think profiles of fascinating people, deep dives into particular communities/cultures/cuisines, family recipes, hot takes, cultural criticism et al. We accept both pitches and completed submissions [please see further guidelines below]. 

Here are a few community-minded questions to get the juices flowing: 

    • How has social media changed the way we engage with food, and with each other? For better or for worse? 

    • Is there a dish you know of that requires a community to make? Or a dish that’s central to a community’s survival? 

    • Who are the silent heroes that support our communities? From seed savers to bread bakers to bus drivers to crossing guards? 

    • What is the history of communes and communal living as a whole? How have we become more individualised overtime? 
    • What is the role (and the future) of community in farming – whether it’s cooperative farming systems, community-supported agriculture programmes, ecosystem-minded methods or population grains? 
    • Who are the people who feed pigeons in cities? Why do they do it? 
    • How did migrant communities inspire, say, the regional sandwiches of America, or the types of breads baked in London?

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

  • Please send pitches and submissions to companionmagazine@gailsbread.co.uk with [Community Pitch] or [Community Submission] in the subject line. 

    For pitches, send us a brief description of your idea and a few lines about why you’re the right person to write it. Please include potential research sources and interviewees. 

    Submissions should be attached in Word or PDF format with a brief summary of the content and word count in the email body. Word count should be no more than 1500 words (though please do send through slightly longer work, as we may still consider it). 

    Photographers and illustrators are also welcome to send their portfolios to be considered for potential commissions, on this issue or future issues. 

    Deadline for both pitches and submissions is Monday, 17th February 2025. 

  • RATES: 

    We offer up to £500 for creative pieces (depending on length) and £1.30/word for reported pieces, interviews and investigative features. Photographers and illustrators are paid ad hoc depending on the commission, but we pay competitive editorial rates.

    WHAT TO EXPECT:

    We will make every attempt to respond to each pitch and submission; but as a small team, we may not be able to supply detailed feedback. You can expect to hear from us no later than 15th March if we plan to commission your work. 

    Please be aware that we like to work very closely with our contributors to craft a story; you can expect an in-depth briefing and editing process in which we work together to structure and finesse your piece. We prefer to do this rather than drastically edit your work ourselves; once finished, we will only make basic stylistic changes (to fit our style guide). Fiction and poetry submissions will be taken as they are, with only minor editing. We may also ask to lower word count, to fit within our design constraints, if you’re open to it.