Detour runs on submissions, and submissions have slowed down a bit; it happens every year. We're looking for the best and brightest, the finest writing Chicago has to offer. Here are our Detour submission guidelines:

• The feature must have some connection to Chicago. This could mean either A) the author lives in Chicagoland or B) the story is about some aspect of Chicago or the surrounding area. Either way works for us.

• Minimum article length is 1,500 words (although this is flexible).

• All submissions should be presented in .doc or .txt format. We run on Macs here, but PC files are OK.

• Artwork (photography, drawings, etc.) is welcomed along with feature submissions — or as a feature in and of itself. All images are to be presented in a Photoshop-readable format, preferably .jpg or .gif.

• We'll need a one- or two-sentence bio to run at the end of the feature. Include a link to your own site, if you've got one.

We cannot guarantee that anything you submit will be published. We reserve the right to edit any work; time allowing, we will share these edits with you, and we may ask that you revise and resubmit your piece. At this time, we can't pay you for your article, but you'll have our great appreciation and the adulation of thousands of readers. Plus another clip for your portfolio.

For best results, run your story idea by us ahead of time, along with an estimate of when you'll have it done.

If you're interested in submitting an item for Merge or a Slowdown event, or in submitting a photo for Rearview, see our Submissions page for how to do it.

Send it all to inbox@gapersblock.com.

Thanks,
The Editors