We tend to forget, as the years go by, that this is how it always ends. No one walks away in their own time. It always takes a push. If you ha…
The Star鈥檚 Ghada Alsharif, with her recent undercover reporting on life as a food-delivery worker in 91原创, has joined a rich tradition of i…
Jordan Himelfarb is the Star鈥檚 opinion editor and head of the editorial board. Previously, as managing editor of news, he oversaw the Star鈥檚 political, national, foreign and sports coverage, as well as investigations. He is the co-editor of the book 鈥淭ax is Not a Four-Letter Word鈥 and is currently at work on a book about elite chess. In a previous life, he was a co-editor of the music website Said the Gramophone, one of Time Magazine鈥檚 top blogs of 2009. He is retired from competitive Scrabble so he can fully devote his spare time to contract bridge.
Alex McKeen is the associate editor of opinion and a member of the editorial board. She has worked for the Star since 2017 in a variety of roles, covering breaking news in 91原创, Vancouver and Victoria, as well as the western U.S. She has also worked with every editorial department on content strategy.
Scott Colby is an opinion editor who joined the Star's editorial board in May 2016 and curated the opinion page until the board鈥檚 expansion in May 2024. Scott is also the author of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 What You Think: A Practical Guide to Writing Compelling Op-eds and Short Memoirs,鈥 published in fall 2023 and co-author, with NHL hockey dad Karl Subban, of the 2017 national bestselling memoir: 鈥淗ow We Did It: The Subban Plan for Success in Hockey School and Life.鈥
Kate Robertson joined the Star鈥檚 editorial board in 2023 as a letters and opinions editor following three years as deputy business editor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, she was a fixture in the Life department, editing fashion, food, health and fitness news before being named deputy life editor. Kate has been at the Star since 1997.
Brian Bradley is an editor on the opinion team, focused primarily on letters to the editor, print production and editing editorials. He came to the editorial board by way of the page desk, where you can still find him some nights. Hired by the Star in 2015, Brian worked for three years for homepage, digital production and social, as well as with with Torstar dailies on the product team. He spent two years as associate public editor and has also served as producer and frequent guest host on the podcast team.
Deborah Dundas has worked with the Star for 16 years across a range of departments 鈥 city, national, web and as books editor. She joined the Star with a broad background in television and newspapers, in 91原创 and Northern Ireland, with TVOntario, CTV, having acted as a political editor, business editor, books editor, and field producer. She regularly appears as a media commentator and is deeply involved with the literary community, often acting as a juror or host. She studied English and Political Science at York University and has an MFA from the University of King鈥檚 College. Her first book, 鈥淥n Class,鈥 came out last year and was nominated for the Speaker鈥檚 Book Award, among others. She is working on a book of adoption stories with Simon and Schuster.
Richard Warnica is an opinion writer and editor at the Star. Before joining the editorial board, he was a feature writer in the business section. His work has been recognized with several national journalism awards and citations of merit. He has also covered for the Star two municipal, one federal and one American election, as well as the time he fell over in a yoga class held inside the massive projected mind of Vincent Van Gogh.
Navneet Alang is an opinion editor at the 91原创 Star. Previously, he was a writer and editor for over 15 years, focusing on technology, food and drink, books, and more. He has written for a wide variety of publications including The Atlantic, The Globe and Mail, New York Magazine, The Walrus, and Bon Appetit. Prior to joining the opinion team, he wrote an ongoing column for the Star's Business section on technology and on post-pandemic work culture. He also holds a PhD in English literature from York University.
Thank you for your interest in The Star.
If you want to submit an opinion article for consideration, please send it to oped@thestar.ca.
We consider commentaries of 500 to 650 words on current affairs, with an emphasis on Canadian issues. We tend not to print personal essays or broadly themed philosophical, religious or historical articles. We also print very little in the way of humour or satire.
Writers must include their credentials and are expected to have expertise in the area they are discussing. If you have an involvement in or connection with an issue that is not apparent from your credentials or the content of the article, you must disclose that to the Star.
Please include a recent colour head-and-shoulders photo with your submission and a mailing address. All contributors whose articles are selected for publication will be asked to sign a freelance agreement giving the Star the right to publish the material online or in other formats.
Be aware that we receive dozens of submissions a week and can print only a few. We try to inform contributors within 48 hours whether we are interested in printing their articles, but it can be longer when volume is particularly heavy.
As for style and approach, please keep these points in mind:
Be topical. Make clear near the beginning of the piece why you鈥檙e writing it now. Does your argument relate to something in the news? Does it expose a trend? The answer to the question 鈥淲hy now?鈥 should be evident.
Be fair. Don鈥檛 ignore your opponents鈥 point of view or mischaracterize it. Don鈥檛 engage with only the flimsiest counter-arguments. Don鈥檛 demonize or diminish those you鈥檙e criticizing. Imagine what the smartest critic might say about your piece and take those arguments on 鈥 that鈥檚 where things get interesting and illuminating.
Keep your audience in mind. Remember that you鈥檙e not writing for your classmates, your colleagues, your friends. You鈥檙e writing for a general audience. Assume your reader is intelligent but not necessarily knowledgeable on the issue. Provide enough context so a person who knows nothing about the subject can understand your argument and why it matters. Don鈥檛 use jargon or overly obscure or formal language.
Add to the conversation. If the topic of your piece has already been widely discussed in the media, make sure you鈥檙e adding new information or a new line of argument to the conversation.
Stick to the word limit. For us, that鈥檚 about 725 words, which is longer than at most newspapers. Word limits are not arbitrary and won鈥檛 be ignored even for exceptional pieces. Space in print 鈥 and attention spans online 鈥 are finite. More can be said in 700 words than one might think.
