Here are ten publications that work with freelancers and pay up to $1.00 per word.

If you’re looking for more opportunities that pay this amount, the paid Litworth Database includes many more possibilities. Check it out here.

If you’re new to pitching, and want to actually take advantage of these opportunities, I highly recommend taking this short course.

1. bioGraphic is an online magazine covering stories related to biodiversity and conservation. They’re looking for original, reported story ideas that examine the beauty and peculiarities of organisms and ecosystems; demonstrate the fragility or the resilience of nature in a changing environment; amongst other topics. They accept ideas for feature articles, photo essays, and news articles. According to their senior news editor on Bluesky, they pay $0.85 to $1.00 per word for news stories. If interested, send your pitches to submissions@bioGraphic.com. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
2. The Wire China is a weekly news publication focused on understanding and explaining China’s economic rise, and its influence on global business, finance, trade, labor and the environment. They accept pitches only for longform cover stories. They want big stories that give answers — and solutions. The articles run from 2,500 to 3,500 words. They list pay as “very competitive”, which presumably means they pay at least $1 per word, if not significantly more. To learn more, read their pitching guidelines.
3. Mother Jones is an investigative news organization. They report on politics, criminal and racial justice, democracy, human rights, education, climate change, food/agriculture, and more. They commission revelatory and dynamic stories that teach people something they didn’t already know. According to their pitch guide, print rates begin at $1.75/word, while their online rates begin at $0.75/word. For more details, read their freelance writer guidelines.
4. Seattle Met is a magazine about Seattle’s culture, lifestyle, arts, and more. They only accept pitches from freelance writers; they do not accept pre-written articles. According to a deleted tweet by their editor-in-chief, they pay $0.50 to $1.00 a word for narrative features. To learn more, refer to this page.
5. Nieman Reports publishes features and opinion pieces about the challenges and opportunities facing journalism today. They’re published by The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. Features typically run between 1,200 and 3,000 words, and opinion columns run anywhere between 800 and 1,200 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $250 for opinion pieces, and $1 per word for features. To learn more, read this page.
6. Audubon publishes journalism, photography, and illustrations to “to celebrate the joy and wonder of birds and to inform its readers about the natural world, inspire them to care passionately about that world, and motivate them to take action on its behalf.” They`re interested in issues that affect birds through a much broader lens—whether that’s native and invasive species, land use, pesticides, climate change, racial and environmental justice, and many more topics. They prefer freelancers to write articles of 1,500 words to 4,000 words, with a preference for 3,000 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $0.50 to $1.50 per word.
7. Hammer & Hope is “a magazine of Black politics and culture.” Their aim is to “build a project whose politics and aesthetics reflects the electric spirit of the protesters who flooded the streets in 2020, a project that breathes life into the transformative ideas pointing us towards the world we deserve.” They accept pitches from writers at submissions@hammerandhope.org. According to their pitch guide, they pay $1.00/word for commentary, $1.33/word for reported features, and $300/25 lines or less, with $6 each additional line for poems.
8. Ori Magazine is a twice-a-year travel magazine that publishes stories by talented local journalists. They would love to receive pitches from writers. As per their editor, features pay $0.50-$1.00/word and single page department pieces pay $200. If you want to contribute a story, then refer to their contributor inquiries page.
9. Noema is a magazine that explores the transformations sweeping our world. They publish “essays, interviews, reportage, videos and art on the overlapping realms of philosophy, governance, geopolitics, economics, technology, and culture.” They do not list pay rates publicly, but payment reports indicate they may pay from $0.10 to $1.00 per word. If interested, send your pitches or drafts for essays, reported features, interviews, or fiction short stories to edit@noemamag.com. To contact them, refer to this page.
10. Ambrook Research offers data-driven storytelling regarding modern agriculture. They’re presently focused on U.S.-based subject matter but will consider exceptions if a story has significant impacts or teachings that can be applied in the U.S. According to their guidelines, they generally pay between $0.50 and $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.