In 2026, Talking Shorts will launch a new annual print publication focused on “short film and moving image culture.” Each issue will be thematised, with the first issue exploring “filmmaking and writing in crisis?” They’re open to pitches for this inaugural issue. You can send them essays, (reported) features, and/or (conducted) interviews. A flat fee of €275 to €550 will be offered per piece (1,500 to 3,000 words). If interested, send your pitches before September 8, 2025, 00:01 AM. For details, read their call for pitches.

Turn It Up! Staying Strong Inside is a publication for incarcerated individuals by the Sero Project. They’re accepting pitches for this year's issue: "Aging on the Inside." They’re seeking contributors of all backgrounds but are prioritizing incarcerated individuals. Rate is $150 per article (400 to 600 words). Pitches can be emailed to tiu@seroproject.com. To learn more, refer to their managing editor’s post. To contact them, refer to this page.

The Scottish BPOC Writers Network (SBWN) provides “advocacy, literary events, and professional development opportunities for BPOC writers based in or from Scotland.” We Are Here Scotland (WAHS) is “a space aimed at supporting and raising the voices of Black and Global Majority creatives & cultural professionals across Scotland.” They’re partnering with an open call for WAHS’s Creative Balance program on the theme “Defining Our Space: Literary Explorations of BPOC Creative Environments.” They’re looking for “pitches from BPOC writers exploring what constitutes nurturing, safer, and generative creative spaces for BPOC individuals, interrogating the physical, psychological, and/or cultural dimensions of space.” They will pay selected writers £150 each. To learn more, refer to this post.

To-Go Zine is an LA-focused charity food zine. They’re looking for nonfiction and fiction content related to Los Angeles and the region’s food scenes. They’re especially interested in “undercovered and overlooked stories of people, organizations, and businesses affected by January’s wildfires and recent immigration raids.” They also seek “stories that represent Indigenous perspectives (this land’s original residents).” They pay $50 for short form content (around 500 words or fewer) and $100 for long form content (around 1,000 words or more). To learn more, refer to this post and their call for written submissions.

Play the Game: Sports integrity and governance
Play the Game is an initiative run by the Danish Institute for Sports Studies (Idan) that promotes democratic values in world sports with an emphasis on freedom of expression, transparency, and open dialogue. You can read about them here. With a grant from the Danish government, they have issued a pitch call. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Play the Game invites journalists, writers, and investigative reporters worldwide to submit pitches for individual articles or investigations into topics related to sports integrity and governance.” The pitch deadline is 4th September 2025. Details here.

The Black Ordinary is “a multimedia publication, online resource hub, and national database of community archives dedicated to preserving Black-American history and culture.” They’re currently looking for pitches for the first edition of their upcoming digital magazine. They welcome pitches from “artists, archivists, historians, researchers, and writers of all backgrounds and experience levels to pitch ideas for writing topics relevant to the preservation of Black-American histories and culture.” All contributors will receive a $250 stipend. The word count should be 750 words. To learn more, refer to their post and call for pitches.

The McGraw Fellowship provides editorial and financial support to journalists who need the time and resources to produce a significant investigative or enterprise story that provides fresh insight into an important business, financial or economic topic. They accept applications for text, photo, audio, or short-form video pieces, and they encourage proposals that take advantage of more than one storytelling form to create a multimedia package. This is not a residency Fellowship. All Fellows work from their own offices. It is open to anyone with at least five years professional experience in journalism (you do not have to be a business journalist to apply; many of their many of their previous Fellows have been generalists, or cover beats such as health care, education, environment, corporate accountability or inequality). Freelance journalists, as well as reporters and editors currently working at a news organization or a journalism non-profit, may apply. The application includes a story proposal. Generally, they do not accept book proposals. They consider proposals of interest to U.S. readers from both foreign and American journalists based abroad, as long as the work is published in English in a U.S.-based media outlet. They accept applications twice a year. The October deadline is for the Fall fellowship. They will also consider time-sensitive projects on a case-by-case basis outside of the deadline periods. Also see their FAQ.
Value: Grants of up to $15,000
Deadline: 2025-10-13
Open for: Anyone with at least five years of experience in journalism
Details here.

Mountains Magazine is a quarterly consumer magazine that celebrates our planet's peaks. They publish personal experiences of destinations by writers who have expertise in their region and/or field. For a piece in their Winter (December) issue, they’re looking for writers with direct experience of snowsports in Japan. They will pay £110 for 850 to 1,100 words. If interested, send your pitches to info@mountains-magazine.com. For details, refer to their post and pitch guidelines.

Motley Bloom is “a curated collective focused on Neurodivergent First living.” They’re looking for a writer who identifies as neurodivergent for their issue 2. The writer will “execute the issue's anchor article, which will be a deep dive into the intersection of neurodivergence and nature.” Rate is $1/word for 2,000 to 2,500 words. Send your pitches to pitch@motley-bloom.com. To learn more, refer to this post and their general submissions page.

Planetizen is “a fiercely independent platform that creates, curates, and amplifies stories and resources to inform planning and people passionate about planning.” They’re always seeking feature article pitches that offer an expert lens to the key planning issues of today. They offer professional writers a flat rate of $500 for a feature or career-related article. If interested, direct your pitches to editor@planetizen.com. For details, refer to their post and this page.

Antics is a quarterly music magazine aimed at a Gen Z readership. They are open for pitches for issue 4. They already have some interviews in the works and are mostly looking for essay pitches. They will pay $50 for reviews, $150 for Q&As, $150 for essays, $200 for profiles, and $250 for longform reported features/oral histories. If interested, email your pitches to pitches@anticsmag.com. To learn more, refer to their editor-in-chief’s post and their call for pitches.

JamiiAfrica is “an East African nonprofit and social network with a vision that sets it apart from its global counterparts: ‘Netizens making informed decisions.’” They’re seeking great pitches and better writers for their newsletter. They’re interested in the following topics: “community stewardship, local online groups, alternative social media, civic health and clubs, or the intersection of journalism and social media.” Rate is $500 for a complete newsletter draft. If interested, email hello@newpublic.org. To learn more, refer to this post and this page.

Sojourners is a magazine and an online publication that covers faith, politics, and culture from a biblical perspective. They’re seeking some thoughtful pitches on queerness and Christianity. Rates: Opinion pieces and culture reviews pay $150 to $300, while reported articles pay $300 to $500. Send your pitches to huckabee@sojo.net. To learn more, refer to their managing editor’s post. To contact them, refer to this page.

100 Days in Appalachia is a news website that covers the Appalachian region. They’re seeking pitches from students or early-career journalists (ages 13 to 25) in the region on “politics, work, education, cultural trends and the arts, life + identity, and more!” Rates begin at $100 for opinion and $200 to $400 for reporting. To learn more, refer to this post and their call for pitches.

Briarpatch is a Canadian magazine of politics and culture. They’re accepting pitches for their annual Labour Issue. They’re seeking “articles, investigative reporting, historical analysis, photo essays, timelines, personal essays, reviews, profiles, recommendations, lists, humour, comics, and art for the issue.” Their rates are $150 for profiles, short essays, reviews, and parting shots (typically 1,500 words or less); $250 for feature stories (usually 1,500 to 2,000 words) and photo essays; and $350 for research-based articles and investigative reporting (usually 2,000 to 2,500 words). If interested, send your pitches to pitch@briarpatchmagazine.com. For more information, refer to their post and call for pitches.

Business Insider covers business, personal finance, tech, lifestyle, politics, and more. Their deputy editor of lifestyle and entertainment freelancers is seeking first-person pitches on:

- “Thank you card (didn't write them for wedding...) and wedding hot takes (weekday weddings rock, etc)”

- “Best advice from older relatives (retiring early, lasting marriage...)”

Rates begin at $230 for 600 words. To learn more, refer to their deputy editor’s post and this pitch form.