Design Observer is “a leading platform offering thought-provoking content on design, culture, and social innovation.” As Spooky Season creeps ever closer, they’re looking for “pitches from design practitioners and journalists on The Design of Horror | The Horror of Design.” Their pitch call states: “Whether you’re seduced by the scary or shy away from it, we want your take on the most chilling and thrilling ways that horror and design intersect. What cursed objects, theories, trends, policies, or people are haunting today’s designers? What horrors from history, and harbingers of frights still to come, should we be paying attention to? How can we dredge up enough final-girl energy to confront these resident evils? We welcome art-eds, op-eds, criticism, reported articles, and multimedia work from professional designers and journalists.” They offer a $150 honorarium for art-eds, op-eds, and essays (around 800 to 900 words). Rates begin at $1.50/word for commissioned short pieces that include original reporting and sourcing (usually 500 to 900 words). To learn more, refer to their editor’s post, their call for pitches, and this page.

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.

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.

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 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.

International Journalists' Network (IJNet) offers the latest tips, training opportunities, trends, and tools for professional and emerging journalists. They’re looking to commission a practical and clear guide to video journalism for their newsletter for college students and early-career reporters. They will pay $200 for this article (700 to 1,000 words). To learn more, refer to their post and pitch form.

PublicSource is a news organization serving Pittsburgh and the region. If you’re interested in writing a Pittsburgh–related first-person essay for them, refer to this pitch form. They pay $300 for first-person essays (usually 800 to 1,200 words). For more details, read their managing editor’s post.

Anime Herald is a website that offers news, reviews, interviews, and commentary on anime and anime fandom. They’re always looking for articles from freelance writers. Rate is $55 per article (1,000 to 2,000 words). For details, refer to their post, contributor guidelines, and pitch form.

Balls & Strikes is “a site for critical, progressive, and bullshit-free commentary about courts, judges, and the legal system they uphold.” Their editor-in-chief is looking for pitches about the Supreme Court: “Periodic reminder that if you are the kind of sicko who wants to think and write about the Supreme Court in your spare time, you should pitch me, because I will at least pay you for it.” They usually pay $500 for essays of 1,000 words. If interested, send your pitches to pitches@ballsandstrikes.org. To learn more, refer to their editor-in-chief’s post and this page.

Business Insider covers business, personal finance, tech, lifestyle, politics, and more. Their deputy editor of lifestyle and entertainment freelance writers is looking for pitches: “Have you ever arranged/sustained an unconventional living situation for a dream job?

Some examples....

- Getting an RV to live close to work but stay flexible

- Living apart from a spouse for part of the year for work

- Renting a houseboat for an easier commute

- Building a tiny home close to the office

- Unexpectedly moving back home with parents for a job close to their home”

Rates for such pieces begin at $240 for 600 words. To learn more, refer to their editor’s post and pitch form.

Carla is a quarterly print magazine by Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles. They publish critical essays, interviews, and reviews of exhibitions in L.A. They’re accepting pitches for their 42nd issue: “We are looking for writing that is pointed and pertinent to our time and place in arts and culture. Join our conversation, and submit pieces that you feel are vital to the fabric of L.A.’s art community and the contemporary moment.” They pay $375 for feature essays (1,500 to 2,000 words); $350 for interviews (1,200 to 1,500 words); and $200 for reviews (650 to 850 words). To learn more, refer to their Instagram post and pitch form.

Motley Bloom is “a curated collective focused on Neurodivergent First living.” They’re amping up for their fall digital slate, which is about systems of organization. They’re looking for first-person experiences (600 to 800 words) about your unique systems. They’re also seeking a more reported piece (around 800 words) about “how ND brains organize information and the systems that can be helpful.” Additionally, for their second print issue, Nature & Nurture, they’re seeking one piece (800 to 1,000 words) on “the inherited traits of neurodivergence and generational awareness of these traits.” Their rates begin at $300 for short articles and $500 for longer pieces. To learn more, refer to their editor’s post and their submission guidelines.

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.