Here are ten publishers seeking essays directly from freelance writers, on a variety of topics. Be sure to carefully study each publication before sending a pitch.
Burum Collective is a community blog and virtual networking space for people working in the beer, wine, and cider industries. They want to publish “unfiltered, honest, funny, educational and/or personal words” from people within their industries. They are especially interested in hearing from people who have no previous experience of writing professionally. Rate is £0.25p per word. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide.
SICK is a magazine by chronically ill and disabled people. They publish personal essays and narrative nonfiction, reported features, op-eds, interviews, flash fiction, creative and experimental nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. They prefer full draft submissions but consider pitches from writers who share relevant examples of their work. They pay writers 11p/word and poets and artists £50 for their work. For details, refer to this page.
HuffPost Personal is a personal stories section in HuffPost (a news and opinion website). Their deputy editor is seeking compelling essay pitches from Asian and Asian American writers for AAPI Heritage Month. They will accept essays on any topic as long as they intersect with Asian identity. Their rates start at $125. If interested, send your pitches to emily.mccombs@huffpost.com. Read their deputy editor’s Tweet here and their pitch guide here.
Mangozine is a publication for emerging writers. They welcome pitches and submissions for all kinds of writing. They are seeking personal essays, critical criticism, interviews, short fiction, reviews, reporting, radical political screeds, and unexpected recipes. Their pieces are generally 1,000-3,000 words. They pay at least $0.10/word. To learn more, refer to this page and their pitch guide.
SheKnows empowers women through discussions and articles related to women’s issues including health, relationships, sex, parenting, and beauty. They are seeking food-related essay pitches for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month. They will pay $150 to $200. Pitches should be sent to kenzie.mastroe@shemedia.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.
The Xylom is a media outlet that creates “personal stories of science and humanity.” They are looking for personal essays (1,200-1,500 words) that are “at least tangentially related to science”, science analysis and opinion pieces (1,200-1,500 words), narrative-driven science feature stories, and 10-ish-word stories. They pay every storyteller at least $100. To learn more, refer to their submissions page.
Channel Void is “a digital destination giving life to holistic healing, art and the unspoken through video content, editorial and online events.” Their editorial director is seeking “essays from writers with lethally honest perspectives on art, sex, mental health, career, family, burnout, identity, and more.” They will pay 300 AUD/220 USD per article. Pitches/specs should be sent to jacob@channelvoid.com.au. Read their editorial director’s Tweet here and learn more about them here.
Mental Hellth is “a newsletter about your broken brain.” They are accepting pitches for Q+As, essays, reported pieces, and more. For Q+As, their rates start at $150. For more labor intensive pieces, the rates go up to $500+. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread and their website.
ARTnews is a source for art news and art event coverage. They are ramping up their freelance commissions and are seeking “features and opinions/essays about the global art industry, how it works, and how it is rapidly changing.” They are particularly seeking stories that fall under these topics: art & technology, institutional change & malfeasance, the global art market, and rollicking yarns about the art world. Their stories run between 650 and 2,500 words and rates usually start at $0.33 per word. To learn more, refer to their digital director’s Tweet and their pitch guide. To contact them, refer to this page.
Jewish Currents is a print and digital magazine that is “committed to the rich tradition of thought, activism, and culture of the Jewish left.” They are accepting pitches for their Fall 2022 issue which is themed Rest. They are seeking “reported features and essays on subjects including labor and anti-work politics; debt jubilees and other interruptions of the political status quo; mutual aid; attempts to accommodate rest within the work of social reproduction; illness, disability, and the care of the sick; sleep and dreams as a place of possibility; ecological questions around regeneration and degrowth; Jewish frameworks for collective rest including shmita and Shabbat; and more.” They pay at least $400 for reviews and essays, and up to $1 per word for deeply reported print features. If interested, email submissions@jewishcurrents.org. For details, read their assistant editor’s Tweet and their pitch guide.
Deadline: April 30th, 2022
