Contributed By S. Kalekar
This is a list of magazines that pay writers $500 for some articles. They accept pieces on a variety of topics food and health, public affairs, science, gardening, wildlife and fishing, fishing, and travel. Several are region-specific.
1. The American Scholar
This is a quarterly magazine of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. They publish essays, fiction, poetry, and articles covering public affairs, literature, science, history, and culture. It is currently open for nonfiction submissions.
Response time: Up to several months
Word count: Up to 6,000 for nonfiction
Pay: Up to $250 for website articles, up to $500 for magazine articles
Details here.
2. PTO Today Magazine
This is a magazine for leaders of parent groups (parent-teacher organizations) in America. They focus on parent groups serving students in grades K-8. Topics of interest include parent involvement, leadership, fundraising, group management and organization, playgrounds and education. Payment depends on the difficulty of the topic and writer experience, not word count.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: 1,200-2,200 for features (average 1,500); 600-1,200 for department pieces
Pay: $200-700 for features, $150-400 for departments
Details here.
3. EatingWell
This national food magazine focuses on eating healthfully, and has a journalistic, authoritative voice. Their Fresh department (about food, life, thinking, health) is easiest to break into. They also want food stories, including recipes, from established writers and food/culture-based travel features.
Response time: Up to a month
Word count: 150-350 words for Fresh columns; unspecified for others
Pay: Up to $1/word
Details here.
4. The American Gardener
This is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society. Topics of interest include profiles of individual plant groups, innovative approaches to garden design, profiles of prominent horticulturalists, plant research and plant hunting, heirloom gardening, plant lore and literature. Freelance submissions are welcome in features, and these departments: Natural Connections (about a natural phenomenon of symbiotic relationship), Plant in the Spotlight and Homegrown Harvest. They stress on environmentally responsible gardening practices.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: 1,500-2,500 for features, 750-1,000 for Natural Connections, 600 for Plant in the Spotlight, 900-1,000 for Homegrown Harvest
Pay: $300-600, and $150-200 for departments
Details here.
5. Arizona Wildlife Views
This is the official magazine of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. They want articles on the state’s wildlife and wildlife management, habitat issues, outdoor recreation and historical articles about wildlife and wildlife management.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: Unspecified
Pay: $250-800, depending on word count assigned; also see guidelines for details about how to procure payment.
Details here.
6. New Haven Review
They publish fiction, nonfiction and poetry. They prefer submissions from writers with some connection to New Haven, though this is not mandatory.
Response time: A few weeks to several months for prose; 2-4 months for poetry
Word count: No strict guidelines; 1,200 to several thousand for prose, 4-6 poems
Pay: At least $500 for prose, at least $25 per poem
Details here.
7. Oregon Humanities
This is a magazine for Oregon writers. Their posts (a readers write column), personal essays and features focus on a theme; their other columns do not.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: Varies for various departments and features; 400-4,000
Pay: $300-800 for personal essays and features, $50-200 for departments
Details here.
8. Early American Life Magazine
They cover America since its founding to the mid-1800s. They want articles on history, architecture and decorating, antiques, studio crafts and travel. They like solid information in a readable, entertaining style with a touch of humour.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: 750 for departments to 2,500 for features
Pay: $500 for a first feature from a new writer, more for experienced writers
Details here.
9. Minnesota Conservation Volunteer
This is the magazine of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. They want features and essays on the state’s natural resources and outdoor recreation. They like anecdotes and quotes used liberally.
Response time: unspecified
Word count: 1,200-1,800 for features, 300-600 for field notes, 800-1,200 for essays
Pay: $0.50/word for features and essays, $50-100 for online rights to features, essays and reprints
Details here.
10. Saltscapes
This magazine is for and about people on Canada’s East Coast. They focus on the regional’s traditional lifestyle, with bias towards rural life. Articles could be on people, places, history, natural world, food and art.
Response time: A few months
Word count: 1,500-1,900 for features, 500-1,000 for departments
Pay: CAD0.50 to 0.45/word, and CAD0.05/word for non-exclusive web rights
Details here.
11. Vermont Life Magazine
They want stories about contemporary Vermont culture and way of life, with focus on ideas that present the positive aspects of Vermont.
Response time: Within 30 days, if interested
Word count: Unspecified
Pay: $600 for departments, $800 for features
Details here.
12. Outdoor Canada
This is Canada’s leading magazine for fishing, hunting and related conservation issues. The articles are a mix of how-to pieces, in-depth reporting and entertaining features.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: 1,500-2,500 for features; 100-700 for shorter pieces
Pay: CAD$400 and up for features; CAD100 for short articles
Details here.
13. Kentucky Living
They have a front-of-book section, On the Grid, which focuses on energy and a back-of-book section on Kentucky culture. All stories must have a Kentucky connection.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: Unspecified
Pay: $75-935
Details here.
14. Virginia Wildlife
This is the magazine of Virginia’s Department of Game and Fisheries. Topics of interest include hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife habitat, game and fish recipes.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: 1000-1200, no more than 1,500; no additional pay for over 1,500 words
Pay: $500 per long feature, $200 for one-page articles, $50 for a journal article
Details here.
15. Oklahoma Today
The magazine focuses on Oklahoma’s people, places, events and culture.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: A few hundred for departments to up to 3,500 for features
Pay: $0.25/word
Details here.
16. Good Old Boat Magazine
Most of their readers own and do maintenance of their boats, which are fibreglass productions from the 1950s to the 2000s. Articles could discuss refits, maintenance, upgrades and restoration of these boats, or sailing stories, or histories of companies or personalities, or be ruminative. Details of their departments are in the guidelines. No destination articles, logs, or racing coverage.
Response time: Up to three weeks
Word count: Varies for departments and columns, from 200-5,000
Pay: Varies widely for departments and columns; $50-700
Details here.
17. PassageMaker Magazine
They cover all aspects of trawlers and ocean motorboats and welcome articles from around the world. Articles should be a combination of personal experience and the technical/ informative aspects. General, travel, how-to pieces about the boats and their systems, the crew, and the places they travel are welcome. They also accept articles for Channels, their e-newsletter.
Response time: Up to 60 days
Word count: 800-4,000 for the magazine, up to 1,200 for Channel e-newsletter articles
Pay: $300-950 for the magazine, $150-400 for newsletter articles
Details here.
18. Sailing Magazine
They cover all aspects of sailing, from learning how to sail in a dinghy to crossing an ocean on a large cruiser. They focus on sailing places that are realistic destinations for their readers, but can occasionally feature an outstanding and unique sailing destination. Readers are experienced sailors, so articles should use proper sailing terminology. They do not accept first-time sail experiences.
Response time: Up to three months
Word count: 100-500 for short news stories, 1,000-3,000 for features
Pay: $50-500
Details here.
19. Maine Boats, Homes and Harbours Magazine
This is a magazine of the coast of Maine, with focus on boating. Stories should have a strong Maine connection. They do not want log- or travel-style pieces. Departments are A Letter from Home, My Boat and My Harbour.
Response time: Unspecified
Word count: 1,000-1,500 for features, 500-700 for departments
Pay: $250 for shorter articles and up to $400-500 for feature articles
Details here.
