Dear Writers,
Here’s our latest roundup of calls for writers — directly from editors, covering a wide variety of themes and topics.
Please carefully study the publication before contacting the editor. When writing your pitch, be sure to:
- Carefully study the publication, to get a sense of their style
- Have a clear idea of where you proposed article will fit into the publication
- Have a clear sense of the publication’s general schedule
- Have a clear sense of who the publication’s audience is
- Choose just one idea to pitch — and make sure it closely fits the publication’s needs
- Write a short pitch (no more than 200 words)
— Jacob Jans
Thanks to Fatima Saif for compiling this list.
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.
Guide Fall is a source for video game guides and tips. They are seeking feature pitches for May. They are not looking for anything in particular. Pay is $125 for about 1,000 words. If interested, email your pitches to andrew.smith@guidefall.com. To learn more, refer to their owner and editor-in-chief’s Tweet and their ‘about’ page.
Central New York Magazine is a lifestyle magazine for Central New Yorkers. They are looking for CNY-based photographers and writers. They generally pay $0.25 to $0.30 per word. To learn more, get in touch with their content editor at ableierlong@advancemediany.com. Read their Tweet here and contact them here.
Chicago Votes is “a non-partisan, non-profit organization building a more inclusive democracy by putting power in the hands of young Chicagoans.” They are seeking Chicago-based stories to publish on Sh*t Talkin’ Central. They want to “pay young Chicagoans to talk about Chicago issues, art, people, and movements.” They will pay selected writers $100. To learn more, refer to this Tweet and this form.
The Outerhaven is a source for gaming and geek culture news, reviews, guides, interviews, podcasts, and more. They are accepting pitches for the month of April. They cover the following via freelancers: video games; TV and film; entertainment; toys, figures/figurines/models; interviews; guides; and previews. They pay $0.04 cents/word up to 600 words, $0.05 cents/word from 600 to 800 words, and $0.06 cents/word from 800 words and above. For more information, read their Tweet and pitch guidelines.
Verywell Mind is a resource for mental health information. They are seeking AAPI writers who “have experience/are comfortable writing about AAPI culture, personal lived experiences of being an Asian American, and/or exploring the intersection of their identity and mental health.” This content will be to support Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with potential for regular mental health assignments. They will assign topics but will also be open to pitches. Rate is $200/piece. If interested, get in touch with their editor at aparkhuynh@verywell.com, ideally by April 22nd. Read their editor’s Twitter thread here and contact them here.
Deadline: April 22nd, 2022
The Progressive is a monthly magazine and a website that is a “bold voice for peace, social justice, and the common good.” They are seeking contributors interested in writing a piece on the abortion bans in Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Florida. They can pay $100 to $150 for an 800 to 1,200 word web article. If interested, email kassidy@progressive.org. For more information, refer to their editor’s Twitter thread and their writers guidelines.
Variable West is a platform for West Coast art. They have tweeted, “Any West Coast writers based in (or traveling to) NYC want to write about the Whitney Biennial, focusing on the WC artists? I’m thinking critical/analytical dispatch, 1000 words, $200.” If interested, send your pitches to hello@variablewest.com by the end of May/early June. For details, read their Tweet and pitch guidelines.
Youth Today is an independent media publisher that covers issues related to youth development, adolescent health, juvenile justice, education, and more. They are seeking pitches for reported stories in 2 very different areas:
“1-Issues facing young people with disabilities
2-Gun violence in the South”
They will pay around $1 per word. Pitches should be emailed to mbloom@csjournalism.org. For details, read their editor’s Tweet and their pitch guidelines.
The Financial Diet is a cross-platform media company and a digital destination where young women can talk about money. They are seeking story pitches for their “Making It Work YouTube” series. They pay $250 for personal essays of 800 to 1,000 words. Send your pitches to holly@thefinancialdiet.com. To learn more, refer to their Tweet and this page.
Military.com is a website that provides “news and information about benefits to military members, veterans, their families and those with military affinity.” They are looking for “thoughtful, deep reporting on service members and veterans and the issues that impact their lives.” “That could be investigative work on harms, it could be features revealing aspects of military life that aren’t talked about often.” They will pay at least $250. If interested, send your pitches to zach.biggs@military.com. To learn more, refer to their managing editor’s Twitter thread. To contact them, refer to this page.
Smart Mouth E-Newsletter is a twice-monthly newsletter that is a companion to the Smart Mouth podcast. They are accepting pitches from food writers. They are open to a wide range of pitches but specifically look for essays or reported pieces (300-500 words) about food/culture/food culture topics and blurbs (200 words) about a recommended restaurant or dish with an excellent photo. Pay is $400 for essays or reported pieces and $200 for blurbs. To learn more, refer to this Tweet and their pitch guidelines. Also see this case study, about how one writer broke into the newsletter.
Fatherly is a digital media brand for dads. Their health and science editor is looking to commission a feature. They want someone who has tried psilocybin for depression. They pay $200 to $250 for straightforward health/science explainers. To learn more, refer to their health and science editor’s Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.
SmartBrief, a subsidiary of Future Plc, is a leading publisher of targeted business news by industry. They are looking for freelance business writers who have experience of covering the marketing industry. The freelancers should be able to write authoritative and well-reported articles. Rate is $0.50 to $1.00 per word. To learn more, refer to this Tweet and this page.
Positive News is a website and quarterly print magazine that reports on what’s going right. They publish quality journalism about progress and possibility. Their digital editor is looking for uplifting, fun, and solutions-focused story ideas. Pay is 25p/word for debut assignments and 30p/word for repeat commissions. If interested, email your pitches to gavin@positive.news. Read their digital editor’s Twitter thread here and their pitching guide here.
The Local is a magazine that explores Toronto’s urban health and social issues. They are seeking Toronto-focused, heartfelt personal essays from young writers for their upcoming Climate issue. Rate is around 75 cents per word. If interested, send your pitches to inori@thelocal.to. To learn more, refer to their associate editor’s Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.
Sliced is a monthly food journalism magazine by Fed (a food startup that offers nutrition-focused meals for specialized diets). They are accepting pitches for their 10th and 11th issues: “Water” and “Scandal.” For the “Water” issue, they are looking for pitches about “farmers and well rights; droughts; geopolitics of freshwater access; foods that consume too much water in their production; the viability of future alternative water sources…” For the “Scandal” issue, they are seeking pitches about “abuse, exploitation, neglect by corporations and governments; false substitution or lying about ingredients; moral panic and mass hysteria, when fears over the perceived dangers of something are overstated, inflated or made up…” They pay CD$0.15/word for around 1,200 words. Email your pitches to editor@fedfedfed.com. To read their Twitter thread, click here. To read their previous issues, click here.
The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism offers business journalism training to journalists. They are looking for freelancers to “pitch and develop feature articles that are tied to the latest happenings in the news cycle and include tips, career advice, and/or other resources for fellow business writers to improve their reporting.” They pay $500 per article (around 500 words and at least 1 illustration/photo). To learn more, refer to their Tweet and this page.
TC Jewfolk is an independent Jewish online media hub that engages, informs, and connects the Jewish community in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. They welcome creative work, personal reflections, and opinions. They pay $50 to $100 per article. If interested, email your drafts and pitches to editor@tcjewfolk.com. To learn more, refer to their Tweet and submission guidelines.
Opportunity to Write about the Impact of College Reform Questions on Athletes: “I’d love to publish some newsletters from current college athletes (at any division, sport, etc) about how major college reform questions impact THEIR lives right NOW. Will pay $400 base + bonuses.” They also accept pitches from non-athletes about athletes as well as pitches from non-athletes that are not about athletes. Rate for non-athletes is at least $350 + commissions. For details, refer to this Twitter thread.
Science for the People (SftP) is a magazine and website dedicated to “building and promoting social movements and political struggles around progressive and radical perspectives on science and society.” They are seeking proposals about energy and extraction for their Autumn 2022 issue, “Bleeding Earth.” They pay $250 for feature-length stories of 2,000 words and above; $150 for shorter features, reviews, columns, and other articles of 1,200 to 1,500 words; $100 for short pieces of 600 to 1,000 words and interviews; $50 for data visualization / infographics; and $50 to $300 for visual art. To learn more, refer to their Tweet, call for proposals, and rates.
Deadline: April 22nd, 2022
MIT Technology Review is a media company that explains the commercial, political, and social impact of the newest technologies. They are looking for pitches for their upcoming issue on Gender. They welcome news, features, profiles, etc. Pay is $1 to $2 per word. Read their editor’s Tweet here. Learn more about them here.
Deadline: April 22nd, 2022
Yes! Magazine is an independent and nonpartisan publisher of solutions journalism. They are accepting pitches for the Fall 2022 issue of their magazine, the “Work” issue. The issue will “examine what work really means in contemporary society, and what it could mean if our society were reordered to prioritize health, fulfillment, fairness, and joy.” The website base rate for reported articles is $0.40/word and the print base rate is $0.50/word. Pitches should be sent to fall2022@yesmagazine.org. To learn more, read their Tweet, call for submissions, and submissions guidelines.
Deadline: April 29th, 2022
The Statesider is a newsletter that features interesting stories about US travel, culture, cuisines, landscapes, and more. They are seeking pitches for original stories, maps, graphics, comics, photo essays, and more on US travel and culture. Their stories are typically “first person narratives of an experience or a trip that helps illuminate a larger American issue.” For stories of 1,200+ words, they pay a flat rate of $500. For maps and infographics, they pay $200 for a standalone graphic and $300 for a graphic and a short write-up. For details, read this Tweet and their call for pitches.
Deadline: April 30th, 2022
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
