These are calls for themed nonfiction. Some of the themes are: water bodies; the reckoning in food media; transformation; artwork biographies; lunar; cultivate; queer and/or trans identity; animal agriculture; vinyl culture; and Solstice hygge. Some of the outlets also accept other genres, like fiction and poetry. – S. Kalekar
Compost: Water Bodies
Their website says, “Compost is a magazine about the digital commons. We curate art, reflections, and experiments about building the web as a shared resource with active stewards.” Also, during the development of an issue, contributors and the core team experiment with the design and governance of a digital commons. They are looking for pitches on the ‘Water Bodies’ theme for their third issue. They have extensive guidelines, and are looking for creative and critical pieces on the theme, including on water as an intrinsic component to digital technology; community resilience and organizing in the face of mismanaged water systems; histories of waterways as networks of atrocity, trade, communication, and sites of ritual. They want non-fiction, personal essays, profiles, interviews, as well as poetry and fiction, interactive media, and visual/graphic media. They want long form (3,000-3,800 words) and short to medium form (1,000-2,000 words) writing. Pay is $300 for participation in development of this project, and $100-600 for creative works. The deadline is 19 October 2022 (extended). Details are in the pitch guide here.
The Objective: The Reckoning in Food Media
Their website says, “The Objective is a nonprofit newsroom building collective and narrative power for journalists and communities that have been misrepresented or dismissed in order to change the way journalism is practiced in the U.S.” They want “reporting, essays, and criticism on the 2020 “reckoning in food media” — what the future of food media could look like and what we can learn from its past.
We are looking for stories that focus on the intersections of identity — race, gender, class, dis/ability, sexuality — and challenge stereotypes in food media. You are also welcome to challenge what reporting and criticism of “food media” is. We are open to, and encourage, pieces that aim to spark conversation on who’s not usually centered in legacy food media — agricultural workers and service workers, for example.” Pay is $200-600. The pitch deadline is 1 November 2022. Details here (also scroll down for FAQ).
Prairie Fire: The Peace We Make
Apart from non-fiction (up to 5,000 words), this literary magazine also publishes fiction and poetry. They have detailed guidelines on the theme ‘The Peace We Make’, including “that looks at the depth of peace, and the struggles that we’ve all had when it comes to creating peace instead of war.” Pay is CAD0.10/word for prose up to CAD250, CAD40/poem. The deadline is 28 October 2022. Details here (theme guidelines), here (general submission guidelines) and here (payment rates).
Betches: Travel pitches
Betches is a “female-led media and entertainment brand that provides a space for all women to get real about life—funny, honest, and unfiltered.” You can read more about them here and here. The director for digital content & strategy has recently tweeted, “We’re accepting travel pitches at @betchesluvthis! Think: Social commentary, hot takes, city guides, etc. Just make it fun and funny.” Rates start at $200 for articles like these. Details in the Twitter thread here.
Reappropriate: Filipinx American identity
Reappropriate is an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) race advocacy and feminism blog, focusing on race, gender, identity, Asian American history, and current events. They want pitches or full-length drafts of personal essays on Filipinx American identity, for Filipinx American History Month. “How does Filipinx American history and identity shape or complicate the Asian American experience? Why are Filipinx American stories so often undertold or overlooked?” Pay is $75-150 for work of 800-2,500 words. Details here and here.
Parabola: Transformation
Parabola is a quarterly journal that explores the quest for meaning as it is expressed in the world’s myths, symbols, and religious traditions, with particular emphasis on the relationship between this store of wisdom and our modern life. “We look for lively, penetrating material unencumbered by jargon or academic argument. We prefer well-researched, objective, and unsentimental pieces that are grounded in one or more religious or cultural tradition; articles that focus on dreams, visions, or other very personal experiences are unlikely to be accepted.” They publish articles (1,000-3,000 words), book reviews (500 words), retellings of traditional stories (500-1,500 words), forum contributions (up to 500 words), and poetry (up to 5 poems). The theme for their Spring 2023 issue is ‘Transformation’, and the deadline is 1 December 2022. They have other themes listed too, with later deadlines. Details here.
Contingent Magazine: Postcards
Contingent is a non-profit history magazine. “Our writers are adjuncts, museum workers, independent scholars—all people who work outside the tenure-track professoriate.” They are accepting pitches for the Postcards column: “We are accepting pitches for both research and conference postcards. The base pay for a postcard is $50”. Pitches are also open for How I Do History: “interviews… You can recommend yourself or someone else as a possible interviewee. Interviewees are paid $50.” Pitches for other types of articles – including reviews, features, and mini-essays, which pay $100 to $500 – are currently closed. Please see the examples of previously published work in the respective categories, before pitching. Details here.
Critical Read: Artwork Biographies
This is a magazine about American art and art history. Their website says, “Our mission is to re-imagine critical writing about the arts, and to make art history more inclusive and discoverable. We look for narrative-driven stories that combine research, reporting and analysis to reveal the hidden or forgotten history of the nonprofit arts.
Critical Read feature stories are artwork biographies that combine reporting and analysis by the most knowledgeable writers in their fields.” Fee-free pitches for Artwork Biographies are open now; they also have other opportunities listed, for which they charge a submission fee. Pay varies. Artwork Biographies pitches are accepted till end-December. Details here.
Tribal College: Trauma and Healing
Tribal College is the journal of American Indian higher education. For their Summer 2023 issue, the theme is ‘Trauma and Healing’. They seek both long features (2,500-3,000 words) and shorter features (2,000 words), as well as several departments. “Recently, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland told the National Congress of American Indians “We must shed light on the unspoken traumas of the past, no matter how hard it will be.” Only then can the healing begin. TCUs can play a critical role in this process. How does trauma manifest itself in individuals and communities? How do we confront trauma and what kinds of support can TCUs offer? What are effective ways to begin the healing process?” Pay varies; please note, there is no payment for the Voices or Research sections. The deadline for feature story suggestions is 4 November; the deadline for features is 6 January 2023; and for On Campus news shorts, the deadline is 13 January 2023. Details here (theme) and here (general writers’ guidelines).
The Suburban Review: Leaven
This Australian magazine is reading submissions of non-fiction (500-2,500 words), fiction, poetry, and art on the ‘Leaven’ theme – “we want work which rises from the world, or gives rise to a new one. Maybe your poetry is the catalyst that transforms its material into something better (or worse), your prose fiction grows and grows, or your literary essays make something extraordinary from quotidian or domestic life. Your photography, art, and comics might alter the very thing they picture.
To make rise can be political, social, economic, and completely personal. It happens in the public realm or in the private (think protests, but also think your sourdough starter). We want to receive work which foments and ferments, which inflates, and swells, and permeates.” Pay is AUD150-275 for prose, and AUD125-275 for poetry. The deadline is 27 October 2022. Details here (theme) and here (rates and general guidelines).
Taproot Magazine: Two themes
They want pieces exploring the topics of food, farm, family and craft. The magazine is divided into three sections: Head – essays about living a more connected life; Hands – recipes, crafts and projects to make yourself; and Heart – the personal experience of more connected living. Also, “We are looking for traditional and modern crafts. We are looking for recipes, and techniques to be carried into the kitchen, the garden, the pasture, the urban homestead, the rural farm.” Articles are 800-4,000 words. Two of their upcoming themes are Lunar (deadline 20 October), and Cultivate (deadline 1 December 2022). They have other themes listed too, with later deadlines. Details here.
Xtra Magazine: Essays about queer and/or trans identity
Xtra is a Canadian LGBTQ2S+ magazine, covering various issues, including culture, politics, and health. Their senior editor for power – politics, activism and identities has recently tweeted, “I’m set for October but if you have something evergreen or that would be timely in November/December: I’m looking for interesting essays about queer and/or trans identity.” Also, “I like nuanced work about queer/trans life that goes beyond coming out or not being seen, hybrid identities- esp those often left out of or pigeonholed in mainstream media, layered/complex stories of queer/trans joy.” The editor wants people telling their own stories, not others’. This is a paid opportunity. See the Twitter thread for details; and here are their general pitch guidelines, including for their ‘Love Like Mine’ column, about LGBTQ2S+ love in all its forms.
The Vinyl Factory: Vinyl culture
Their website of this UK-based organization says this is “A record label, pressing plant, magazine and curator/collaborator for artists and musicians to explore new ideas in audio-visual arts.
According to a recent tweet by their editor, “We’re looking for pitches at @TheVinylFactory for features, columns and all things related to vinyl culture, vinyl releases and more!” The opportunity is open internationally, and pays 40 pence/word. See the Twitter thread here.
Sasee: In the Spirit!
They want first-person, non-fiction material from freelance writers, of 500 to 1,000 words, that is for or about women. Essays, humor, satire, personal experience, and features on topics relating to women are their focus areas. Diversity of subjects that reflect all age groups and variety of writing styles are invited. Their next upcoming theme is ‘In the Spirit!’, to be published in December. Pay varies, and the deadline is 15 October 2022. They do not want fiction or poetry. Details here.
Sentient Media: Animal Agriculture
Sentient Media is looking for pitches. “Our mission is to change the conversation around animal agriculture. Big picture: we’re looking to get people talking about the impacts, injustices and consequences of meat and dairy farming.
Pitch me ideas for stories that give the reader new information or analysis on animal ag — could be climate emissions, air and water pollution, ecosystem and biodiversity impacts, rewilding projects, public health research, something else?” They also cover new animal behavior research, and their stories are animal-sensitive. Rates start at $200. Details in the Twitter thread by their managing editor here; their general contributor guidelines are here.
Sidetracked Magazine: Stories of Adventure
Sidetracked Magazine publishes stories of adventure, from anywhere in the world. Their guidelines say, “We are looking for stories which have a provocative theme or angle – a fresh take on the world of adventure; interesting people doing interesting things. Our stories must have something special and emotional to captivate our readers – they are not trip reports or destination reviews. They need to be more than that.” They have a callout for their next issue; “We’ll be considering pitches for Volume 26 soon, so it’s a good time to approach us! We publish personal stories of adventure, accompanied by top-quality photography.” Rates are between “£200 and £450 (this encompasses everything from short 5-600-word Single Moments to 2,000-word features)”. See the Twitter thread here and contributor guidelines here.
Ninth Letter: Constellations
They publish non-fiction (up to 3,500 words), as well as fiction and poetry submissions for their online magazine; the theme is ‘Constellations’. They have detailed guidelines, including, “With this theme, we hope our writers will explore the invisible ways disparate things connect if we observe, notice, hope, and imagine new relationships between them. … We seek work that makes connections we can’t see—constellations—out of things we wouldn’t expect or anticipate—things we think are separate—and we seek writers who can draw those lines for us so we can learn to see them differently, or realize what was there all along.” Pay is $75 for prose, $25 for poetry, and the deadline is 1 November 2022. Details here.
The Gay & Lesbian Review: Three themes
The Gay & Lesbian Review is a bimonthly magazine of history, culture, and politics targeting an educated readership of LGBT people, and their allies that publishes themed features (2,000-4,000 words), reviews, interviews, and departments. They have announced three themed calls, and they also invite suggestions for future themes.
— Bigger Than Life: Uncommon people who shaped our times
–– The Great Transformation: From bar culture to hookup world
— LGBT Science: New research on gender & sexual orientation
Writers can send proposals or complete pieces. They pay for features ($200) and full-length book reviews ($100). Details here.
Voyage: Young Adult Craft Essays
Voyage publishes YA fiction and non-fiction. They publish craft essays, too – “We’re interested in publishing craft essays to the Voyage site, specifically those that relate to the art of writing YA. We’re also interested in pieces that merge personal essay and craft essay–ones that also speak to the experience of being a YA writer.” For creative non-fiction, “We’re on the hunt for personal essays and other creative nonfiction that specifically relates to the teen experience.” Send work up to 6,000 words. Pay is $50 for craft essays, and $200 for creative non-fiction and fiction. Details here.
Business Insider: Non-linear schedules
The associate editor (freelance desk) of Business Insider/This is Insider has tweeted, “I would love some pitches or first-person essays from people who work non-linear schedules i.e. outside the 9-to-5 and find it more productive or improves their work-life balance.” Details here.
New Consumer Travel Storytelling Platform
Submissions are sought for two verticals of a consumer travel storytelling platform. “Seeking pitches for 2 verticals for consumer travel storytelling platform launching 2023: Burning Issues address critical tourism issues. Consider the scope issue + solutions/current status. Destination-specific or general. Ideal to bring in voices of affected ppl. Not how-to.” Also, “Also Game Changers: Focus on person/ppl doing notable work in some way related to tourism. Highlight the person, what they are doing, why they’re a game changer. The game changer should be actively included in the article, w/ quotes.” Pay is $100 for pieces of 500-900 words. See this Twitter thread for details.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
