Dear Writers,
Here’s our latest roundup of calls for pitches directly from editors.
Please carefully study each publication before sending a pitch.
If you’re new to pitching, here are a few resources to help you get started:
- How to Write a Pitch that Gets You Paid (Based on Real-World Examples)
- How to Pitch a Listicle About Pop Culture
- Case Study: How I Broke into the Smart Mouth Newsletter and Earned $1 per Word
- Everything You Need to Get Your Articles Published in 2022
— Jacob Jans
Thanks to Fatima Saif for compiling this list.
The Texas Observer is a bimonthly (six issues/year) magazine and website that offers sharp reporting on news, politics, and culture of Texas. They are accepting pitches from freelancers. They publish short news stories (500 to 1,000 words), political commentaries and opinions (500 to 1,000 words), book reports (800 to 1,200 words), features (1,500 to 4,000 words), culture features (2,000 to 3,500 words), essays (1,000 to 1,500 words), postcards (2,000 to 3,500 words), and poems (30 lines or shorter). They pay $0.50 per word. To learn more, refer to their tweet and pitch guide.
When Saturday Comes is Britain’s leading football magazine. They welcome pitches from first-time writers. Most of their articles are around 750 words but there are some exceptions, for example, Match of the Month articles are around 1,500 to 1,800 words. They pay a standard fee of £75 for 750-word articles. They pay £50 for book reviews and up to £125 for longer articles e.g. Match of the Month. For more information, read their tweet and pitching guide.
Resonate is a new online travel publication. They are looking for pitches: “I received nearly 100 pitches for Resonate before the end of last year (thank you!), but not a single one was for our Game Changers vertical. I am seeking pitches/assigning stories for Game Changers, Burning Issues, & Local Stories.” Payment is €100 for 600 to 1,000 words. To learn more, refer to this tweet and their writers guidelines.
The Food Section provides food and drink coverage across the American South. They have a few slots open for freelance contributions for spring 2023. They pay $1,000 for reported stories (1,200 words) on food/drink in the American South. For details, refer to this tweet and their guidelines.
Slow Ways is a national walking network connecting all the towns and cities of Great Britain. They are partnering with All the Elements and Huck Magazine’s Outsiders Project for a new project, Tales from a Slow Way. For this project, they are looking to commission creatives and groups to co-produce stories situated on their walking routes. The stories can be about any topic and can be in any format (film, music, art, photo essays, zines, creative writing, etc.). The stories should inspire people to contribute to and use their network of Slow Ways. Fee is £2,000. For more information, refer to their tweet and this page.
Deadline: January 21st, 2023
Autostraddle is an LGBTQ+ online sphere for women and non-binary people. Their culture editor is accepting pitches on all things culture. Payment is $100 to $200 per piece. Black queer to the front. Send your pitches to shelli@autostraddle.com. Read their culture editor’s tweet here. Contact them here.
Next City is a nonprofit news organization that covers urban policy, planning, transportation, and design. They are always seeking “stories about solutions to advance social, racial or environmental justice in cities, focused on but not only USA.” Rates begin at $400. For more information, read this tweet and their pitch guidelines.
Hispanic Kitchen is an online source for Hispanic recipes. They are looking for pitches on:
– “Latinas and motherhood, empowerment, essays, and stories.” Rate: $100
– “Latino recipes.” Rate: $50
– “Historias en español para SOMOS mitu.” Rate: $100
Send your pitches to yamily.habib@nglmitu.com. To learn more, refer to this tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.
Slate is an online general-interest magazine that offers analysis and commentary on news, politics, business, culture, and technology. Their senior editor is seeking pitches for their new fitness column. Pay is $300 to $750. If interested, send your pitches to shannon.palus@slate.com. Read their senior editor’s tweet here and their pitch guide here.
Deadline: January 11th, 2023
Better to Speak is “a Black youth-led community media platform working to transform silence into language and action.” They are looking for pitches and submissions. They publish pieces by young Black storytellers (18-30). They primarily publish commentary/analysis and personal essays. Rate: $0.10 per word. To learn more, refer to their Twitter thread, contributing writer network form, and submission guidelines.
As Equals is a series by CNN about systemic gender inequality. They are looking for pitches for a new series that they are calling Stories from the Margins. They want “stories that reveal, explain, or investigate some facet of what it’s like to belong to certain categories of women whose stories remain largely out of view.” These include (but are not limited to) sex workers, domestic workers, undocumented women, older women (45+), trans women, non-binary people, women from religious minorities, religious women defying the mainstream narratives, disabled women, and indigenous women. They will strongly prefer pitches for stories from the global south. They will pay journalists a day rate of $350. Each story will be around 2,000 words. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread and this call for pitches.
Deadline: January 24th, 2023
Metro Opinion is a platform by Metro.co.uk. They are accepting pitches for first-person and/or timely opinion pieces. They usually pay £100 for 800 words. Send your pitches to kya.buller@metro.co.uk. To learn more, refer to this tweet and their website.
Byrdie is an online beauty publication. Their editor is always seeking beauty and wellness pitches. Pay starts at $200. If interested, send your pitches to ohancock@dotdashmdp.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s tweet and their editorial guidelines.
palabra. is a digital news outlet for National Hispanic Journalists Association’s freelance members. They are seeking pitches on the education beat. They want national stories with a local angle. Rate is $1 per word. To learn more, refer to their managing editor’s tweet and their ‘about’ page.
Parents.com helps parents raise happy, healthy kids. Their senior editor has tweeted, “Open to essay, lifestyle, entertainment, and feature pitches at Parents.com, especially stuff on family and parenting trends and zeitgeist.” Pay: $150 and up. To read their senior editor’s tweet, click here. To visit their website, click here.
The Savannahian, a digital alt weekly about Savannah, is accepting pitches from freelance writers local to Savannah. They will pay $50 for pieces on culture, music/arts, etc. of Savannah, GA. To learn more, refer to their founding 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 looking for a British Columbia-based freelance writer to report 1 story/month on food and agriculture in BC. They will pay $350. They aim to commission by Jan 11. If interested, email editor@fedfedfed.com. Read their Twitter thread here. Get a sense of their style and interests here.
Mother Jones is an investigative news organization. They are “commissioning online features and magazine stories: culture essays, back-of-the-book columns, front-of-the-book dispatches, and features/profiles.” Their print rates begin at $1.75 per word and online rates begin at $0.75 per word. To learn more, refer to their editorial director’s tweet and their freelance writer guidelines.
ILY is an online magazine about love. Their features editor has tweeted, “I’m looking for pitches for reported stories/trend pieces (think less tik-tok trends, more larger studies) on self-love, dating, romance, friendship, parenthood and familial love, NO PERSONAL ESSAYS.” They will pay up to $200. Pitches should be sent to rae@ilymag.com. To read their features editor’s Twitter thread, click here. To learn more about them, click here.
Sentient Media is a news organization that reports on the impact of animal agriculture. They are always seeking “pitches on the impacts, injustices and consequences of meat and dairy farming.” Rates begin at $200. To learn more, read their executive editor’s tweet and their pitch guidelines.
Spike is a print and online contemporary art magazine. Their editor has tweeted, “Feel free to send me pitches in cultural criticism—we obv love art and are branching out to fashion and literature.” They pay 150-400 euros per piece. If interested, send your pitches to geoffrey.mak@gmail.com. Read their editor’s tweet here. Learn more about them here.
The Blacklight is the New York Amsterdam News’ investigative unit. They are currently “accepting pitches for stories about the impact of COVID-19 as well as gun violence on Black and brown communities, esp. in NYC.” They pay $250+ for fact checks (500 to 1,000 words, 1 to 2 interviews); $1/word for medium length articles (800 to 1,500 words, 2 to 4 interviews); $2/word or a flat commission fee for long form articles (1,500+ words, 4+ interviews); and $250 to $500+ for data visualizations. To learn more, refer to their investigative editor’s Twitter thread and this page.
Tripsitter is an educational resource that explores the safe use of psychedelics. They are looking for writers (up to 3) interested in “writing about psychedelics, cannabis, and the prohibition of drugs.” They will pay $0.10 per word. This opportunity can easily transition to regular work. If interested, send your pitches or manuscripts via email to jgordon@jgordoncurtis.com or via DM on Twitter. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread and their ‘about’ page.
SFGate covers news and entertainment from the Bay Area and beyond. Their culture editor would love to assign a few culture features for January. They will pay $200 to $400+. If interested, email your pitches to dan.gentile@sfgate.com. To read their culture editor’s Twitter thread, click here. To contact them, click here.
Texas Monthly is a magazine and website that covers Texas news, politics, culture, food, travel, history, music, crime, and more. Their deputy editor, digital is seeking “essays from Texans and interesting stories in and about Texas/Texans.” They typically pay $0.50 per word for online pieces. Send your pitches to svillarreal@texasmonthly.com. Read their editor’s Twitter thread here. Contact them here.
Deceleration is “a nonprofit journal of environmental justice serving San Antonio, South Texas, and the world.” They have tweeted, “2023 Planning! ISO pitches from freelance writers for calendar, features, profiles, meeting coverage, fotos, more. And welcoming those special people who want to donate time+skills toward grant writing, business dvpt, advertising, more.” They pay $50/$150 for short meeting reports and reviews and $0.50 per word for longer features ticking up $500/$600. To learn more, refer to their tweet and this page.
American Greetings is a greeting cards publisher. They are seeking freelance greeting card writers. They welcome all voices and backgrounds. They are “especially interested in folks familiar with Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish holidays.” Pay is $200 per card. To learn more, refer to this tweet. To apply, refer to this page.
BuzzFeed News is a news website by BuzzFeed. Their tech desk editor is looking for tech-related stories that are smart, ambitious, and unexpected. They pay $0.33 per word for essays and $0.50 per word for reported pieces. Send your pitches to mark.yarm@buzzfeed.com. To read their tech desk editor’s tweets, click here and here. To visit their website, click here.
Fortunes is a series (by The New York Times Opinion) on the psychology of class. They are accepting pitches for personal essays that explore “the ways that class shapes psychology.” Payment reports indicate they pay up to $1 per word. If interested, email your pitches to cornelia.channing@nytimes.com. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread and their previous essays.
Parents.com helps parents raise happy, healthy kids. In 2023, their editorial director will be “assigning one article for each week of pregnancy.” “These will be science-backed explainers with a personal twist: the unique added perspective of YOU as a parent and/or formerly pregnant person (and writer).” Their editorial director hasn’t mentioned the rates in her tweet, but according to a tweet by the editorial director for Kindred by Parents (a Black family focused community), they pay $250 to $400+. To read their editorial director’s Twitter thread, click here. To visit their website, click here.
