{"id":12742,"date":"2025-09-16T11:21:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T18:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/?p=12742"},"modified":"2025-09-16T11:21:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T18:21:36","slug":"25-themed-non-fiction-calls-for-essays-journalism-and-creative-non-fiction-september-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/uncategorized\/25-themed-non-fiction-calls-for-essays-journalism-and-creative-non-fiction-september-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"25 Themed Non-Fiction Calls for Essays, Journalism, and Creative Non-Fiction (September 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


By S. Kalekar

<\/strong>These are calls for pitches and submissions of themed essays, journalism, and creative non-fiction. Some of the call themes are: science; achieve prefect pacing (for writing); thresholds; forgotten (LGBTQ+) history; environmental stories; invisible cities; conservation stories in the US; crime (and tech); train rides; and performance. A few of the outlets also accept other genres, like fiction and poetry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asterisk: Science<\/strong>
Asterisk Magazine<\/a> is looking for pitches for Issue 13, and the theme is Science. \u201cWe like to joke that we’re the only general interest magazine that publishes 5,000 word essays on social science methodology. But we’ve decided: no more softy stuff Issue 13 Asterisk is doing Hard Science\u201d. \u201cScience, meta-science, public epistemics. Biology, energy, the environment, drugs, clinical trials. CRISPR, cancer, consciousness. How do we best fund science? How do we best communicate science? How do we do science better? How do we do science faster?\u201d They are looking for 3-4 paragraph pitches now, while drafts are due in October. They pay $2,000 for pieces in the 3,000-4,000 word range. See the pitch call\/thread here<\/a>.

Writer\u2019s Digest: Achieve Perfect Pacing\u00a0
<\/strong>Writer\u2019s Digest is a print and online magazine for writers, which aims to \u201ckeep readers abreast of industry trends, of the latest writers who found success and what they did to achieve it, and of innovative ways to improve and empower the inner raconteur\u201d of their readers. They consider completed manuscripts on spec, as well as original pitches. They say writers should allow 2-4 months for a response. They\u2019re open for submissions for their March\/April 2026 theme, Achieve Perfect Pacing. \u201cAn issue dedicated to pacing in any and every interpretation of the word as it relates to writing and publishing. That means, how to keep the pace going in a specific genres, or how to write dialogue that comes across as quick banter. It also means, advice for indie authors on how to pace the release of their books and understanding traditional publishing timelines, and much more.\u201d You can read about that here<\/a>; pitching for each theme is via a form on their website, which will close when that issue is filled. Apart from features, they have several departments and columns. They pay $0.50\/word for first world rights for one-time print use and perpetual electronic use. They do not pay for unsolicited online articles and guest posts, except in rare cases when the content is highly focused or unique, in which case they pay $50-$100. General submission guidelines are here<\/a>.

The London Magazine: Literature<\/strong> in its intersections with culture, politics and the personal<\/strong>
The London Magazine is a UK-based literary magazine in print and online; they accept fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They charge a fee for general unsolicited submissions, and also have fee-free submission periods which are listed on their guidelines page<\/a> (they open at the beginning of each listed month and close when the cap is reached). Their editor has recently issued a pitch call for essays: \u201cThe London Mag is inviting pitches for essays, reviews and interviews that explore literature in its many intersections with culture, politics and the personal.\u201d There is no submission fee for these essays. Rates for print non-fiction start at \u00a3150. See the pitch call\/thread here<\/a>.

Derange: Literary Journalism
<\/strong>\u201cDerange is looking for literary journalism. We can pay $100 per piece, and the subject matter can be about anything. Ideally, your story will pair boots-on-the-ground reporting with narrative flair.\u201d Stories have to be 2,000-3,000 words. See the pitch call here<\/a> and their general pitch guide is here<\/a>.

Climate Home News: Critical mineral supply chains
<\/strong>Climate Home News is looking for pitches from those who have at least three years\u2019 experience as a journalist, on critical mineral supply chains. They want work on trends shaping supply chains for energy transition minerals and addressing their sustainability challenges.
They pay $0.46\/word up to 800 words. They have detailed guidelines, you have to sign up to read. Details here<\/a>.

Full Stop<\/strong>
Full Stop is looking for feature-length essays. Their About page says, \u201cFull Stop publishes criticism with an emphasis on<\/strong> debuts, works in translation, and books published by small presses<\/strong>. Our writers and editors give rigorous attention to works without substantial financial backing or cultural recognition, or that may not be covered elsewhere.\u201d They publish reviews, interviews, and feature essays online, and also have digital quarterlies. Please note, they pay for feature-length\u00a0essays<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0only, $150. They do not publish fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction. See the pitch call\/thread here<\/a> and their general pitch guide here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Quest: Thresholds
<\/strong>They are reading for their first issue. \u201cQuest is a new online magazine publishing literary, visual, and critical work that uses sci-fi and fantasy to reflect the world around us.\u201d They want nonfiction, fiction (including serialized fiction), poetry, comics, art, and music on the Thresholds theme. \u201cIn this issue, we want stories, essays, comics, poems, art, and criticism that explore our take on \u201cThresholds\u201d: moments of inflection, tipping points, etc.\u201d They pay $12-100 for written work and $25-100 per installation of story. The submission deadline is 15th<\/sup> September 2025. Details here<\/a>.

<\/strong>Mother Jones: Mixed Media<\/strong>
Mother Jones is an investigative news organization that delivers \u201cmultiplatform reporting on the urgent issues of our time, from democracy protection and climate change to extremism and beyond.\u201d They\u2019ve recently issued a call for their Mixed Media section; \u201cThink arts criticism, essays, interviews.\u201d \u201cMixed Media is the culture section of our magazine. We welcome pitches for 1,500- to 2,500-word reported essays, profiles, and culture dispatches, especially those that examine<\/a> structures of power, explore<\/a> identity<\/a>, or illuminate<\/a> cultural undercurrents.\u201d  Rates start at $1.75\/word for print and $0.75 for online. See the call here<\/a> and their general pitch guide here<\/a>.

Rough Cut Press: Silence
<\/strong>They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose of up to 650 words on the Silence theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 September 2025. Details here<\/a>.
<\/strong>
The Revelator: Conservation stories set in the US
<\/strong>They reopened for pitches recently for a limited number of freelance stories, which will run in November and December. They have detailed guidelines, including, \u201cWe\u2019re primarily looking for conservation stories set in the United States right now. More specifically, we want the conservation stories that other publishers just don\u2019t know how to handle \u2014 the stories you believe in, that get under your skin, that make your reporter\u2019s radar scream, but you haven\u2019t found a place to tell them yet.\u201d Also see the list of things that interest them, and also the kind of articles they do not want (including pitches about their parent organization, the Center for Biological Diversity, or issues in which they have an active involvement). They pay $300-500 for 1,000-1,500 words; they distribute them under a Creative Commons license. See the pitch call here<\/a> and their pitch guide is here<\/a>.

Asian Dispatch: Asian societies, culture, politics, and more<\/strong>
Their outgoing editor has issued a pitch call: \u201cAsian Dispatch is seeking pitches from journalists across Asia on stories around Asian societies, culture, politics, technology, and climate. Brownie points for those who can think beyond their regions, and pitch cross-border, on-ground reportage, sharp\/in-depth analysis, and personal essays. If you\u2019ve never done cross-border reporting, our wonderful team is happy to help you find reporting partners in other countries and provide editorial guidance throughout. Our rates are $250 for pieces up to 1,500 words, and $350 for longer, cross-border reporting.\u201d See their pitch call here<\/a> and general pitch guide here<\/a>.  

Gay & Lesbian Review: Three themes<\/strong>
They accept unsolicited manuscripts and proposals on all LGBT-related topics. They are especially looking for work on these themes:
— Forgotten History: <\/strong>From a Civil War bromance to a lesbian prison riot
— The Kink Issue:<\/strong> Alternative sexualities
— Ethnographic Journeys:<\/strong> LGBT lives in non-Western cultures
They also welcome suggestions. They accept feature pitches\/features (2,000 to 4,000 words), as well as work for various sections\/columns and reviews. Some sections are unpaid. They pay $250 for feature articles, and writers of full reviews can request $100 payment (see guidelines). Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Contingent Magazine: Mailbag and Postcards Columns
<\/strong>Contingent is a non-profit history magazine. \u201cOur writers are adjuncts, museum workers, independent scholars\u2014all people who work outside the tenure-track professoriate.\u201d They are accepting pitches for the Mailbag<\/a> column, which is \u201croughly 400 to 500 words. Is there a question you\u2019re often asked about the work of doing history? Do you wish there were a short, accessible answer to that question you could just point them to? Write it for us. The base pay is $150.\u201d
They are also accepting pitches for the Postcards<\/a> column. \u201cWe are accepting pitches for both research and conference postcards. The base pay for a postcard is $50.\u201d
All other sections are currently closed. See the pitch call here<\/a>. Details are in their pitch guide here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0

Dialogue Earth: Environmental Stories
<\/strong>\u201cDialogue Earth is an independent non-profit platform dedicated to bringing compelling environmental stories from local voices to audiences around the world. We publish reporting, opinion and analysis in English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, and Bengali.We welcome pitches for articles between 1,000 and 1,500 words from journalists and experts. We will work with writers to develop their stories and do not accept pre-written pieces.\u201d They have theme-specific calls for these each of these desks\/regions (see guidelines for details of each): China<\/strong>, Asia Pacific<\/strong>, South Asia<\/strong>, Southeast Asia \u2013 Mekong region<\/strong>, Southeast Asia \u2013 Malay Archipelago<\/strong>, Africa<\/strong>, Latin America<\/strong>, Global\u00a0China<\/strong>,and Global ocean<\/strong>. \u201cFees for journalism are based on\u00a0competitive market rates in the author\u2019s region.\u201d They also accept pitches from non-journalists: academics, policymakers, activists and other experts, but do not pay for opinion pieces. Details here<\/a>.

Poets & Writers: Inspiration
<\/strong>They publish articles of interest to emerging and established literary writers. They publish News & Trends, The Literary Life Essays (on the more contemplative aspects of writing, ranging from creative process to the art of reading), The Practical Writer (advice and how-to articles that offer nuts and bolts information about the business of creative writing), and features of 2,000-3,000 words \u2013 articles, essays, profiles, and interviews regarding American literature. According to their section for advertisers, for January\/February 2026, the issue theme is Inspiration. (see Upcoming Issues and Deadlines here<\/a>). They do not publish fiction, poetry, or reviews. They accept pitches as well as articles on spec (see guidelines), and take 4-6 weeks to respond to queries or manuscripts. Details here<\/a> (themes) and here<\/a> (writers\u2019 guidelines).

The Kenyon Review: Four themes
<\/strong>This well-regarded literary journal is open for unthemed as well as themed submissions of nonfiction (including flash, up to 1,000 words), fiction, and poetry. \u201cIn 2026, our magazine will feature folios on the following themes:
Alchemy: The NOPE Dossier <\/strong>(edited by poet Cate Marvin)
Invisible Cities
Precarity
Document (Previously: Who Gets to Be American?)
<\/strong>We invite work that broadly interprets these themes. When you submit, you will have the option to identify your work for general submission or the themes.\u201d See guidelines for details on each theme. They also accept excerpts from larger works, as well as translations. They accept up to 7,500 words for prose, up to 6 poems, up to 30 pages for excerpts. They pay $0.08\/word for prose up to $450, $0.16\/word for poetry up to $200. The submission deadline is 30 September 2025. Details here<\/a> and here<\/a>.

Business Insider: Recent\/upcoming travels, train rides, and more<\/strong>
An editor is looking for pitches for Business Insider<\/a>: \u201cLooking to assign stories for the fall and winter months! Tell me about your recent or upcoming travels, train rides, flight upgrades, and the recipes you’re loving! Rates start at $200 for 600 words\u201d. See the pitch call here<\/a> and the pitch form for this call is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NPQ: We Stood Up Column<\/strong>
NPQ (Non Profit Quarterly) is an American magazine. They are inviting submissions of up to 500 words for their We Stood Up<\/a>\u00a0column. \u201cWe Stood Up offers workers, builders, & organizers the opportunity to share a first-person story from their work & world. If you would like to share a story about how you participated in organizing a more just workplace, please send your submission to NPQ\u201d. And, \u201cNPQ\u00a0<\/em>offers $300 for contributions to this space that is dedicated to showcasing grassroots and worker voices.\u201d See the pitch call here<\/a> and guidelines for this column are here<\/a>.

Rudaan Books: Thoughts from the Writers Desk Column<\/strong>
\u201cRuad\u00e1n…Books is an independent publisher focusing on dark thrillers and speculative fiction with a nonfiction column online. \u2026 We especially welcome writers from marginalized demographics.\u201d \u201cFor Ruad\u00e1n\u2019s nonfiction column\u00a0Thoughts From the Writer\u2019s Desk<\/em>, we are looking for\u00a0unpublished, original\u00a0nonfiction essays about the writing life and individual journeys in the world of writing, in-depth tips on the craft and business of writing, thoughtful columns on genre fiction, especially horror, dark fiction, and speculative fiction in general. We appreciate personal perspectives, unique insights, and profound stories. Ruad\u00e1n Books wants nonfiction essays that make people learn something and\u00a0feel\u00a0<\/em>something.\u201d Essays have to be 1,000-2,000 words, and they pay $0.10\/word for originals. They will also consider reprints, but only if they are not available to read online, and pay $0.03\/word for those.\u00a0Details here<\/a>.

Design Observer: <\/strong>The Design of Horror | The Horror of Design<\/strong><\/a> (DH | HD)
<\/strong>Design Observer publishes work on \u201cdesign and its role in shaping culture, commerce, society, and the planet\u201d. They\u2019re seeking pitches on The Design of Horror | The Horror of Design theme. \u201cWhether you\u2019re seduced by the scary or shy away from it, we want your take on the most chilling and thrilling ways that horror and design intersect. What cursed objects, theories, trends, policies, or people are haunting today\u2019s designers? What horrors from history, and harbingers of frights still to come, should we be paying attention to? How can we dredge up enough final-girl energy to confront these resident evils?
We welcome art-eds, op-eds, criticism, reported articles, and multimedia work from professional designers and journalists.\u00a0Read the rest of this pitch guide for more on what types of stories will make us bite. Also check out some of our\u00a0archival<\/a>\u00a0horror\u00a0coverage<\/a>\u00a0for inspiration.\u201d Rates start at $1.50 a word for commissioned short pieces featuring original reporting and sourcing (typically, 500-900 words);\u00a0longer reported pieces will be commissioned on a case-by-case basis.\u00a0And they pay $150 for art-eds, op-eds, and essays (~800-900 words) by design leaders, practitioners, thinkers, and writers. Pitches on The Design of Horror theme are due by 22nd<\/sup> September 2025. Details here<\/a> and see the pitch call here<\/a>.
(Design Observer is also looking for pitches on other themes on an ongoing basis: The perils and promise of AI<\/strong>; Travelin\u2019 thru<\/strong>; and How are you imagining your future?<\/strong>)

Lucky Jefferson: Bond<\/strong>
Lucky Jefferson publishes social change. For their upcoming print issue, they want submissions on the Bond theme. \u201cIn collaboration with currently incarcerated artist Juan Hernandez,\u00a0Bond<\/strong>invites currently and previously incarcerated individuals, as well as those connected to them, to\u00a0share creative works that explore the unconventional relationships shaped by incarceration.\u00a0This could include connections to objects, communal ties, or bonds formed within the carceral system.
Participants\u2014including friends, family, and pen pals<\/em>\u2014are encouraged to submit poetry, essays, comics, graphic art, and more to share stories that reveal the human need for connection.\u201d Send prose up to 1,000 words. They pay $30. They are open until filled, for this theme. Details here<\/a> and here<\/a> (see the relevant category on Submittable).\u00a0

Mongabay: Stories about Africa
<\/strong>They invite pitches from experienced journalists for news stories, features, investigative reports, profiles, and case studies, on Africa.\u00a0They have detailed guidelines, including, \u201cThis reporting project aims to strengthen understanding of the global and local forces affecting Africa\u2019s ecosystems, and foreground the voices of those impacted by environmental changes, considering both fruitful and harmful connections between conservation and development.\u201d They are interested in these broad themes: development pressures, environmental change, tracing supply chains, sustainability, and conservation<\/strong>. Completed articles will be 800-2,000 words and should include quotes from at least three original interviews. \u201cCompleted stories will be paid on a per word or fixed fee basis,\u00a0with rates depending primarily on the journalist\u2019s experience.\u201d They publish under a Creative Commons license. Details here<\/a>. \u00a0

Consequence Forum<\/strong>
They address the human consequences of war and geopolitical violence<\/strong> through literature and art. They accept non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and art. For this issue, their translation feature is The Congo<\/strong>, for which they have detailed guidelines. \u201cFor our Volume 18.1 Translations feature,\u00a0Consequence<\/em>\u00a0invites literary translations from the languages of the Congo into English\u2014especially from Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, and French\u2014that engage with the lived realities and long shadows of war, colonialism, extraction, and displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the broader Congo Basin.
We welcome poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, oral histories, personal essays\u2014whether historical or ongoing, collective or deeply personal.\u201d
They pay $20-50 for writing. The submission deadline is 15th<\/sup> October 2025. Details here<\/a> and here<\/a>.

Ninth Letter: Performance
<\/strong>There is no fee to submit to their themed submission call for the web, for the Performance theme. \u201cTo perform is to, for some audience, create the illusion that reality is\u00a0this,\u00a0<\/em>rather than\u00a0that<\/em>. We do this everywhere\u2013our social (and social media) lives, our dress, our relationships, our feelings, our genders, all performed in their ways; all around us there is the low hum of wishful artifice imparting an intended impression onto seen and unseen\u2014perhaps even imaginary–spectators. Taken to its logical conclusion, a reasonable, if cynical, truth emerges: performance, in our day-to-day, is so essential, so inextricable from our quote-unquote \u201cauthentic selves,\u201d that perhaps the authentic self is simply the sum of a lifetime of performances\u2013that the show has somehow become its own type of truth. In professional wrestling, the word for this is \u201ckayfabe\u201d–the unspoken agreement that not only is the show inextricable from reality, but that, in essence,\u00a0the performance is the reality.<\/em>\u00a0Or is it? How do we perform, and for whom?\u201d Submit one piece of short prose (non-fiction or fiction) of up to 3,500 words, or up to three poems. They pay $25 per poem or $75 per piece of prose. The submission deadline is 1st<\/sup> November 2025 for the web edition. Details here<\/a>.
(There is a fee to submit to Ninth Letter\u2019s unthemed print edition, with a fee-free period in December \u2013 see guidelines<\/a>.)

MIT Technology Review: Crime
<\/strong>Their editor has issued a pitch call: \u201cMIT Technology Review is seeking pitches for an upcoming print issue. The theme is Crime. We’re looking for pitches for longer pieces: narrative features, compelling investigations, essential profiles, and super-sharp essays. This call for pitches is aimed at journalists, but if you’re an expert with a strong idea, please don’t hesitate to reach out.\u201d They pay $1-2 per word. The pitch deadline is 26 September 2025. Details here<\/a> and here<\/a>; see their pitch guide here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bio:<\/strong>\u00a0S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By S. Kalekar These are calls for pitches and submissions of themed essays, journalism, and creative non-fiction. Some of the call themes are: science; achieve prefect pacing (for writing); thresholds; forgotten (LGBTQ+) history; environmental stories; invisible cities; conservation stories in the US; crime (and tech); train rides; and performance. A few of the outlets also…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12743,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12742\/revisions\/12743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}