{"id":8127,"date":"2020-06-12T06:48:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T13:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/?p=8127"},"modified":"2020-06-12T07:06:05","modified_gmt":"2020-06-12T14:06:05","slug":"35-themed-calls-for-submissions-non-fiction-essays-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/uncategorized\/35-themed-calls-for-submissions-non-fiction-essays-etc\/","title":{"rendered":"35 Themed Calls for Submissions (Non-Fiction, Essays, Etc)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are more than 35 themes for non-fiction pitches\/articles for the 21 magazines\/websites listed here. While a few specify deadlines, most don\u2019t, so it is best to get queries in early. Some of the themes are: climate activism\/injustice; on the hunt for exoplanets; Earth Day; Star Trek and the Black Lives Matter movement; LGBTQ and science\/health; best of fall; race and money; Halloween; labor in the pandemic; and privilege and power. Many outlets accept pitches outside of these themes also. \u2013 S. Kalekar<\/strong>

Ours to Save: Climate activism\/injustice
<\/strong>This is a website that documents climate change and activism. They have called for pitches about short profiles of climate activism\/injustice local to you, and also longer, research-based, investigative features. They are particularly interested in work to support their #plasticfreepints<\/a> campaign. They accept crowdsourced (unpaid) material as well as paid-for work, so make sure to email\/query the correct contact. They pay \u00a330-80. Details here<\/a> (pitch call on Twitter) and here<\/a> (website\/contact).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muse Magazine: Three themes<\/strong>
Cricket Media\u2019s Muse Magazine is a discovery (science, non-fiction) magazine for 9-14-year-old readers. They publish feature articles (800\u20132,000 words, including sidebars), profiles and interviews,\u00a0particularly of underrepresented STEM professionals (500\u2013800 words), activities and experiments (500\u2013800 words), photo essays (100\u2013300 words), science fiction or science-focused fiction (800\u20131,200 words), and infographics.

They are currently reading article pitches for several themes, including these:

— January 2021: Superpowers.<\/strong> Their guidelines say, \u201cWhere do fictional superpowers intersect with real fields of science?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible  topics: The magic and science of psychic abilities; Animals\u2019 special  senses and amazing abilities; Real inspirations behind fictional comic  book characters; Superheroes and genetics; Mutations and startling or  unique genetic variations; Technology that gives us \u201csuperpowers\u201d \u2019 Queries by: June 15, 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/strong>– February 2021: Good Sports. <\/strong>Their guidelines say, \u201cHow do inventors, athletes, and tech professionals work together to develop new sports or games\u2014and improve  existing ones? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible topics: Profiles of under-recognized  sports-adjacent inventors, past and present; Gear and games that  increase inclusion, especially for differently abled athletes;  Competitive advantages such as improved footwear: OK or against the  rules?; The future of e-sports; Interactive game design activities\u201d Queries by: July 15, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/strong>– March 2021: On the Hunt for Exoplanets. <\/strong>Their guidelines say, \u201cWhat are exoplanets, and how and why do we learn about them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible  topics: Habitable zone and implications for alien life, space  colonization; Exoplanet discoveries, breakthroughs, and unanswered  questions; Astronomer profiles; Deep dives into Kepler mission,  telescopes; History of \u201chuman computers\u201d in astronomy\u201d Queries by: August 17, 2020.
There are several other themes listed. Details here<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Cobblestone Magazine: <\/strong>Clara Barton; Earth Day<\/strong>
<\/strong>This is an American history magazine for children ages 9-14 from Cricket Media. They are currently accepting queries on some themes, including Clara Barton and Earth Day; there are other themes listed as well. Articles should have historical accuracy and lively, original approaches to the subject at hand \u2013 they publish features (in-depth non-fiction, plays, first-person accounts, and biographies), and supplemental non-fiction (subjects directly and indirectly related to the theme — editors like little-known information but encourage writers not to overlook the obvious). They also publish fiction (authentic historical and biographical fiction, adventure, and retold legends relating to the theme), activities (crafts, recipes, woodworking, or any other interesting projects that can be done either by children alone or with adult supervision), theme-related poetry, as well as puzzles and games. The query deadline is 1 July 2020 for both themes. Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n



Sub-Terrain Magazine: Isms
<\/strong>They accept commentary, social or otherwise (up to 4,000 words), as well as creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. For the Isms theme their guidelines say, \u201cIn a time of acute social activism, and some might say, division, issue #87 invites writers to ponder \u201cisms.\u201d Racism, classism, conservatism, pacifism, feminism, sexism, atheism, capitalism, dualism, fascism, neoliberalism, optimism, populism, etcetera.\u201d Online submissions are charged, but there is no fee for mailed submissions. They pay CAD0.10\/word for prose up to CAD500, and CAD50\/poem. The deadline is 7 August 2020 for this theme. Details here<\/a>.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mynah Magazine: Untold Singapore Stories
<\/strong>This is an annual longform print magazine covering untold stories about Singapore. Their call on Twitter says that they value original reporting and research, and writers don\u2019t have to be based in Singapore or be Singaporean to pitch. They want pitches for features, profiles, critical essays, photo essays, and comics. About what counts as an untold Singapore story, they say that stories in past issues have included a profile of a bomoh, a critical examination of the Samsui woman figure in Singapore\u2019s history, and a discussion of racial politics in the soap opera Tanglin. Don\u2019t send time-sensitive pitches. Rates are SGD250-400, depending on the story\u2019s complexity. The pitch deadline is 22 June 2020. Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Economic Hardship Reporting Project: Intersection of the Coronavirus and financial suffering in America
<\/strong>They are offering assignments to independent journalists for stories on the intersection of the Coronavirus and financial suffering in America, with an emphasis on writers and photographers who are themselves experiencing significant economic hardship caused by the pandemic. They generally pay reporters roughly $1\/word or a $300-$500 day-rate for photojournalists. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, and are subject to approval and available funds. To apply for this grant, journalists should send them a brief note of less than 350 words in English or Spanish, explaining their financial situation.

They are also offering a limited number of emergency hardship grants from a newly-formed emergency relief fund, of between $500-$1500 to professional journalists based in the US. Details here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


StarTrek.com: Four themes
<\/strong>This CBS Entertainment-owned website accepts pitches for essays, reported work, features, and more. There are some evergreen topics they always look for pitches on, which include timely responses to recent Star Trek<\/em> episodes, interviews with one-off Star Trek <\/em>guest stars, Trek<\/em> related essays, personal essays that relate back to Trek, <\/em>any reported work that ties current events back into Trek,<\/em> deep dives, and listicles. For July 2020, they\u2019re asking freelancers to pitch pieces specifically linking Star Trek to current events \u2013 the BLM movement, Black culture, and Black stories<\/strong>, and they say that going forward, this will be an evergreen topic. They\u2019re also accepting pitches for Star Trek and Canada Day<\/strong> (which is on July 1), Independence Day<\/strong> (July 4), and National Video Game Day<\/strong> (July 8). Details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inverse: LGBTQ science\/health
<\/strong>Inverse is part of the Bustle Digital Group and they cover various topics<\/a> related to science, innovation, entertainment, mind and body, gaming, and culture. Right now, they are accepting pitches for LGBTQ science\/health stories, according to their editor on Twitter, who is looking for narratives with characters, spotlights on important work, and personal essays that integrate research. Pay is $0.50\/word. See the call here<\/a>, and the magazine website\/general contact is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Input: Pride pitches related to streetwear\/design
<\/strong>Input is a Bustle Digital Group owned website and they cover tech, gaming, culture, design, and style. They had a call on Twitter recently for Pride pitches, as related to streetwear\/design. Pay is $0.50\/word. The Twitter call is here<\/a> and website\/general contact is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chatelaine: Best of Fall; Spark Joy
<\/strong>This is Canada\u2019s leading women\u2019s magazine, and they cover a variety of issues, including health, current events, food, social issues, fashion and beauty, and decor. Their lead time for pitches is between four and six months. For September\/October, the overall magazine theme is Best of Fall; and the November\/December theme is Spark Joy. Both themes cover several sub-topics \u2013 see the Media Kit<\/a> for details. Writers\u2019 guidelines are here<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s Parent: Several themes
<\/strong>This is a leading Canada-based parenting magazine. They don\u2019t seem to have writers\u2019 guidelines, but have several themes listed for upcoming issue in their media kit. The themes for September\/October are:
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