Dear Writers,

Here’s our weekly roundup of calls for pitches directly from editors and publishers.

We’ve researched payment rates and contact information, and summarized the opportunity available.

Please only submit to these publishers if you are confident in your ability to send high quality pitches that closely meet the needs of the publisher.

New Freelance Writers: Do Not Send a Pitch Without Reading This First

— Jacob Jans

Thanks to Fatima Saif for her research on this article.

The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. Their editor-in-chief is accepting pitches for narrative longform stories. Their baseline rate is $6,000. If interested, email your pitches to seyward@atavist.com. Read their editor-in-chief’s Tweet here and learn more about them here.

Discover Magazine is a print and online science magazine for the general public. Their editor is looking for pitches for their Origin Story print column. The column is about new research surrounding archaeology, anthropology, and human evolution. Rates for print pieces start at $1 per word. Most of the columns are 1,200 words. Pitches should be sent to mglick@discovermagazine.com. For more information, read their editor’s Twitter thread and their pitch guidelines.

DAME Magazine offers reporting and analysis on politics, policy, science, culture, and more. They have tweeted, “For anyone recently laid off, we’re accepting pitches across a host of topics – economy, media, social justice, health & science, and more.” They generally pay $150 for essays and $300 to $400 for reported features. For more information, read their Tweet and submission guidelines.

Popular Science is a science and technology magazine. Their executive editor is accepting science/health/tech/DIY features. They pay around $1.00/word for features for their digital editions and $0.50/word for web features. If interested, email your pitches to rachel@popsci.com. For more information, refer to their executive editor’s Twitter thread and their writers’ guidelines.

WeWork is a “commercial real estate company that provides flexible shared workspaces for technology startups and services for other enterprises.” They are always looking for freelance writers particularly those who write about “real estate/work life/small business but also ghostwriters and product writers.” They pay $800 per story. If interested, send your portfolio to anjie.zheng@wework.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s Twitter thread. To contact them, refer to this page.

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 accepting proposals for their summer 2021 issue, which is themed Don’t Be Evil. The issue will focus on big tech and all the issues related to it. Proposal ideas that are not related to big tech can be submitted to the open call for the online arm of their magazine. They are especially seeking submissions for Poetry Month. They pay $250 for feature-length stories of 2,000 words and above; $200 for shorter features, reviews, columns, and articles of 1,200 to 1,500 words; $100 for short pieces of 600 to 1,000 words and interviews; and $50 for poems. To learn more, refer to their Twitter thread, call for pitches, submission form for SftP Online, and submissions page.

Deadline: April 2nd, 2021

MIT Technology Review is a media company that explains the commercial, political, and social impact of the newest technologies. Their commissioning editor is seeking pitches about technology + change. It could be “a reported story about a tech activist, analysis of technology’s role in a political movement, or a deep dive into a major technical shift or disruption.” Their rates start at $1 per word. Pitches should be sent to amy.nordrum@technologyreview.com. Read their commissioning editor’s Tweet here and learn more about them here. 

The Narwhal is a non-profit magazine that publishes stories about Canada’s natural world. Their reporting is primarily focused on the extractive industries (forestry, mining, oil and gas, big hydro, and climate change) in Alberta, B.C., Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut. They are looking to add BIPOC journalists to their roster. Their rates start at $0.50 per word. To learn more, refer to their Twitter thread, this form, and this page.

Contently is a content marketing solution. They are seeking queer-identified tech freelance writers to write for a big tech brand – “extremely editorial in approach i.e. no product-focus, just good storytelling.” Rate: $1 per word. If interested, contact steinbach.jesse@gmail.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s Twitter thread and this page.

Outside Magazine publishes stories about adventure, gear, travel, sports, fitness, health, culture, and the environment. Their newly appointed culture editor is looking for pitches. Their rates for online stories start at $0.50 per word. Read their culture editor’s Tweet here and learn how to send them a pitch here.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation is seeking queer and trans BIPOC in the San Francisco Bay Area to write articles about queer health, social and health justice, Covid-19, HIV, substance use, PrEP, and more. They will pay $350 per article. If interested, send an email to eland@sfaf.org. To learn more, refer to their Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.

Polygon is Vox Media’s gaming website. Their culture editor has tweeted, “Freelancers! I’m looking for pitches for the following topics/games: Twitch, VTubers, Minecraft, Valorant, Animal Crossing, Breath of the Wild, Fornite, Warzone, speedrunning, and more generally, internet subcultures/communities.” “Couple of notes: we’ve written extensively about Animal Crossing so please do your research, the bar is high! Also, it’s useful for you to think about BOTW as it exists and is played now, in 2021. Culture, people. Also list not exhaustive. Discord, YT, fandom all welcome.” Floor for quick/breezy posts is $150 and reported stuff is $300. Send pitches to patricia.hernandez@voxmedia.com. For more information, refer to their culture editor’s Twitter thread and their pitching guidelines.

Analytics FC is “a football data analytics company with proven experience in delivering data-driven solutions to football clubs and federations.” They are looking for a writer who covers the women’s game and is “interested in getting into the data side of the game.” They pay £100/piece with an option to negotiate if the piece requires a lot of data work. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread. To contact them, refer to this page.

Black Youth Project focuses on the thoughts and actions of Black millennials. They have tweeted, “March is National Disabilities and Women’s History Month. As such, our platform will promote opportunities to pause from the constant barrage of chaotic news cycles that have detrimental impacts to our mental health. We’re also inviting folks to submit pitches that pertain to Women’s History Month, Blackness and the impacts of ableism. And please let it be known, that there would be no Women’s History Month without the labor and love of Black Trans Women.” They pay $100 for pieces of 800+ words. Pitches should be sent to info@blackyouthproject.com. To learn more, refer to their Twitter thread and submissions page.

LowestRates.ca is a Toronto-based rate comparison website for home insurance, auto insurance, mortgages, loans, and credit cards. They have a ton of copywriting work and are looking for freelancers to write it. The freelancers should preferably have experience writing about financial products. The freelancers do not have to be Canadian to apply. Pay is $250 to $500 CAD. If interested, DM their director of content strategy on Twitter or send him an email at john@lowestrates.ca. Read their director of content strategy’s Tweet here. Contact them here.

My East Coast Experience shares the “immigration experience of those choosing the Atlantic region of Canada as their new home.” They are seeking a freelance writer in Newfoundland for several assignments (profiles of successful immigrants in NL). Pay is $0.40 per word. To learn more, refer to their managing editor and head of content’s Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.

Kill Your Darlings is an online magazine that is dedicated to arts and culture. They are open for non-fiction pitches. They are looking for essay/commentary (1,000 to 2,000 words), memoir or personal essay (1,000 to 1,500 words), and cultural criticism (1,000 to 1,500 words). According to payment reports, they pay at least A$250 per piece. To learn more, refer to this Twitter thread and this page.

Deadline: March 19th, 2021

Greatist is a health and wellness brand. They are seeking someone living with Hepatitis C to “write a personal story about their experience.” You do not need to be a professional writer. You will be paid $200. To learn more, refer to this Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.

Mashable is a media and entertainment company. Their reviews editor is seeking health and fitness writers with experience reviewing tech in the wellness space. They pay $300 for reviews (1,000 to 1,200 words). If interested, DM their editor on Twitter or email kaitlyn.russell@mashable.com. For more information, refer to their editor’s Tweet and this page.

Flairbox is “a revolutionary video sharing platform for talent discovery in the entertainment industry.” They are seeking pitches about “acting, casting, film, TV, theatre, the lot” for Flairbox Magazine. They love “pieces that give juicy insights and hard-won tips – or something unusual from your personal experience in the industry.” They generally pay £50/1,000 words or 5p/word. To learn more, refer to their Twitter thread and pitch guide.

Wyrd Science is a quarterly magazine about roleplaying games, war-games, and board games. They are looking for new writers who want to write features/interviews, think pieces or reviews (books/games) for them. They also want one short story in every issue. They usually pay £0.10 per word for features/interviews. If interested, email wyrdsciencezine@gmail.com. To read their Twitter thread, click here. To visit their website, click here.

Blocked Party is “a podcast about social media and rejection.” They are seeking pitches from freelance writers for their April-June newsletters. They pay $70 per article. Pitches should be sent to info@blockedparty.com. To learn more, refer to their Tweet.

Oregon Humanities Magazine is a triannual publication that “connects Oregonians to ideas that change lives and transform communities.” They are accepting feature pitches for their summer issue, which is themed climate. They want to “hear stories and ideas about what global climate change means for the people and land of this place.” They only accept work by people who reside in Oregon. They pay $500 to $1,000 per feature (1,500 to 4,000 words). For details, refer to this Tweet and their call for submissions and contributor guidelines.

Deadline: April 11th, 2021

UX Writers Collective offers online courses in user experience writing. They are seeking guest posts related to UX writing or content design for their blog. They pay $100 per article. Send your pitches to blog@uxwriterscollective.com. To learn more, refer to their CEO and co-founder’s Tweet and their blog.

Anime Herald is a website that offers news, reviews, interviews, and commentary on anime and anime fandom. They are always looking for great article ideas. They pay $50 per article (1,000 to 2,000 words). To learn more, refer to their Tweet, contributor guidelines, and pitch form.

LEO Weekly covers Louisville’s arts, culture, entertainment, food, and politics. Their editor has tweeted, “Louisville writers…LEO Weekly is looking for LOCAL music pitches in the coming weeks. Color outside the lines with your pitches. I want to see stories about folks that haven’t been in LEO before.” Their rates vary between $50/$100/$150. If interested, DM their editor on Twitter or email erucker@leoweekly.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.

The Land is a news startup that offers in-depth reporting on the neighborhoods and inner-ring suburbs of Cleveland. They are seeking freelance writers to write news stories (1-3 sources, 500-750 words), features (multiple sources, 1,000-1,500 words), and investigative features (longer stories involving more research, can be longer than 1,500 words). Their stories fall into 3 buckets: “solutions, accountability, and neighborhood spotlights.” They pay $50-$100 for news stories and $200 for features. They are happy to pay more for investigative features. To learn more, refer to their Tweet and editorial guidelines. To contact them, refer to this page.

The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) is an independent Catholic newspaper. Their opinion and culture editor is looking for your best Kim’s Convenience pitches. They will pay $200 for about 900 words. If interested, send your pitches to osegura@ncronline.org. To learn more, read their editor’s Twitter thread and their writing guidelines.

SheKnows empowers women through discussions and articles related to women’s issues including health, relationships, sex, parenting, and beauty. Their associate editor is looking for any black women (especially moms) who have a take on Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview that they want to write for SheKnows. They will pay $100. Pitches should be sent by the end of this week to lballhaus@shemedia.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s Tweet. To contact them, refer to this page.