30 Publications that Pay Writers for Personal Essays

Compiled By H. Lovelyn Bettison

The following is a list of 30 magazines, newspapers, and websites that pay for personal essays. Included is a wide variety of publishers, covering many specialties and topics. For even more publishers seeking submissions, grab a copy of the Paid Publishing Guidebook.

  1. The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe accepts personal essays about relationships for their Connections section. The essays should be about 650 words. Please send an email with “Query” as the subject line to magazine@globe.com to pitch your essay.

  1. Extra Crispy

Extra Crispy pays for personal essays about food. The articles they publish have a conversational tone with a bit of humor. http://www.extracrispy.com/culture/185/how-to-pitch-extra-crispy

  1. Dame

Dame is a women’s magazine. They don’t have a submissions page, but do provide an email address for pitches: editorial@damemagazine.com http://www.damemagazine.com/

  1. Kveller

Kveller is a parenting magazine that accepts personal essays about parenting and women’s issues as seen through a Jewish lens. http://www.kveller.com/article/submission-guidelines/  They pay $25 per post.

  1. The New York Times: Modern Love

The New York Times Modern Love is looking for essays about love and relationships in modern times payment $300. The desired length for essays is 1500 to 1700. The submission page is old, but still up to date.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/fashion/howtosubmit_modernlove.html?_r=1&

  1. The New York Times: Lives

New York Times Lives accepts essays about meaningful life experiences. http://www.nytimes.com/column/lives Read the section to get an idea of what they want and send pitches to lives@nytimes.com

  1. Salon

Salon publishes personal essays. Send your pitches in the body of the email not as an attachment. They also would like to know about your background and what makes you qualified to write the piece you’re proposing.  http://www.salon.com/about/submissions/

  1. Slate

Slate is an online magazine about news, politics, and culture. Please indicate which section you’re pitching to in the subject line of your email. http://www.slate.com/articles/briefing/contact_us/2006/08/whereto_find_slate_staff.html

  1. Slice

Slice is a print magazine based in Brooklyn. They accept short fiction and personal essays. Submissions will open again on April 1. They pay $250

https://slicemagazine.org/submit/

  1. The Smart Set

The Smart Set is an online magazine about arts and culture, science, and global and national affairs.  http://thesmartset.com/about-us/#submissions

  1. The Billfold

The Billfold is a publication about money. They accept personal essays about your experiences with money, saving, and debt. https://thebillfold.com/about

  1. MotherwellMotherwell is a parenting magazine that looks for personal essays that take a novel angle on parenting. Essays should be up to 1200 words. https://motherwellmag.com/submissions/
  1. Tin House

Tin House is a literary journal that publishes personal essays up to 10,000 words. They have themed issues and only accept unsolicited submissions in September and March. http://www.tinhouse.com/magazine/submission-guidelines.html

 

  1. Narratively

Narratively is devoted to untold human stories. They accept pitches and completed essays.  http://narrative.ly/contribute/

 

  1. Guideposts

Guideposts is looking for your true stories of inspiration and hope. Submit completed essays via the submission form on their website. https://www.guideposts.org/tell-us-your-story

 

  1. The Christian Science Monitor: Home Forum

Home Forum publishes upbeat personal essays that are 600 to 800 words in length. The payment is $75.  http://www.csmonitor.com/About/Contributor-guidelines/Contributor-Guidelines-The-Home-Forum

 

  1. The Establishment

The Establishment is a multimedia publication that encourages diversity. They accept essays 800 to 1,500 words long and pay $125. https://theestablishment.co/pitch-us-b0788d803a0b#.34no26v7l

 

  1. The Sun

The Sun is a literary journal that is mainly interested in personal stories. They pay $300-$2000 for personal essays up to 7,000 words.  http://thesunmagazine.org/about/submission_guidelines/writing

 

  1. Skirt

Skirt is a women’s magazine that publishes essays that are about 800 to 1100 words long. Each issue of the magazine has a theme. Look at their editorial calender for subjects. They pays $200 per essay. http://www.skirt.com/contribute/

 

  1. Travels’ Tales

Travels’ Tales publishes your travel essays in their anthologies. They pay $100 per essay. http://travelerstales.com/submission-guidelines/

 

  1. Brain, Child

Brain, Child is an award-winning literary magazine for mothers. They pay for personal essays on parenting. https://www.brainchildmag.com/about/writers-guidelines/

 

  1. Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken Soup for the Soul releases themed books throughout the year. They accept uplifting essays that are less than 1200 words. The pay is $200. http://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics

 

  1. Backpacker

Backpacker has a Destinations section where they publish first person accounts of outdoor experiences. The pay is $0.40-$1 per word http://www.backpacker.com/backpacker-contributor-s-guidelines/

 

  1. Paste Magazine

Paste Magazine focuses on music, movies, TV, videogames, comedy, books and more. They do accept personal essays. Read past essays to get an idea about what they are looking for. Pay varies. https://www.pastemagazine.com/paste/2012/03/writer-guidelines.html

 

  1. True Story

True Story is published by Creative Nonfiction. They accept personal essay between 5000-10000 words and pay $300. https://www.creativenonfiction.org/submissions/true-story

 

  1. Good Old Days

Good Old Days accepts personal essays about growing up between 1935 and 1960. They should be informal and conversational in tone. Payment varies. http://www.goodolddaysmagazine.com/contributor_guidelines.php

 

  1. AARP Magazine

AARP Magazine publishes thoughtful, timely personal essays that are relevant to people over 50. Payment varies.  http://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/info-05-2010/writers-guidelines-aarp-magazine.html

 

  1. Broadly

Broadly is a website devoted to representing a wide variety of women’s experiences. They publish personal essays. https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/page/about

 

  1. The Three Penny Review

The Three Penny Review is a literary magazine that publishes both fiction and creative nonfiction. They pay $400 per story or article.  http://www.threepennyreview.com/submissions.html

 

  1. Vox First Person

Vox First Person is dedicated to publishing thoughtful, in-depth first person narratives. They pay, but don’t list the rates on their site. http://www.vox.com/2015/6/12/8767221/vox-first-person-explained

 

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