Friday, May 15th 2026
The Atavist welcomes pitches from all over the world. They publish “one incredible true story every month. We specialize in longform narratives, the kind you want to read to the very last word.” You can read more about them here.
A pitch call from the magazine says, “We haven't done a wide call for pitches in a while. So here we are, calling!
Submissions info at this link: magazine.atavist.com/submissions
A flavor of our stories here: magazine.atavist.com/archive” They have detailed guidelines, including, “Atavist stories can be historical or current; they can be about crime or science, adventure or romance; they can be rooted in investigative reporting or in first-person experiences. What unites them is their narrative approach—our stories are plot- and character-driven, cinematic, the kind of yarns you don’t want to stop reading because you can’t wait to see what happens next.” And, “We’re looking for stories that need to be longer than a typical magazine feature, anywhere from 8,000 to 30,000 words. Payment rates vary by project. We offer a story fee plus, if applicable, a budget for expenses. Our baseline story fee is $6,000.” They also published Revived stories, a format in which they work with writers to publish previously published articles that can no longer be found online, and pay $2,500 for those. See the pitch call here and their detailed pitch guide is here.
Sunday, May 3rd 2026
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. They accept pitches on a rolling basis. What they’re looking for: “Atavist stories can be historical or current; they can be about crime or science, adventure or romance; they can be rooted in investigative reporting or in first-person experiences. What unites them is their narrative approach—our stories are plot- and character-driven, cinematic, the kind of yarns you don’t want to stop reading because you can’t wait to see what happens next.” Stories should be longer than a typical magazine feature, ranging from 8,000 to 30,000 words. The baseline story fee is $6,000, and authors also receive quarterly royalties.
They’re also accepting stories (5,000 words or more) for their Revived series: “Revived is an Atavist project breathing new life into old stories. Periodically, the magazine releases previously published features that can no longer be found online. We collaborate with authors on edits and updates we deem appropriate, but our goal is to celebrate existing work otherwise lost to dead outlets and dead links, not to remake it into something new.” Fee is $2,500.
For details, refer to their post and submissions page.
Tuesday, January 6th 2026
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. They accept pitches on a rolling basis. What they’re looking for: “Atavist stories can be historical or current; they can be about crime or science, adventure or romance; they can be rooted in investigative reporting or in first-person experiences. What unites them is their narrative approach—our stories are plot- and character-driven, cinematic, the kind of yarns you don’t want to stop reading because you can’t wait to see what happens next.” Stories should be longer than a typical magazine feature, ranging from 8,000 to 30,000 words. The baseline story fee is $6,000, and authors also receive quarterly royalties. For details, refer to their submissions page.
They’re also accepting stories (5,000 words or more) for their Revived series: “Revived is an Atavist project breathing new life into old stories. Periodically, the magazine releases previously published features that can no longer be found online. We collaborate with authors on edits and updates we deem appropriate, but our goal is to celebrate existing work otherwise lost to dead outlets and dead links, not to remake it into something new.” Fee is $2,500. To learn more, refer to this page.
Thursday, June 19th 2025
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. Their editor-in-chief is accepting pitches. Their stories are 8,000 to 30,000 words long and their baseline story rate is $6,000. They also pay quarterly royalties to their authors. To learn more, refer to this post and their submissions page.
Sunday, January 28th 2024
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. Their editor-in-chief is accepting long-form narrative feature pitches from people who have been laid off. Their stories are 8,000 to 30,000 words long and their baseline story rate is $6,000. They also pay quarterly royalties to their authors. If interested, email your pitches to seyward@atavist.com. For details, read their editor-in-chief’s post and their submission guidelines.
Tuesday, April 25th 2023
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only
publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. Their
editor-in-chief has tweeted, “If you're a writer who lost their job today,
first, I am so sorry. Second, if you have narrative story ideas that now need a
home, pitch me: seyward@atavist.com.”
As per their submissions
page, their stories are 8,000 to 30,000 words long and their baseline story
rate is $6,000. They also pay quarterly royalties to their authors. To learn
more, read their editor-in-chief’s tweet.
Tuesday, September 20th 2022
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. They are (almost) always open for pitches. They are seeking deeply researched longform (8,000-30,000 words) nonfiction with attention to narrative. Their editor-in-chief is looking for: “stories people want to read to the very last word, propulsive can't-put-them-down stories, stories people want to recount to their friends. We want surprises, adventure, intrigue, nuance, and above all humanity.” They accept pitches from both early-career journalists and seasoned pros. Their baseline story rate is $6,000. To learn more, refer to their Twitter thread and submissions page.
Sunday, March 14th 2021
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.
Tuesday, October 13th 2020
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. Their editor-in-chief has tweeted, “Anyway, as ever, if you're a features writer—or an aspiring one!—and you have a great idea for a cinematic yarn, just a damn good STORY, please pitch me: seyward@atavist.com.” They pay at least $6,000 per story plus expenses. They pay kill fees upfront. To learn more, refer to their editor-in-chief’s Tweet and this page.
Friday, July 3rd 2020
The Atavist Magazine is a digital-only publication that releases one blockbuster nonfiction story every month. They are looking for “pitches for longform, character-driven, narrative nonfiction stories.” The stories should be 8,000 to 30,000 words long. Their editor-in-chief has tweeted: “We've done a lot to boost gender diversity in the last 2 years, but we need to do better wrt other metrics. Female, Black, LQBTQIA+, however you identify—send me your best narrative longform ideas.” They pay at least $6,000 per story plus expenses. They pay kill fees upfront. Send pitches to seyward@atavist.com. For details, refer to this Twitter thread and this page.
The Kerrs were devoted to one another and to their faith. But when one of their own rejected modern medicine in the name of God, they faced a dire question: What if her children ever needed a doctor to save their lives? The post The Extremist in the Family appeared first on The Atavist Magazine.
When their parents ripped two young sisters from their privileged lives, gave them fake names, and took them on the lam, they thought it was because their father was in trouble with the IRS. It would be years before they learned the truth about his life of crime. By Barry Meier The Boxes Erin McCann racedContinue reading "You Can Run" The post You Can Run appeared first on The Atavist Magazine.
My brother’s murder and its aftermath. (Originally published by 'Gawker' in 2013.) The post A Hollywood Ending appeared first on The Atavist Magazine.