The Marshall Project uses investigative reporting to create a sense of urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. Their Life Inside column publishes first-person essays—slices of life rather than full autobiographies—from people with direct experience of the system, including people who are or were incarcerated, their loved ones, lawyers, corrections officers, police, social workers, judges, and victims of crime. According to their writer guidelines, they offer a $200 honorarium in most cases for essays they publish. To learn more, refer to their writer guidelines, or visit their website.
Disability Debrief is a weekly newsletter for the disability community and disability curious. They publish writers from all over the world, especially contributors with disabilities from the Global South, and want authentic, original stories (typically 1,500–2,500 words) that tell disability stories in new ways rather than straight advocacy; writers, illustrators, and photographers are all welcome. According to their contributor guidelines, the rate for directly commissioned articles starts at £500. To learn more, refer to their contributor guidelines, or visit their website.
shado is a lived-experience led community of artists, activists, organisers, creators and writers united in the fight for social justice and collective liberation. They publish long-form journalism that provides critical and community-centred analyses of a range of topics including politics, activism, arts & culture, opinions, and profiles. They are committed to publishing work that contributes to their movements for liberation and commission work that aligns with these political values. According to their pitch guide, their base rate for articles between 1200-1800 words is £100. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Global Disability News Network is an accessible multimedia platform sharing disability stories from around the world. They welcome guest-writer pitches on timely disability topics across art and culture, health and care, human rights and justice, lifestyle, politics and policy, science and tech, society, sport, travel, work, and youth. They have previously indicated payment of $300 for opinion pieces, reviews, and Q&A-style interviews, and $0.50 per word (up to $600 / about 1,200 words) for researched articles. To learn more, refer to this pitching guide or visit their website.
LOOKOUT News is an LGBTQ+ newsroom covering Arizona and the Southwest. They are always accepting freelance pitches for reported features and investigations in writing, video, or audio; they do not accept fiction, poetry, or editorial pieces. According to their careers page, rates for long-form and investigations are negotiable. They have previously indicated payment of about $250 for articles of roughly 800–1,000 words, plus $50 for photos. To learn more, refer to their writer guidelines, or visit their website.
Canberra Disability Review is a free online quarterly from Advocacy for Inclusion featuring lived-experience writing and analysis on disability rights, inclusion, and policy. They welcome contributor ideas and original work in formats that can run online, including written opinion, research, audio, photography, and art. According to their contribute page, published contributions receive a $45 gift card. They have previously indicated payment of $200 for commissioned articles of about 800 words through their pitch calls. To learn more, refer to their contributor guidelines, or visit their website.
Cairo 52 Legal Research Institute is a regional legal organization focused on sexual and bodily freedoms for marginalized communities across the Middle East and North Africa. They seek original essays, legal critiques, and narrative case studies from researchers, legal professionals, activists, healthcare practitioners, and people with lived experience, with no fixed word limit. According to their contributor guidelines, they pay $200 USD for each selected and published piece. Pitches are accepted only through their submission form. To learn more, refer to this page.
Weave News is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom with a mission grounded in the practice of grassroots journalism for social justice. They are looking for traditional investigative reports, but also first-person accounts, interviews, audio reports, and creative pieces touching on issues and perspectives that tend to be underrepresented or poorly understood. According to their pitch guide, for single-author articles, they are able to offer a maximum of $50 per article. For multiple-author articles, they offer a maximum of $150 per article. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Land, Food, and Freedom Journal is a publication that curates “interdisciplinary conversations about Black food sovereignty, land justice, and art.” They publish work within the categories of “Land, Food, Freedom, and Culture.” They welcome essays, prose, poetry, reviews, recipes, multimedia pieces, visual art, and more. According to their rate sheet, they offer an honorarium of $350 to $750 per piece. For details, refer to this page.
The Public Eye Magazine is published by the Political Research Associates, a social justice research and strategy center devoted to supporting organizations, civic leaders, journalists, and social sectors that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. They publish original, long-form features, research-based analysis, and commentary on the U.S. and Global Right. They welcome pitches for long-form features, commentaries and short articles, interviews and reviews. According to their guidelines, they pay $350-$1,500, depending on the type of article. To learn more, refer to this page.