OpenMind Magazine is “a digital magazine covering disinformation, controversy, cognitive manipulation, and conspiracy theory in science.” They publish “public service science journalism at the crossroads of culture and politics, addressing areas from biomedicine to neuroscience to technology.” They’re seeking passionate, opinionated, clear-headed writers. According to their pitch guide, they pay journalists a flat fee of $1,500 for reported essays or features of 1,200–2,000 words. Experts and authors receive $500 for opinion pieces, cultural reviews, or essays. To learn more, refer to this page.
BBC Wildlife (on Discover Wildlife) is a magazine of wildlife features, news, and conservation storytelling. They commission one-off features and news pieces from freelancers and ask writers to pitch original ideas rather than finished manuscripts; commissioned work comes with a brief, word count, deadline, and fee. To learn more, refer to their contributor guidelines.
The Transmitter is an essential resource for the neuroscience community, dedicated to helping scientists at all career stages stay current and build connections. The publication aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. They are looking for essays and opinion pieces from scientists and clinicians working in neuroscience and related fields. Writers should aim for ~1,000-1,200 words. According to their pitch guide, scientist-written essays come with a $1,000 honorarium. To learn more, refer to this page.
Live Science covers groundbreaking developments in science, technology, space, health, environment, and history. They accept the following types of stories from freelancers: news stories, news analysis pieces, news explainers, news features, Life's Little Mysteries, and opinions. According to their health channel editor, rates range from $250 to $400 for news stories. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Protocolized is the Summer of Protocols (SoP) research program’s year-round publication. Members of the protocol research community﹣SoP alumni, hobbyist researchers, and guest lecturers alike﹣write every essay, case study, and sci-fi story you will find there. They publish three types of pieces: stories, studies, and science. Writers should aim for a lenght of 1,500–2,500 words. According to their guidelines, they pay USD $600 upon publication. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Scientific Inquirer is “dedicated to exploring the junction where science and life meet, whether it’s in the lab or the studio or the diamond.” They’re accepting “submissions for feature stories, profiles, and daily news stories.” According to their contact page/pitch guide, they pay $50 for 750 to 1,000 words. If interested, send your pitches to submissions@scientificinquirer.com. To learn more, refer to this page.
STAT delivers trusted and authoritative journalism about health, medicine, and the life sciences. They're looking for ideas that check the boxes of a great STAT story: smart, compelling, original reporting that takes readers inside the world of health, medicine, and scientific discovery. They're especially interested in features, trend stories, and in-depth analysis. According to their pitch guide, they generally pay $1 per word, and might pay more for a story in certain circumstances, such as if a piece requires an unusually extensive amount of reporting. To learn more, refer to this page.
BrainFacts is an editorially independent source of brain and nervous system information presented by the Society for Neuroscience. It tells the story of scientific discoveries, the people behind them, and how it relates to our everyday lives. They're looking for freelance science writers, journalists, and multimedia creators with a strong portfolio in science communication to pitch them story ideas about the brain and nervous system. They assign long (1000-1200 words), medium (700-900 words), and short-form (500-800 words) written and multimedia stories. According to their pitch guide, they pay a flat rate for assignments based on roughly a dollar (USD) per word. To learn more, refer to this page.
Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center, reports on scientific findings into the roots of individual and collective well-being, positive relationships, and compassionate behavior—what they call “the science of a meaningful life.” They are looking for experienced journalists or subject-matter experts, and don't accept articles on spec, only pitches. According to their pitch guide, their base rate is 25 cents per assigned word. For certain types of pieces, they pay a flat rate: $220 for a research brief; $300 for a Q&A with an interview subject; $200-300 for pieces originally published elsewhere that require revision, and $300 for personal essays. To learn more, refer to this page.
IFLScience is dedicated to demystifying the world of science and making it accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Their editors are looking for contributions in the form of feature-length pieces on any subject with a STEM angle. All features are paid opportunities, and rates for features will be discussed with commissioned pitches. To learn more, refer to this page.