GraveSite is an independent publication covering death and life in its shadow—planning and grief, death politics and policy, death tech and longevity, belief traditions, and death in culture. They welcome freelance journalism, personal essays, and other nonfiction across those beats, primarily with a U.S. focus (and elsewhere when relevant to an American audience). According to their pitch guide, journalism pays $400 for quicker news and trend pieces under about 800 words, and $1,000 for deeper features of about 900–1,300 words; personal essays, criticism, and commentary pay a $200 honorarium. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide, or visit their website.

Vittles is a UK (and India) food-and-culture magazine publishing reported journalism, personal essays, restaurant recommendations, recipes, and reviews. They are not commissioning general features, but they remain open to restaurant coverage—including guest reviews, neighbourhood guides, reported restaurant features, interviews, and Six of One recommendations—and to timely opinion. According to their about page, current rates are £800 for a reported newsletter piece, £600 for opinion or personal essays, £500 plus expenses for reviews, and £100 for Six of One. To learn more, refer to their pitch guide, or visit their website.

Acacia is a magazine of politics and culture examining pressing issues for Muslim and left-aligned readers. They welcome freelance pitches for news, reported essays, cultural criticism, interviews, investigative reporting, and related work that includes original reporting where appropriate. According to their submission guidelines, pay starts at about $150 for interviews, $200 for reviews, $300 for personal essays, $500 for news, and $700 for reported essays (and short fiction). To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines, or visit their website.

Fisher & Farmer publishes writing about food, land, and water across editions for Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the American South. They welcome freelance pitches for features, personal essays, field notes, and reviews rooted in fishing, farming, foraging, hunting, and related living practices—specific, well-observed work rather than trend pieces or restaurant roundups. According to their contributor guidelines, they pay a base rate of $0.40 per word (USD) for commissioned work. To learn more, refer to their contributor guidelines, or visit their website.

LURU is a Bengaluru print magazine that builds each issue around a single theme. They invite nonfiction pitches for reported features, personal essays, cultural commentary, and historical reflections rooted in Bengaluru, and also publish short fiction and visual work in conversation with the theme. According to their submission guidelines, nonfiction pays ₹8 per word; fiction is paid at a fixed rate per piece, and visual work is commissioned per project. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines, or visit their website.

Mad Agriculture is creating a regenerative revolution in agriculture. Their ecosystem of organizations ensures that their farmer partners have the technical and financial, financing, and supply chain support they need to thrive. Mad Agriculture's ''The Journal'' is a place to showcase the art of the new agrarian culture. They welcome articles with an average length of 1000-2000 words, and are interested in features, personal essays, interviews, and poems. They compensate each contributor; rates are not mentioned. To learn more, refer to this page.

Established in 2009, Paper Visual Art (PVA) has been publishing journals, books, and online texts that focus on visual art, contemporary culture, and literature. They consider a variety of texts for publication, such as reviews, personal essays, and other forms of writing. According to their pitch guide, writers who contribute to their hardcopy journals will be paid a minimum fee of €225 per text. Review writers and interviewees will be paid a minimum fee of €175 (for both hardcopy and online). To learn more, refer to this page.

midnight & indigo is a literary journal and publishing company dedicated to celebrating and amplifying the voices of Black women writers. They focus on short fiction and essay writing, contributing to the rich tapestry of Black literature. According to their guidelines, they pay $0.07 per word for Short Stories and $150 for personal essays. To learn more, refer to this page.

Refinery29 looks to amplify underrepresented voices and how they are impacted by policy, represented in pop culture, and forge their own paths. They want stories that are surprising, illuminate the world around us, and are written through a local lens. According to their publishing guidelines, personal essays and shorter reported articles will start at AUD$200 and go up from there depending on the piece. A thorough explainer, or something that involves multiple interviews, will start at AUD$300. To learn more, refer to this page.

Refinery29’s mission is to help women see, feel, and claim their power. Their Canadian edition aims to shine a spotlight on the Canadian stories and issues that resonate with their Gen-Z and millennial audience. They publish everything from personal essays to reported trend pieces to features on race, reproductive rights, and pop culture. According to their pitch guide, they typically pay $150 for short market roundups and $350 for a thorough news explainer with interviews. Personal essays and shorter reported articles start at $350 and increase from there, depending on the piece. To learn more, refer to this page.

The Floor Magazine is an online and print publication celebrating black art and their artists. They welcome pitches for reviews of art (music albums, films, books, photography exhibitions etc), commentary, interviews (Q&A or profile), personal essays, and long form essays. They pay a flat rate for 800-1200 word pieces. 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.

Extra Points is “a newsletter about business, policy, and off-the-field stories in college sports.” They’re looking for freelance pitches. They’re interested in “reported stories, personal essays, and interviews in the ‘off-the-field stories in college sports’ umbrella.” According to an old tweet by their founder, they pay a base rate of $350. They also give bonuses for driving new subscriptions. Send your pitches to matt@extrapointsmb.com. To contact them, refer to their ‘about’ page.

Open Secrets is an online magazine that publishes memorable and revealing personal essays on the topics we are taught to keep “secret.” They are open to essays on all personal experiences. According to their most recent guidelines, they pay authors $50 per essay. To see their most recent call for writers, refer to this page.

Polyester is an intersectional feminist fashion and culture zine. The Dollhouse, their digital membership platform, releases weekly creative content including personal essays, creative writing, researched features, art, and photography. According to an old tweet by their editor, they pay £50 for 1,000 words. To contribute, refer to this page.

Health.com is a source for information on fitness, nutrition, beauty, wellness, and lifestyle. The majority of their readers are female. Their previous pitch guide listed rates as $200-$1,000 for personal essays and topical service; $250-$1,000 for reports/trend pieces; $200-$500 for explainers, as told to, and social trends; and $150 to $300 for product reviews. Current pitching information is unclear, but they're actively looking for new writers. To learn more, refer to this page.

The Xylom is a media outlet that creates “personal stories of science and humanity.” They are looking for personal essays (1,200-1,500 words) that are “at least tangentially related to science”, science analysis and opinion pieces (1,200-1,500 words), narrative-driven science feature stories, and 10-ish-word stories. According to their pitch guide, rates start at 300 USD per piece for reported stories, and 150-200 USD for reported essays and op-eds.

Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP) is a nonprofit organization that produces compelling journalism about income inequality and poverty in America. They commission “news stories, narrative features, short and feature-length documentaries, nonfiction comics, illustrated works, photo essays, podcasts and radio features about economic inequality in the United States. Personal essays are welcome only if they are completed or close-to-completed. According to their pitch guide, they pay $750 to $1500 for news stories and personal essays or op-eds, and up to $2,500 for narrative features and investigative reports. They also have grants to cover travel expenses, up to $2,000.

Borderless Magazine is a nonprofit online publication that covers labor, justice, and advocacy issues affecting the Midwestern immigrant communities. They welcome reported feature story, comics, and as-told-to story pitches from freelance journalists. They also welcome personal essay pitches from immigrants. They encourage pitches from immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ community, and women. In 2020, 93% of their stories were written, photographed/illustrated by people of color. According to a deleted tweet, their rate for reported stories starts at $250. Pitches should be sent to pitch@borderlessmag.org. You can contact them here.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization that reports on education in poor communities across America. They elevate the “voices of educators, students, parents, advocates, and others on the front lines of trying to improve public education.” They are looking for personal essays (around 800 words) centered around a personal experience or observation. They publish these essays in a series called First Person. According to their guidelines, First Person pays $125 per published piece. For more information, refer to their First Person guidelines. To pitch a national story, contact them here.

Carefree Magazine is “a Black women's magazine dedicated to the wanderers, late bloomers, and dreamers.” They're always seeking “pitches that speak firsthand to the Black woman’s experience.” They accept pitches for personal essays, fiction, culture pieces, and for their Hair Diaries, Twelve Out of Ten, and Adventures Unknown columns. According to a tweet, they pay $100 per piece. To learn more, refer to their submissions page.

Flintside is a weekly online news magazine based in Flint. They cover arts, culture, diversity, community development, economic development, entrepreneurship, public health, education, sustainability, technology, and transportation in the city of Flint. They want pitches for articles, personal essays, and other content. According to a deleted tweet by editor, they pay $50 to $150 for short, community-focused pieces. To learn more, refer to this page.

Asparagus Magazine is a publication that is “dedicated to telling the large and small stories of how we can live sustainably, from an environmental, social, and cultural perspective.” Their “audience is primarily on the West Coast, and located in both Canada and the US.” They are seeking traditionally reported feature journalism, creative non-fiction, and personal essays/opinion pieces on environmental and social justice topics. They are interested in pieces between 800–1,500-word range and some features with exceptions that run into 2,000-3,000-words. According to their guidelines, they pay an average of C$0.25/word. They get funding from the Canadian government that requires them to prioritize Canadian creators. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.

OkayAfrica is a media company that connects a global audience to Africa. They cover culture, music, dance, style, visual art, politics, and health. They have previously indicated the general formats they would like for stories to be interviews, service journalism, opinion pieces/personal essays, short features, longer features, and video/photo/socials. According to a deleted tweet from their director of editorial operations, in the past, they have paid $150 to $200 for straightforward pieces. As per a payment report from 2023, they paid $0.25 per word for a 1000-word news story. Their pitch guide has been removed, but you can contact them here.

Bon Appétit is a magazine that features recipes, cooking tips, reviews, and more. They are seeking “mid-to-long form reported articles that reflect the food world right now; profiles of fascinating, awesome people in food; hot takes on minuscule details like folding pizza; and personal essays with a strong angle.” According to their pitch guide, their standard rates begin at $250 for stories in the 400-word range. To pitch them, refer to this page.

Business Insider tells the global tech, finance, stock market, media, economy, lifestyle, real estate, AI and innovative stories. They are looking for freelance articles for their business, tech, and news verticals and for their lifestyle, entertainment, health, or parenting verticals. They welcome pitches of personal essays, as-told-tos, diaries, profiles, how-tos, reported features, and more. They state that ‘’rates vary and are determined by a variety of factors including the amount of reporting and research involved, the length of the article, and the experience of the writer.’’ They do not list pay rates, but a payment report indicates pay to be around $0.40 per word. All freelance pitches must be exclusive to Business Insider. To learn more, refer to this page.

Root Quarterly is “a print-only, subscription-based quarterly journal rooted in Philadelphia, but not limited to Philadelphia-based content.” They are looking for fiction (500 to 2,000 words), personal essays or articles, cultural criticism and think pieces (500 to 3,500 words), long-form profiles of Philadelphia region artists, recommendations on what they might cover in their “recommendation” and “destination” sections, and artwork and photography. They give “very heavy preference to Philadelphia region writers” but are “open in particular when it comes to cultural criticism to a wide array of people.” According to their guidelines, they typically offer honorariums of $50 to $150 per piece. They pay 10 cents per word for longer, solicited profiles or articles. Details here.