Final Gravity tells personal, human-centered stories about beer. They publish writing focused on people, places, ingredients, sensory experiences, cultural intersections, and the holistic ways we interact with and around beer. According to their pitch guide, their rates are about $0.15–$0.20 per word. For short pieces, they pay $125–$175; short features, $175–$250; longer features, $225–$300; and art features, $100. Poetry pays $50 per poem. If a writer is able to take their own quality photography for an article, they pay an extra $25. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Daily Beast is a news and opinion website dedicated to independent journalism. They focus on politics, power, and pop culture and reach over 1 million readers a day. They accept pitches for their Obsessed vertica, which is looking for reactions, explainers, interviews, reviews, and opinion pieces. According to their pitch guide, rates start at $250. To learn more, refer to this page.
History News Network (HNN) is a publishing project that “puts current events into historical perspective.” They’re accepting pitches for their newsletter. The newsletter features short-form essays and conversations that “help readers make sense of the ways in which currents from the past continue to swirl through the present.” The published pieces are generally 1,000 to 1,500. According to their pitch guide, they pay $375.
GuruFocus is a value-investing research company. They’re looking for writers who can produce original, high-quality content. If you enjoy analyzing stocks, this may be an ideal opportunity for you. Non-stock-related articles need to be on relevant educational topics, like investing strategies or market and economic conditions/projections. According to their pitch guide, they pay $120/article.
Pittsburgh City Paper is an alternative newspaper that covers news, restaurants, food, culture, arts, and entertainment in Pittsburgh. They publish reported pieces, profiles, essays, op-eds, etc. According to their pitch guide, rates range from $250 to $750.
Hothouse is a climate focused newsletter that publishes investigative reporting about climate solutions. They previously indicated pay of $0.50 per word, but now say only that they pay competitive rates. They're relatively new, but they have backing from Columbia University, the Solutions Journalism Network, and the Google News Initiative. To learn more, refer to this page.
Nieman Journalism Lab is focused on helping journalism "figure out its future in the internet age." They are published by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. They welcome pitches from international writers and stories about international news outlets, writers from underrepresented communities, and writers who don’t normally write about journalism. According to their pitch guide, rates begin at $400 for an 800-word, originally reported piece.
Nieman Storyboard is an "online resource" on the art and craft of nonfiction storytelling. They're published by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. They accept pitches from professionals and students. They publish articles on the craft of nonfiction. They want "stories that go behind the reporting, writing, editing, production and ethics of story work produced across platforms — or about the people producing that work." According to their guidelines, rates start at $200, and can vary depending on time and level of effort required. To learn more, refer to this page.
Nieman Reports publishes features and opinion pieces about the challenges and opportunities facing journalism today. They're published by The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. Features typically run between 1,200 and 3,000 words, and opinion columns run anywhere between 800 and 1,200 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $250 for opinion pieces, and $1 per word for features. To learn more, refer to this page.
Audubon publishes journalism, photography, and illustrations to "to celebrate the joy and wonder of birds and to inform its readers about the natural world, inspire them to care passionately about that world, and motivate them to take action on its behalf." They`re interested in issues that affect birds through a much broader lens—whether that’s native and invasive species, land use, pesticides, climate change, racial and environmental justice, and many more topics. They prefer freelancers to write articles of 1,500 words to 4,000 words, with a preference for 3,000 words. According to their pitch guide, they pay $0.50 to $1.50 per word. To learn more, refer to this page.
GND Media is a Greater Manchester-based independent multimedia organization focused on creating “a green and just world.” They publish features and opinions on all things green. They welcome pitches from both new and established writers. As per this post by their co-founder, they pay £50 for 800 to 1,000 words. For more information about writing for them, scroll to the middle of this page.
Backstory is a bookshop and bar in south London. They publish a biannual magazine which is also called Backstory. The magazine is about books and bookshops. They have previously indicated to pay £150 for columns (usually 450 to 500 words) and £500 for features (usually 1,000 to 1,500 words). Current information on submissions is unclear. To contact them, refer to this page.
The Sick Times is a site chronicling the Long Covid crisis. They prioritize pitches from people with Long COVID and related diseases. According to their pitch guide, they pay $1300 for reported news stories of 1200-1500 words and $400 for essays of 1000-1200 words.
Asimov Press features writing about biology and its impact on our world. They welcome pitches from “writers who can make sense of biology’s impacts on climate, energy, security, agriculture, materials, and medicine.” They publish essays; Moonshots; speculative fiction; interviews and photo essays. According to their pitch guide, they pay $1,500 for articles under 2,500 words, $2,000 for longer pieces, and $1,000 for fiction.
GRAMMYs / Recording Academy is a society of music professionals. They’re seeking pitches about “diverse artists, genres, and musical communities with national relevance.” They’re mainly seeking “larger culture features and lists highlighting the intersection of music with broader issues such as politics, history, health and technology.” They’re also looking for artist interviews, artist “discoveries”, and evergreen features/lists. According to their pitch guide, rates are $250 to $500 per piece. To read their pitch guide, click here.
Going offers cheap flight deals. They regularly seek calls for pitches on a variety of travel related topics. According to their write for us page, their rates range from $250 to $600.
The Parliament is a monthly print magazine covering EU news, policy, politics, and culture. They welcome pitches for features, interviews, and book reviews from freelance journalists. As per this post, they pay €0.5/word for reported features. They only accept op-eds that are exclusive to them and haven’t been published in print or online anywhere else. To learn more, refer to their contact page.
Popverse is a modern entertainment brand that covers TV, movies, comics, creators, and conventions. They welcome pitches from freelancers. They’re seeking in-depth analyses on major projects in comics, movies, TV, and games; personal stories that would be evocative to their readership; and captivating interviews/conversations with pop culture personalities. They previously mentioned paying a standard rate of $100 per article (1,000-1,800 words), $150 or more for in-depth interviews or deeper original reporting and $50 or $75 for exceptionally short write-ups, but current rates are not clear. To learn how to write for them, refer to this page.
Darklight Digital is an online platform featuring fresh voices in photography culture. They like stories that have a strong photographic lean. They state that writer’s fees are negotiated depending on the type of feature, but that they are able to offer a higher rate for longer thought pieces than for visual essays. According to an old tweet, their rates begin at £125. To learn more, visit their pitching guide.
Resonate is an online travel publication. They publish local stories from around the globe. The type of articles that they look for are: destination guides (1,500-2,000 words); burning issues (600-1,000 words); game changers (600-1,000 words); local stories (600-1,000 words); and travellers’ tales (600-1,000 words). According to their writers guidelines, they pay €100.
Berkeleyside is a nonprofit digital news platform that reports on Berkeley and the East Bay. They would love to work with local writers, reporters, and researchers to share the stories of Berkeley, serve local information needs, and highlight important viewpoints from across the city. According to their pitch guide, they pay $150 for briefs, $250 for reviews, a minimum of $350 for complex features, and a minimum of $500 for in-depth enterprise and investigative reports.
Catalog is a curated music marketplace that has generated over $3 million in revenue for independent artists. They welcome pitches for articles that tie into at least one Catalog record or address topics such as thoughtful essays and debates on music/web3, profiles highlighting under-appreciated artists and music communities, and oral histories of influential and beloved musical works. According to their pitch guide, their rate is $200 per piece, with articles ranging from 1,200 to 3,000 words. For more information, refer to this page. Visit their website here.
The Maple is a 100% reader-funded publication featuring Canadian news and perspectives that challenge the status quo. They have two sections: news and opinion. They accept pitches for both these sections. According to their pitch guide, news stories (usually 1,500 words) pay $275 CAD, shorter opinion pieces (700-1,200 words) pay $130 CAD, and more in-depth analysis articles (1,500-2,000 words) pay $325 CAD. When a piece is assigned and rejected without any request for revision, they pay 50% of the agreed upon fee. To learn more, refer to this page.
Hammer & Hope is “a magazine of Black politics and culture.” Their aim is to “build a project whose politics and aesthetics reflects the electric spirit of the protesters who flooded the streets in 2020, a project that breathes life into the transformative ideas pointing us towards the world we deserve.” According to their pitch guide, they pay $1.00/word for commentary, $1.33/word for reported features, and $300/25 lines or less, with $6 each additional line for poems.
Dollars & Sense is “a progressive economics magazine that explains in a popular way both the workings of the economy and struggles to change it.” They have previosuly indicated to accept articles on a wide range of topics as long as they have an economic theme. According to a deleted tweet from their editor, they paid $250 for shorter pieces and $450 for features. Current information on submissions is unclear. To contact them, refer to this 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 guidelines, they pay authors $50 per essay. To learn about their most recent call for writers, refer to this page.
Source New Mexico is a nonprofit news organization offering fresh reporting and analysis from the state of New Mexico. They accept news articles or analysis / opinion columns from writers. According to a deleted tweet by their senior reporter, rates begin at $325 for 750 to 1,000 words. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism is a non-profit centre that offers business journalism training to journalists. They previously indicated to be seeking journalists to cover business topics and that they paid $500 per completed article (around 500 words with at least one illustration/photo), but they no longer have a pitch guide. To contact them, refer to this page.
Home & Texture is “a platform where BIPOC Millennials transform houses into homes by infusing modern individuality, warmth, and culture.” They accept pitches for stories. According to an old tweet by their deputy editor, they pay $150 to $200 per piece. If you’re interested in pitching them a story, 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.