Minnesota Conservation Volunteer is the magazine of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. They want features and essays on the state’s natural resources and outdoor recreation. Features are 1,200 to 1,800 words, Field Notes are 300 to 600 words, and essays, such as A Sense of Place, are 800 to 1,200 words. They previously indicated to pay $0.50/word for features and essays, and $50-100 for online rights to features, essays and reprints, but current rates are unclear. Details here.
Outdoor Oklahoma is a magazine of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. They occasionally buy freelance articles, and accept reprints. According to their guidelines, they pay $300-450 for features (over 1,500 words), $125-250 for shorter articles (500-1,500 words), $55 for sidebars and “Off the Beaten Path” articles, and $15-$50 for images and graphics each. Details here.
Ventana Monthly wants sophisticated, tightly focused articles related to Ventura County. Articles run from 400 to 1,500 words. Sections include Personality, Giving Back (philanthropy), Culture, Nesting (home/architecture), Table Talk (food/drink), Sporting, Shopping, and Travel (not restricted to the local area). According to their guidelines, they pay $0.20/word. Details here.
Kentucky Monthly features articles on Kentucky’s culture, food, history, lifestyle, outdoors, travel and human interest. They prefer writers who possess a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or related field, or commensurate writing experience. Features typically run between 1,000 and 2,500 words. According to their contributor guidelines, payment is 15 cents a word, and they will negotiate package prices for freelancers who provide both story and photography.
Goldenseal is published by the State of Virginia, Division of Culture and History. They welcome articles on West Virginian folklife, traditional farming practices, industry and commerce, holiday and community celebrations, immigrants, music, crafts, herbs, women’s history, or similar. They prefer stories about living West Virginians, based on direct, recent interviews. Feature articles generally average 1,500-2,000 words in length, though shorter features are also accepted. According to their guidelines, they pay $200. Details here.
Wonderful West Virginia is a monthly magazine published by the Division of Natural Resources. Its content includes articles on a wide spectrum of topics: wildlife and nature, state history and cultural heritage, special places and tourist attractions, and profiles of interesting people. Editors prefer to receive queries, but also assign stories to writers. According to their guidelines, payment is $150 for 1,500-word features. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Smoky Mountain Living Magazine covers the southern Appalachians and its environment, people, crafts, music and art. They previously indicated to pay $250-450 for features (1,500-3,500 words), $200 for non-fiction/personal essay (1,000-1,500 words), and $125 for Mountain Views essay and departments (700-850 words), but current rates are unclear. Details here.
Washington City Paper is a source for local news for D.C. natives and newcomers. Stories should be about the city and its surroundings, and narratives with a conflict of some sort at the center are preferred. They publish a variety of journalistic genres, including profiles, investigative pieces, polemical essays, stories about local institutions, and an occasional first person narrative. They have news, arts and food departments that accept shorter pieces, an arts blog, and reviews. No op-ed pieces or ‘service journalism’. The word count is 2,500-5,000 for cover stories; 900-2,000 for departments; 500-2,000 for reviews; 150-250 for City Lights. Pay rates are not mentioned, but according to a payment report, they paid $0.19 per word for a 800-word profile or interview. Details here.
Seattle Magazine wants news-related stories about the city and region, civic and social issues, local travel, food news, home, interiors, and other lifestyle stories, arts and culture, home and garden, and front-of-book features. Rates were previously listed as $400-$1,000 for features; $350 for departments; $50-100 for very short pieces. Current rates are unclear. Details here.
Northern Virginia Magazine is a monthly regional lifestyle glossy magazine that reaches thousands of residents from Arlington and Alexandria to Fairfax, Loudoun, Fauquier, Prince William, and Stafford counties through their print and digital platforms. They primarily want profile stories with interviews of the region’s most prominent or notable figures. Other topics of interest are getaways, home, entertainment, and business targeted at Northern Virginians. They previously indicated to pay $50-$1,000, but current rates are unclear. Details here.
Texas Highways is the official travel magazine of Texas, published by the Travel Information Division of the Texas Department of Transportation. Articles should document Texas destinations for readers in the US and across the world, through descriptive and evocative language. According to their guidelines, their standard print rate is $1.20/word plus travel expenses. Digital rates vary based on the scope of reporting. To learn more, refer to this page.
Lake Superior Magazine focuses on the Lake Superior region, including its history, current events, lifestyle and tourism. According to their guidelines, pay is $200-400 for features (1,600 to 2,000 words) and $75-200 for departments and columns (800 to 1,200 words). Details here.
Ft. Myers & Southwest Florida is a bimonthly magazine – “the leading ‘arts & living’ publication in Southwest Florida.” Its content is focused on local and national arts and lifestyles. Its audience includes “educated, active, creative and successful residents of Southwest Florida, ages 20-75 years old.” They previously indicated to pay $50-$100 for 500-1000 words and $100-$150 for 1,000-1,500 words, but their guidelines are no longer available, so current rates are unclear. To learn more, refer to the ''writers wanted'' section on their about us page.
Milwaukee Magazine is a monthly magazine covering people, issues, and places in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin. They are interested in timely stories about current issues, local personalities, area business, sports, health care, education, politics, arts and culture, architecture and urban life, history, food, shopping, music and nightlife, recreation and the environment. They are particularly looking for writers who can deliver brightly written, well-researched service stories but are also interested in in-depth narrative features (from profiles to investigative stories) from qualified reporters. Pay rates are not mentioned. Details here.
The Bold Italic is a blog covering the San Francisco Bay area. They cover the ways the bay area is rapidly changing, and how the city functions. They publish personal essays, reported pieces, humor, interviews, and profiles. According to their old guidelines, they pay $50 per article. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
7X7 is a regional website covering the Bay Area. They publish "local insider stories and tips." According to an old payment report, they paid $0.07 per word. To pitch them, refer to this page.
Inside Publications publishes “four ‘hyperlocal’ community newspapers (Inside East Sacramento, Inside Land Park, Inside Arden, and Inside Pocket).” They welcome queries from Sacramento-based writers. They are interested in feature stories about the people, places and events in their “readership areas (East Sacramento, Arden, Carmichael, Land Park, Pocket, etc.).” They do not publish articles about state, national or global issues. They also do not publish fiction or poetry. According to their submission guidelines, payment is $100 to $150 per story. Visit their website here.
KANSAS! Magazine is published by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism. Their audience is largely residents of Kansas. Because the magazine is intended to promote tourism in Kansas, all articles must feature events and attractions that are open to the public. Pay rates are not mentioned. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Nevada Magazine is a bimonthly “the official state tourism” publication. Its content includes “informative and entertaining features on the Silver State” – material appealing to its readers, active travelers and Nevada enthusiasts. For printed stories, editors buy first North American rights, as well as the right to publish, distribute, archive, and otherwise use the material. According to their guidelines, the average rate for a feature-length story is $300, however this value will be negotiated. To learn more, refer to their writers’ guidelines.
OutLook by the Bay is a magazine for the active Chesapeake Bay senior. The reader is typically over 50, retired or a part-timer. They also publish articles on lifestyle, finances, health, nutrition and housing. Articles need to be upbeat, motivational, conversational, entertaining and informative. Articles should be 600 words, or 1200 for a longer article. Pay rates are not mentioned. Details here.
The North Coast Journal (of Politics, People and Art) is a newspaper published in Humboldt County, CA. Its editors do not want “straight hard news articles, inverted pyramids” – they look for articles “that people want to read simply for the pleasure of reading.” Editors want this publication “to tell the story of Humboldt County, one chapter at a time” through features – narratives, reported essays, and experimental writing. They previously indicated payment as $300-400 for cover stories (3,000-4,000 words) and $100-150 for upfront stories (1,000-1,500 words). Current rates are not clear. To learn more, refer to their writers’ guidelines.
Chicago Parent is a parenting news magazine. Its content includes articles with a local focus. Editors look for new local writers from Chicago area. Editors buy one-time print publication rights for Chicago Parent with exclusive first North American publishing rights and electronic rights. Editors do not consider reprints. According to their guidelines, short articles are 300-400 words in length and pay $25-$50, reader essays pay $50-$100, and feature stories of 800 to 1,500 words pay $100 and up for a one-page story. To learn more, refer to their writers’ guidelines.
Newcity wants timely, magazine-style stories about Chicago, its culture, or topics of interest to the urban dweller. They like stories about politics, the arts, social affairs, and social policy. In print, “front-of-book” features run 1,000-10,000 words, but can go up to any length appropriate. According to their guidelines, stories that run only on their web sites, and all reviews that run online or in print, are paid $40 each. In print, section features are $125; longer “front-of-book” features pay $100-$600 and up—roughly thirteen cents per assigned word. Details here.
Belt Magazine is a website that features journalism covering the Rust Belt, the Industrial Midwest, the Great Lakes Region, and Northern Appalachia. They previously indicated to pay $300-$500 for features (1,200-3,000 words), $100-250 for essays, $25 for poetry, and $25-50 for recipes, but current rates are unclear. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
The Buddhist Review presents the Buddhist perspective of the West. They are the leading magazine of Buddhism in the West and they have good distribution. They are not affiliated with any particular sect or lineage of Buddhism. Articles between 500–2,000 words are preferred. Payment rates are not mentioned on the website but a payment report suggests they paid $0.75 per word. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Tablet is a daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas, and culture that welcomes submissions from freelance writers. You can submit a full pitch that includes a detailed description of your topic, a brief bio, links to any of your previously published stories, and, if necessary, a short writing sample. According to a payment report, they paid $0.24 per word for 1900 words, but current pay rates are not clear. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Hinduism Today is an international quarterly magazine featuring articles concerning timely events, human interest stories, interviews, social issues, lifestyle pieces, cultural explorations, and more. Contributing writers don't need to be Hindu but "should empathize with Hindu thought, practices, and culture". Word length for short articles is 700 and 2,000 words and longer articles are 2,000 to 6,000 words. An accompanying photo is necessary to go with the story. Query first. According to their pitch guide, pay is $0.10 per word and $20-100 for each published photo. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Liguorian Magazine is a Catholic magazine, bills itself "a redemptorist pastoral publication." They publish articles (max 2,200 words), personal essays (max 1,000 words), and fiction (max 2,000 words). According to their pitch guide, they pay $0.12 to $0.15 per word. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Providence is "a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy." They publish articles on the intersection of Christianity and national security, foreign policy, political theory, etc. According to their pitch guide, they pay $100 for 800-1,200 word articles on their website. They previously paid up to $1,000 for print articles, but it's not clear whether they publish in print anymore. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Today’s Christian Living is a bimonthly magazine designed to encourage and engage Christians of all ages. It contains inspirational stories about how the Lord has touched the lives of both ordinary and well-known Christians in remarkable ways. Editors look for story-based and testimonial freelance submissions. Editors purchase all rights to original articles. According to their pitch guide, payment is $25 for less than 750 words, $75 for 750-800 words, $100 for 801-1,199 words, and $150 for 1,200-1,800 words. TThey are not always open to submissions. To learn more, refer to their writers guidelines.