Saturday, May 20th 2023
The editor of the New York Times’
Styles section is open for pitches. The Styles section covers “everything
fashion, internet, sex, trends before they are trends, and culture at large.” The
section features stories that have some U.S. lens. Pay is $1 per word. Send
your pitches to wilson.wong@nytimes.com.
To read their Styles editor’s tweets, click here
and here.
To read their pitch guide, click here.
Wednesday, December 28th 2022
Fortunes is a series (by The New
York Times Opinion) on the psychology of class. They are accepting pitches for
personal essays that explore “the ways that class shapes psychology.” Payment
reports indicate they pay up to $1 per word. If interested, email your pitches
to cornelia.channing@nytimes.com.
To learn more, refer to this Twitter
thread and their previous
essays.
Saturday, July 30th 2022
The New York Times Opinion section is accepting pitches for a new column. The Sunday Review editor of
The New York Times has Tweeted, “...Times Opinion is launching Fortunes, a new series on the psychology of
class. ... Fortunes is a monthly series of 2000w personal essays about a
specific activity or phenomenon that defined the author's experience of class.”
The first column has been published, so you
can see what kind of work they’re looking for. See the Twitter thread here for details.
Saturday, July 30th 2022
The staff editor of the New York Times’ Well section issued a call on Twitter. “The
Well desk is launching a new series, called "Why not try..."
The idea is to find interesting seasonal or evergreen fitness stories that
either introduce a new way to work out or take a new look at an old idea.” See
the first of the stories here to get an idea of what
they’re looking for. Details here.
Thursday, June 30th 2022
These are nonfiction
columns. For both, they especially welcome work from historically
underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US.
-- Modern Love: They want “honest personal essays about contemporary
relationships.
We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love
alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory,
technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the
heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma
you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect
what is happening in the world now.” Also, “Love may be universal, but
individual experiences can differ immensely and be informed by factors
including race, socio-economic status, gender, disability status, nationality,
sexuality, age, religion and culture.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern
Love has two submission periods, March through June, and September through
December. Writers are paid. Details here.
-- Tiny Love Stories: These are also personal essays similar in theme to
Modern Love, but much shorter. “What kind of love story can you share in two
tweets, an Instagram caption or a Facebook post? Tell us a love story from your
own life — happy or sad, capturing a moment or a lifetime — in no more than 100
words. Include a picture taken by you that complements your narrative, whether a
selfie, screenshot or snapshot. We seek to publish the most funny and
heart-wrenching entries we receive. We call them Tiny Love Stories. They are
about as long as this paragraph. They must be true and unpublished.” Details here.
Deadline: June 30th, 2022
Tuesday, February 15th 2022
Headway
is The New York Times’ new section that explores “the world’s challenges
through the lens of progress.” They are looking for stories: “special call for
journos to revisit stories about change makers you've previously reported.”
They are seeking 3 types of stories: cover stories (4,000-7,000 words); visual
and interactive stories; and supporting pieces (500-1,500 words). For
supporting pieces, they are looking for ideas around: waste and circularity;
alleviating poverty; and past, present, and future of plastics. Rate is $1 to
$2 per word. To learn more, refer to this Tweet and
this pitching guide.
Deadline: February 24th, 2022
Friday, December 3rd 2021
NYT
Magazine’s editor is looking for short, fun features: “Pitch me all the playful
yarns, the wild romps, the delicious, the sexy, the sweet, the bright.” Rate is about $1-$2 per word. To read their editor’s Twitter thread, click here. To
visit their website, click here.
Friday, November 5th 2021
They are open to unsolicited submissions of personal
essays about love, and about puzzles.
-- Modern Love: They accept submissions for their Modern Love column; one of
their reading periods is from September to December. Modern Love publishes honest personal essays
about contemporary relationships – see guidelines for further details and
examples of past published essays. They especially encourage Black and
Indigenous people and other people of color to submit, as well as writers
outside of the United States and those who identify as members of LGBTQ
communities. (They also publish Tiny Love Stories of exactly 100 words, for which there is no monetary
payment. However, here’s an article on how one of these was turned into an episode for a TV series, along with some other Modern Love stories).
Deadline: 31 December 2021
Length: 1,500-1,700 words
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.
-- Solver
Stories: These are personal essays about your
relationship with puzzles. Their guidelines say, “Solver Stories, a feature of
Wordplay, welcomes submissions of personal essays on a variety of topics, such
as: An issue the writer has faced in life, and how solving puzzles (of any
kind) has helped them resolve that issue; A feel-good story or good news from
the worlds of puzzles and games…; How solving puzzles has affected a
relationship in the writer’s life; How puzzles, games or use of language have
been agents of cultural change.
The most important thing is that the writing be emotionally honest and for the
story to be freshly and compellingly told.” They have examples of Solver
Stories essays within the guidelines.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 800-1,200 words
Pay: $200
Details here.
Deadline: December 31st, 2021
Sunday, October 24th 2021
NYT
Science covers science, medicine, environment, space, and astronomy. Their
editor is looking for science stories. She will consider any pitches, but is “extra
interested in oceans and marine life, agriculture/aquaculture and food systems,
odd hyperlocal or historical stories, and anything that intersects
science/culture in interesting ways.” You can also contact her if you don’t have
a pitch at the moment. According to payment reports, the New York Times pays $1
per word. If interested, DM their editor on Twitter or email tacey.rychter@nytimes.com. Read
their editor’s Twitter thread here and
NYT Science’s articles here.
Sunday, September 12th 2021
They want pitches
for the Wordplay section. Their guidelines say, “Wordplay is the Games
editorial section of The New York Times, including the daily Crossword column
and Spelling Bee forums. ... In addition to the regular columns, we also
publish lively, well-written freelance articles that cover a gamut of subjects:
puzzles, gaming and tournaments, wordplay and language. We are also interested
in historical and cultural surveys of the gaming and language worlds.” Please
limit your pitches to 500 words; final word count is 800-1,200 words. Pay is
$1.50 per word for an accepted, edited piece. Details here.
(They also accept submissions for their Solver Stories column – personal essays about “how
puzzles, games and language connect us to each other, how they fit into our
daily lives and what we can learn about ourselves from them”, for which they
pay $200.)
Sunday, August 22nd 2021
Wordplay
is The New York Times’ crossword column. Their senior editor has tweeted, “Are
you a journalist who loves games of all kinds and puzzles? Do you have a deep
interest in language and how it impacts our lives? Wordplay would love to hear your pitches for freelance
articles!” Rate is $1.50 per word. Word count is flexible but should be within
800 to 1,300 words. Pitches should be sent to wordplay@nytimes.com. To learn more,
refer to their senior editor’s Tweet and Wordplay column.
Sunday, July 25th 2021
The editor
of the New York Times Opinion is accepting pitches. He has tweeted that he
loves “reading submissions on all topics, so long as it has an argument.” He is
“interested in hearing from everybody, but especially from BIPOC, queer people,
low-income people, people outside of New York, LA, and DC, and from people who
have been hesitant to pitch to an editor before.” According to payment reports,
they pay $1 per word. If interested, email your pitches to adrian.rivera@nytimes.com. For more
information, refer to their editor’s Twitter
thread and their submissions
guide.
Friday, March 19th 2021
Some outlets are open for editorial
fellowships. All of these are US-based.
-- New
York Times (Disability Journalism Fellow, pays,
deadline 31 March 2021)
-- Words
Without Borders
(Editorial Fellowship, $16/hour, deadline 26 March 2021)
-- Filter (Drug War Journalism Diversity Fellowship, pays
$22/hour, for six months, no deadline)
Deadlines: 26 March for Words Without Borders; 31 March for New York Times
Sunday, December 20th 2020
They’re reading personal essays on two themes.
-- Modern Love: Modern Love publishes honest personal essays about
contemporary relationships; see guidelines for details and examples of past
published essays. They especially encourage BIPOC to submit, as well as those
outside of the United States and people who identify as members
of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ communities. Modern Love pieces are 1,500-1,700 words,
and pay is $500. Submissions are also open for Tiny Love Stories (of 100
words), though these are unpaid. The deadline is 31 December 2020. Details here.
-- Solver Stories: The Tweet from NYTimes Wordplay says, “Submissions to
our Solver Stories feature for the latter half of 2021 are now open. We're
looking for fresh voices and well-told stories about how puzzle-solving or
games have had an impact on your life, or how they might have changed a
relationship.” Their guidelines are extensive, and include this: “The most important thing is that the writing be
emotionally honest and for the story to be freshly and compellingly told.” Essays have to be 800-1,300 words, and pay is $200.
Details here (Tweet) and here (guidelines).
Thursday, September 17th 2020
Submissions for Modern Love column
are open again; the current submission period is September through December. They
announced on Twitter recently that they especially encourage BIPOC to
submit, as well as those outside of the United States and people who identify
as members of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ communities. Modern Love publishes honest personal essays
about contemporary relationships, of 1,500-1,700 words – see guidelines for
further details and examples of past published essays; pay is $500. Submissions
are also open for Tiny Love Stories (of 100 words), though these are unpaid. Details
here (Tweet) and here (submission guidelines - you
need to create a free account or log in to access these).
Sunday, July 12th 2020
The New York Times’ smarter living editor is seeking service journalism pitches from POC journalists. He is generally seeking COVID-19 focused pitches but contributors can send other pitches too. Rates start at $1 per word. Send pitches to tim@nytimes.com. To learn more, refer to their editor’s Twitter thread and this page.
Saturday, June 13th 2020
The New York Times’ smarter living editor is accepting pitches from POC journalists who have a fantastic service journalism story idea, especially around COVID-19. Pay is $1 per word. Send your pitches to tim@nytimes.com. For details, refer to this Twitter thread and this page.
Tuesday, May 12th 2020
The New York Times’ opinion editor is
seeking “op-eds from college students about their experiences during the
pandemic and what they think about schools reopening.” She is accepting pitches
from college students from everywhere, not just the US. Their op-ed essays are
typically 400 to 1,200 words. Payment reports indicate that they pay up to
$1 per word. If you have a pitch, DM her on Twitter. Read her Tweet here
and learn more here.
Monday, March 9th 2020
The New York Times is looking for op-ed
pitches. Their op-ed essays are typically 400 to 1,200 words long. To learn
more, refer to their editor’s Twitter
post and this page.