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hey there.

Happy September!

As always, thanks for signing up and scrolling through. I hope your pitches and/or queries land and the words flow this week.

Without further ado.

Table of Contents

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tips for freelance writers + novelists

craft

Readers are looking for truth in fiction. This may feel counterintuitive, but we often reach for books to have our experiences mirrored back at us. This, Donald Maas explains, is how “truth” is defined in fiction — these all too human, too real experiences we know happen. (Writer Unboxed)

Try the “20k-word rule” for your next draft. At this point, you probably have a good feel for the story and know whether something is (or isn’t) working. Don’t be afraid to start over and try something new, especially if you’re stuck. Having six different versions of the same beginning is better than still being stuck at 20k in the first one, trying to figure out where to go from here. (The Word Cave)

marketing

Back to basics. When it comes to book marketing, things don’t need to be complicated. Focus on the basics, like keeping your professional author website and Amazon Retail page up-to-date, which can help make it easier to connect your books to readers. (Writers in the Storm)

The free newsletter making HR less lonely

The best HR advice comes from those in the trenches. That’s what this is: real-world HR insights delivered in a newsletter from Hebba Youssef, a Chief People Officer who’s been there. Practical, real strategies with a dash of humor. Because HR shouldn’t be thankless—and you shouldn’t be alone in it.

all things book publishing

news + interesting reads

Anthropic reaches $1.5B copyright deal with book authors. The masterminds behind the AI chatbot Claude agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit submitted by authors and book publishers in federal court last Friday. (CNN)

The Handmaid’s Tale was just banned from Edmonton public school libraries. In case you’re wondering how things are going north of the border, Atwood’s dystopian classic, plus 200 other books, were pulled from school libraries last week. (CBC News)

Just in time for spooky season, Emily Zarevich investigates the origins of the Macbeth witches. (JSTOR Daily)

Have we lost the plot with travel content? Anthony Bourdain quotes flood Instagram and fill TikTok videos, missing the point of Parts Unknown, the project they’re drawing their inspiration from. Travel content often features first-person reviews disguised as travel guides, complete with photos and videos that prioritize the author over the destination. (Vulture)

Twilight is turning 20. Kelly Jensen takes a look back at the YA-megahit’s impact on the publishing industry, pop culture, and books as it hits a major anniversary milestone. The series is part of the reason why YA can now take up so much shelf space in stores: readers made it clear this is the type of book they want to read. (School Library Journal)

Rage Bait: Japanese author Rie Qudan talks about her award-winning novel and how she used AI to help write parts of it. (The Guardian)

Powell’s Bookstore accused of making “AI slop.” The fiercely independent bookstore is being accused of using AI-generated images for its latest line of merchandise. While employees are speaking out, saying yes, this is what happened, Powell’s has issued a statement assuring customers that they believe in paying artists for real art. (Always Here Bookstore)

for querying writers

Reminder:
I have openings + a quick turnaround on query letter edits.

Literary agent Erin Niumata shares what editors at publishing houses are (and aren’t) looking for right now. (Erin’s Third Act)

Victoria Harris, new literary agent at the Caldwell Agency, is interested in literary and upmarket fiction, especially stories that feature LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters. Right now, she’s looking for stories that explore the theme of “you can’t possibly want to be with someone like me, I’m not worthy, I’m so broken” and having to dismantle the inner voices telling you you’re not good enough in queer relationships/stories vs “is he safe” in straight relationships/stories. Please submit queries through QueryTracker.

Abigail Fenton, literary agent at The Ampersand Agency, is actively building her list of women’s fiction, romance, crime, thriller, historical, and book club fiction. She’s especially interested in campus/board school novels, stories of forgotten women from history/myths, multigenerational novels, and book club reads with “big ucy questions.” Please send query, first three chapters, synopsis, and brief bio to [email protected].

Lauren Spieller, literary agent at Folio Literary, is currently full on romance and romantasy, but is looking to build her suspense, book club, and YA list. Please submit queries through QueryTracker.

Natascha Morris, literary agent at the Tobias Literary Agency, is looking for more YA, NA, and Adult titles that lean into escapism like Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutano, Grace Year by Kim Liggett, and Maureen Johnson’s Death at Morning House. Please submit queries through QueryTracker.

Weaver Literary Agency is looking for more YA thrillers/mysteries, especially with vibes similar to CW’s Nancy Drew. Please submit queries through QueryTracker.

Sherri Wilson Johnson, literary agent at the Gardner Literary agency, has reopened to queries and is looking for Christian NF and fiction. You can submit queries through QueryTracker.

Grace Demyan, literary agent at Harvey Klinger Literary Agency, shared that the best way to get her attention is to give her “a unique, atmospheric setting that adds to the plot and shapes the journey. Setting as a character is my jam.” Please submit queries through QueryTracker.

calls for pitches +
paid creative opportunities

If you appreciate these weekly roundups, feel free to leave a tip or buy me a coffee

Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.

reported stories + personal essays

Black Working Class: Grassroots Thinking is always working for pitches of “stories that matter to the Black working class.” They want stories that “explain the news, politics, and culture through reportage, analysis, commentary, interviews, and essays with an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist lens," especially from Black writers. Rate: $200 to $300 per 1,000 words. To pitch: [email protected].

Cinema and Travel: Samreen Tungekar, managing editor at Travel + Leisure India & South Asia, is looking for pitches for T+L’s first-ever Cinema Issue. She’s looking for pitches of first-person experiences of unusual destinations you discovered thanks to movies or television (beyond the Friends set, please), guided tours of cities or locations that have experienced their share of cinema-driven tourism, interesting interviews, and feature ideas that connect tourism to cinema. To pitch, read the guidelines and e-mail: [email protected], plus cc [email protected] and [email protected].

Culture: Sophie Murguia, deputy managing editor at Mother Jones, is always looking for pitches for the print magazine's culture section, Mixed Media. “These are ~2,000-word essays that combine reporting, cultural criticism, historical research, and/or personal narrative. These are reported essays that make a clear argument using multiple sources.” She is especially interested in “pitches that will have a strong time peg for our first few issues of 2026.” Rate: $1.75 per word of the assigned word count for print. To pitch: [email protected].

Food + Travel: Daria Smith, editor at Late Checkout, is looking for food, drink, and travel stories through a cultural lens for October. “These should be trend-driven, timely, and tied to hospitality. If it’s lighting up group chats, showing up in restaurants, hotels, or design spaces, or crossing into culture in a fun way, we want to hear it.” Rate: $150/200 words. US writers only. After reading the Pitching Guidelines, email pitches to [email protected].

Journalism Style + Accessibility: Stacy Kess, editor-in-chief at Equal Access Public Media, is always looking for pitches of journalism style and accessibility commentary and analysis for the new Style and Accessibility Guide site. Specifically, they’re looking for pitches on “trends in journalism through the lens of accessibility or style (esp. using the Style Guide); trends in social media through the lens of accessibility or style; a specific issue or topic in journalism; a specific topic from the style guide. Rate: $50 per piece (until the project is better funded). Pitch: [email protected].

Korean Media: MENT Magazine is looking for pitches of “critical and creative work that engages with Korean media forms through a variety of cultural, social, and political perspectives” for Issue 003. Rate: $100 per piece. To pitch: [email protected]. Deadline: September 30.

Seasonal Travel + Food: Stephanie Pitera Statile, Business Insider's Lifestyle/Entertainment editor, is looking for first-person essays on “recent or upcoming travels, train rides, flight upgrades, and favorite recipes" for the fall and winter months. Rate: usually $200 to $230 for 600 words. Please submit pitches through the pitch form.

from previous editions

This subscriber-only section includes all remote job openings shared in previous editions of this literary life. Upgrade now for access.

food

DC, Boston, + New Orleans Dining Scene: Jonathan Smith, senior editor at The Infatuation, is commissioning freelance writers in DC, New Orleans, and Boston, “who are deeply knowledgeable about their city's dining scene — from the longtime classics to the buzzy newcomers, and everything in-between. Generally, we're looking for freelancers who want to author both guides and reviews, are allergic to food writing cliches, and have an intuitive ability to recognize use-cases for different restaurants, sometimes for absurdly specific situations.” Rates: $750 for guides and $150 for individual reviews, “with final rates determined based on the length of a guide, amount of additional research required, and experience.” E-mail pitches to [email protected] with “PITCH:” and the proposed headline.

Grocery Diaries: Stephanie Pitera Statile, Lifestyle/Entertainment editor at Business Insider, is looking for fresh pitches for their Aldi, Costco, and Trader Joe’s grocery diaries. Rate: $175. Pitch here.

Food: Gastro Obscura is open for pitches. They have a very in-depth breakdown of how to pitch them, including examples of what they’re looking for. Pay: $.50/word.

Food: Taste Cooking is looking for a variety of topics, including recipes and food culture features. "We’re most interested in your well-reasoned idea. A story with a strong point of view that is backed by clear reporting and/or supported by proven expertise." With your pitch, please include "why you are qualified to write this story. And if we don’t know you, we’d like to see some of your work. Links are great. The pitch should outline the story in detail, with specifics. For us, the excitement comes from not just colorful copy but substance to back it up. A wise turn of phrase is not a substitute for detailed observation and reporting. If you pitch a feature involving recipe development or sourcing from chefs, clips of similar work are required." E-mail pitches to Matt Rodbard at [email protected].

Food: Vittles Cooking is opening the cooking section for pitches for the first time. Although there are no restrictions on what you can pitch – beyond the need to be related to home cooking in one way or another – they’re especially interested in stories on “the rules don’t matter” (the pleasures of ignoring the ‘right’ way of doing things), “..maybe they do” (techniques and approaches that transforming/optimize cooking), “cooking and work” (fitting cooking into daily life), “cooking and climate crisis” (impact of ecological disasters and seasonal disruptions in markets and the kitchen), “cooking under duress (what it takes to keep yourself/others fed during illness, grief, turmoil), and recipe sets. They’re also particularly interested in hearing from people whose work challenges the traditional European and/or American-centred perspective of mainstream food writing. Rate: £150/40p a word for shorter pieces, £500 for 500 - 800 word essays. Pitch: [email protected] with the subject, COOKING PITCH.

Hospitality: Pre Shift, a newsletter from Eater and Punch by and for the hospitality industry, is looking for pitches of “first-person essays or narrative reporting from within the hospitality industry (chefs, bartenders, servers, bouncers, etc.). They are “especially interested in hearing from writers of color and writers outside of NYC.” Rate: $0.50 per word. E-mail pitches to [email protected]. Use “Pre Shift Pitch” in the subject line. 

Whisky: Glug Magazine’s sister, Stramash, is looking for contributors with fresh, interesting things to say about the whisky world. Rate: $.25/word. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

travel

Alaska: Jennifer Sahn, editor in chief at High Country News, is always looking for pitches of longform features, profiles, and investigative pieces "about Alaska by Alaska Native and Alaska-based journalists.” She is especially interested in stories with a “strong focus on Indigenous communities and perspectives, and successful pitches will come from those with deep connections with the people/places in the proposed story.” Rate: $1 per word for reported content and $0.50 per word for essays and reviews. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Appalachia: 100 Days in Appalachia is always looking for pitches of reported, personal, and visual stories from 13 - to 25-year-olds in Appalachia for its Generation Zeitgeist column. “We believe young journalists, creators, and young people in general should be paid for their work and have sustainable platforms to house what they create.” Rates begin at $50 - $100 for opinions and more for reporting and multimedia works. Submit pitches through this pitch form.

First-person food and travel: Lydia Wang, a new Lifestyle/Entertainment editor at Business Insider, is looking for first-person essays about “travel, food, cooking, and moving with strong takeaways/service angles.” Rates start at $230 for around 600 words. Submit pitches through this form.

Canada: Rosie Long Decter, editor-in-chief at Maisonneuve Magazine, is seeking pitches for narrative-driven stories relevant to Canada for its Fall 2025 issue. “The stories can be locally specific but need to be connected to broader ideas that are interesting to a general audience. We typically work with Canadian writers but are not opposed to others, as long as the stories are in some way relevant to a Canadian readership." Rate: $0.15 CAD/word. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Beach Travel: Charity De Souza shared that Beach.com is now open to ideas as it prepares to relaunch. They’re looking for authentic, well-researched travel content that helps travelers plan their next beach trip. Rates: $250 for 1,500 words, $300 for 1,500 + personal photos. Submit through this form.

Travel: Fodor’s has opened to pitches for spring 2025. Please pitch topics that are not already covered on their site. Remember, they do not accept destination service/SEO content. Ideal pitches are for “serviceable” stories that teach readers something new. Pitches through this form.

Travel: Stephanie Pitera Statile, editor at Business Insider, is looking for pitches of essays on ferry trips, flight and cruise upgrades, retirement travel, and moving to/from the US. Rates start at $200 for 600 words. Pitch using this form.

Food/Drink/Travel: Christie Rotondo, senior editor for Vox Creative, is always commissioning writers “for assignments in the food, drink, and travel space.” She told Study Hall that Vox is “constantly creating Eater heatmaps and Thrillist local guides and want to grow our roster of local writers.” Rate: $750 for maps or guides. E-mail bio and 2 -3 clips of relevant work to christie@[email protected] with subject line: Local Writer Pitch From [Your City].

Food/Drink/Travel: Daria Smith at Late Checkout seeks travel, food, and drink stories with Gen Z energy. Pitches must be newsworthy/have a news angle (why does this story need to be told now?) and have accompanying visuals. Successful pitches also focus on one specific column, are 200 words max, nail Late Checkout’s voice, and have a fleshed-out concept. Rate: $200. Read full pitching guidelines here. E-mail pitches to: [email protected].

New England Travel: Jen Rose Smith, editor at Seven Days, is always looking for pitches for a travel series “about visiting Québec aimed at people living in Vermont.” “We're next-door neighbors, so stories can assume some basic familiarity. (i.e., this is not the place for ‘Montreal!! A cosmopolitan wonderland with Euro flair!!’)." They generally cover places within a few hours of the Vermont border — Montréal, the Eastern Townships, Québec City, etc., “but we're also open to big, dreamy stories that showcase how vast and diverse the province is.” Rate: $250-$325 for 1,200-1,800 words. Pitch: [email protected].

Travel: Off Assignment seeks submissions for their "Letter to a Stranger," "Under the Influence," "No Equivalent," "What I Didn't Say," and "Witching Hour" columns. Only completed drafts are considered for publication. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Pay range: $100 (Witching Hour) - $300.

Outdoors: Ryan Wichelns, founding editor at Trails Magazine, is looking for pitches from through-hikers or members of the Appalachian Trail Community about Hurricane Helene, its impact on the trail/trail community, or its recovery. Pitch: [email protected].

Outdoors: Stasia Stockwell, managing editor for Trails Magazine, is looking for pitches on backpacking food. “We need recipes as well as stories: Think a profile of a backcountry chef or a review of a unique piece of camp kitchen gear. Rate: $.50/word. Pitch: [email protected].

home + garden

Groceries: Mara Weinraub, Senior Editor at The Kitchn, is looking for pitches from new writers who have “ingenious advice and strong opinions about the groceries we buy and the retailers and we buy them from.” She is looking for personal essays, reported features, expert-approved tips, noteworthy trends, cultural phenomena, and more. Rate: $150/300-word story. Pitch: [email protected].

Moving: Paige DiFiore, Deputy Editor of Lifestyle and Entertainment at Business Insider, wants pitches from “folks who moved away from a place they loved living in for years, moved for a job or a partner's job, unexpectedly fell in love with living in a place they never thought they'd love or have lived many places until finding one that they adore.” Rate: $240 for 600 - 700 words. Submit pitches here.

Renovations: Paige is also looking for stories from writers who “recently did renovations and remodels and have regrets. Outdoor spaces, bathrooms, kitchens, fixer-uppers — you name it.” Rate: $230 for 600 - 700 words. Submit pitches here.

Sustainability: Lynn Freehill-Maye, managing editor at Hudson Valley Viewfinder, is looking for pitches on reported stories on “sustainability, agriculture, science, wildlife, outdoor recreation, green transportation, and more” related to the Hudson Valley. Rate: $500 - $700 for 500 - 700 words. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

parenting + relationships

Parenting: Rosemary Donahue, Health & Parenting editor at Business Insider, is looking for pitches of personal essays on “co-parenting, nontraditional engagements, parenting in 40s or older, not following milestones in relationships in the traditional order, supporting a family financially/being the breadwinner,” and more. Rate: starts at $225 for about 600 words. Pitch: [email protected] with [Pitch: Your proposed headline] as the subject line.

science, environment, health, wellness

Bereavement and Grief Support: TalkDeath is always looking for pitches of articles, fiction, and creative non-fiction on “bereavement, grief support, the funeral industry, death positivity, and anything related to death. They are especially interested in hearing from writers who can “speak to death practices and traditions from equity deserving groups, the Global South, and Indigenous writers.” Rate” $.20 for 800 - 1,000 words. Email pitches to [email protected].

Environmental Injustice: Scalawag is always looking for pitches on “environmental (in)justice, green transition, and American reindustrialization’s path through The South” for its new series, “Dirty Energy, Dirty South.” They are looking for long and short-form essays, photo essays, op-eds, reported pieces, and poetry. Specifically, they want submissions “that will offer our audience continued analysis of disaster capitalism in the South, with a special emphasis on ‘dirty energy’ and how it manifests as environmental racism and state abandonment.” Rate: $.40 per word (2,500 limit) for writing and $300 for poems. Send pitches to [email protected].

Health: Sarah Yahr Tucker, editor at Medscape, is always looking for pitches of reported features and video content specifically aimed at healthcare professionals. They’re especially interested in topics that “explore the human side of life in medicine,” including mental health issues, side gigs, relationships and parenting, health and fitness, personal finance, etc. Rate: $1/word for max. 1,500 words, up to $1,500 for video interviews. Please e-mail pitches to [email protected].

Health, Culture: Starlight Williams, editor at Nat Geo, is open to “smart (not academic), interesting (not just to you), and relevant (to a global audience)” pitches. Some examples include hidden histories, health explainers, health debunkers, or “I wonder” stories. Be sure to include a sample hed/dek that matches Nat Geo style, plus a Nut Graph that answers the 5 W’s, emphasizing why you are telling this story, and your bio plus relevant clips. E-mail pitches: [email protected].

Midlife Women’s Health: Emily Cegielski Gianakos, Health Editor at Flow Space, is always looking for pitches of reported features and first-person columns on “midlife women’s health (women aged 35 - 65).” Note that “health and wellness is the overarching topic, but “we also cover verticals that may not seem like traditional health coverage (fashion, beauty, career, self, family, relationships, entertainment, culture, etc), assuming there's some relevance to midwife women's health that's made clear in the pitch/piece.” Rate: $200 - $800. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Men’s Health: Alyssa Bereznak, GQ’s new Wellness & Grooming director, is always looking for pitches on “the latest men’s health/grooming trends, psychedelics, strength training, dating, diet, and AI health.” Rates: “vary based on experience and scope.” E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Science and health: Shannon Palus, features writer at Slate, is always looking for pitches of health and science features “that will shift/challenge how readers see the world and how it works.” Rates: $1,500 for reported features of 2,500 words. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

lifestyle + culture

Animal Welfare: Current Affairs is always looking for pitches of articles on “issues related to animal welfare” aimed at “any literate person with a high school education.” Rate: $250 for online, $350 for print. $75 per poem. Submit pitches through this form.

Book Culture: John Maher, news director at Publishers Weekly, is looking for pitches of industry news, trend pieces, and reported features on “book publishing, comics and graphic novel publishing, manga/manhwa/manhua publishing audiobook publishing, bookselling, libraries, copyright law, generative artificial intelligence, [and] large language models.” He's especially interested in stories that are at the “intersection of technology and the book business; comics, graphic novels, and manga; trends in genre publishing including science fiction, fantasy, romance, and horror.” Rate: $0.50 per word for print; “web rates vary.” Pitch: [email protected].

Brookline, MA living: Sam Mintz, founding editor at Brookline News, is always looking for pitches of “unique, interesting, creative, unusual” reported stories related to Brookline, MA. Coverage areas include business, art, sports, development, education, police, crime, health, housing, transportation, and more. Rates start at $250 and can scale up according to the project's scope. Email pitches to [email protected].

Culture: Douglas Greenwood, film editor at i-D, is looking to commission across “culture, fashion, art, and photography for i-D this month. op-eds, new talent profiles, left-field looks at what’s cool rn, and introductions to what will be cool tomorrow.” Pitch: [email protected].

Design: Delaney Rebernik, Executive Editor at Design Observer, is looking for pitches on the horror of design/the design of horror. This can be in the form of art-eds, op-eds, criticism, reported articles, or multimedia work. Deadline: September 22, with stories commissioned on a rolling basis through October. Please follow submission guidelines.

Etiquette and Advice: Paige DiFiore, Deputy Editor of Lifestyle and Entertainment at Business Insider, is looking for first-person pitches of thank you note “hot takes” (people who do not write cards, people who don’t like them); wedding guest “hot takes” (loving weekday weddings, refusing to go without a plus one, etc); advice from a parent/grandparent/older relative you followed or plan to follow (retirement tips, tips for making relationships last, etc). Rate: $230/600 words. Pitch: this form.

Feminism and Culture: Nora-Biette Timmons, contributing editor at Jezebel, is looking for pitches of stories on politics, feminism, culture, fashion, and identity “that may be considered too controversial, too brash, too out-of-the-box, or too risque for traditional women’s magazines or mainstream media outlets.” Rates are listed as “competitive” but have been reported by writers to be as low as $50 for 800 words. E-mail pitches [email protected].

Gen Z: Natasha Roy, editor at Rewire News Group, is looking for pitches from young writers for the Campus Dispatch series on “how Gen Z is uniquely impacted by confusing and ever-changing policies on reproductive, voting, and LGBTQ+ rights.” She wants “reported stories, personal essays, and timely explainers on reproductive rights, sexual health, LGBTQ+ issues, science news, and more.” Rate: $400-$500 for reported stories/explainers and $350 for op-eds. Please submit pitches through their pitch form.

Great Lakes news: Lisa John Rogers, news editor at Great Lakes Now, is always looking for pitches of “longer, in-depth, well-researched pieces on issues affecting the region, shorter features on a person or event in a specific location, and articles about how current policies or dynamics are impacting Great Lakes residents and businesses. Rate: $.50 per word. Email pitches to [email protected].

Local Community: New Public is always looking for pitches of newsletter-length pieces on “community stewardship, local online groups, decentralized/alternative social media, civic health and clubs, and where journalism and social media intersect.” They are not interested in tech reviews, personal essays, investigative reporting, or marketing. Rate: “typically” $500. Send pitches to [email protected] with “Writing for the newsletter” in the subject line, and up to three links to relevant samples of your writing.

Historians: Contingent Magazine is open to pitches from historians for their Mailbag column (400–500 words) or Postcards (research or conference). Pay is $150/column and $50/postcard. Please submit pitches using their submission form.

Holiday content: Apartment Therapy is looking for pitches for personal essays, reported features, and profiles related to holidays, events, and observances in October, November, and December. Rate: starts $150/article. Deadline: September 15, 2025. Pitch here.

Internet + Pop Culture: Manisha Krishnan, senior editor at WIRED, is open to tips and original, surprising, and wacky pitches tied to internet culture, pop culture, tech, online dating, gaming, and more. E-mail [email protected].

Journalism: International Journalists' Network (IJNet) is always looking for pitches of articles on “tips and tricks that can help journalists globally.” This includes current media trends in your country, a journalism tool or resource they haven’t covered yet, or stories about innovators. Pitches and written pieces can be in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or Russian. Rate: $200 per article. Submit pitches through this Submittable form

Lifestyle (Travel, Moving, Wedding Guests): Mykenna Manience, freelance associate editor at Business Insider, is looking for pitches of first-person essays on relationships with older relatives, moving or traveling post-divorce, travel mistakes and lessons learned from living abroad, moving for love, unique living situations, and hot takes from wedding guests. Rate: $230/600 words. Submit pitches through this form.

Lifestyle: Conz Preti, senior editor at Business Insider, is always looking for pitches on "parenting, health, relationships, retirement, and more." Rates: typically $220 for 700 words. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Literary Life, Culture: LitHub is always open to pitches about "literary life and culture," especially "the ways that books or their authors fit into the culture at large.” They also note they “enjoy rigorous criticism for a general audience." Send pitches (2 - 3 paragraphs outlining your idea) to [email protected].

Living with disabilities: Rooted in Rights is looking for pitches for blog posts from disabled writers interested in “sharing resources ranging from organizing tips, strategies on getting basic needs met, highlighting a direct service organization, to things that bring you joy, books, comedy, or media recommendations, accessibility workaround, tips for finding community, strategies for rest, and strategies for resistance.” Rate: $400 for 500 words (w/ option to publish anonymously). Pitch here.

Movies: Jared Keller, managing editor of Military.com, is looking for pitches of “compelling analyses of war movies, new and old” for “Theater of War,” a new column. Analysis can focus on “a certain character, a particular scene, or broader theme.” Rates: start at $400. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Neurodivergent Living: Lauren Quinn, managing editor at Motley Bloom, is always looking for pitches of “voice-driven pieces that feature lived experiences of neurodivergence” on “travel, beauty, home design, work and career, product reviews–anything that falls under the umbrella of Neurodivergent Living.” Rate: $300 (short articles) to $500 (longer researched and/or first-person pieces). Pitch: [email protected].

News (Feel-Good, Crime, Health): Jenna Amatulli, deputy head of news at The Guardian US, is always looking for pitches of trending news, health stories, crime tales, feel-good news, and more “with a strong news peg.” Rate: $.50 per word “for what’s commissioned.” E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Older Millennials + Midlife: Marquita Harris, senior editor for Gloria, told Study Hall they are looking for “essays and reported features on topics that are relevant to women who are midlife. Think: pop culture, entertainment, relationships, and beauty. We also love original, compelling, quirky, and relatable ideas” for “women who aren’t yet old but aren’t still young.” Rate: $400 for 800 - 1200 words. Pitch: [email protected] with PITCH in the subject line. 

Personal Stories: Jennifer Beck, editor at Business Insider, is always looking for pitches of personal essays on parenting, relationships, and personal stories. Currently, she’s especially interested in au pair experiences, parent behavior at kids’ sports, and hot takes on kid birthday parties. Rate: $200 for 500 - 600 words. Send pitches to [email protected].

Personal Stories: Jessica Reed, head of narrative at The Guardian US, is always looking for pitches about “normal people. Normal people who go on, endure, preserve, resist.” Think: “Walmart workers, broke teachers, gentrifiers meeting the gentrified, struggling surgeons, hard-working farmers, taxi drivers on the brink, unhoused people who choose to go to jail, etc.” Pitch: [email protected].

Political Commentary: Jeremy Schulman, Senior News Editor at Mother Jones, is looking for good essay pitches that make sense of the political discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark, Sydney Sweeney, and Taylor Swift. Rates start at $1.75/word for print and $0.75/word for online. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Rare Books: Allison C Meier, editor at Fine Books & Collections, is always looking for pitches of “timely tales about rare books and ephemera.” No further info was given, but the recent issue includes “tales of literary Portugal, people who love endpapers, poisonous books, Route 66 maps, and more.” The rates range from $200 to $600, depending on length/reporting needs.” E-mail pitches to [email protected]

Secrets: Open Secret Magazine is looking for unpublished 1,000 - 2,500-word essays that explore transformative, powerful human experiences, especially those often kept secret or hidden. These should show how you’ve changed or learned something new. Pay: $50. Deadline: Sept 30. Please follow their submission guidelines.

sports, fitness, games + gaming

Crosswords: The New York Times is always accepting submissions of “intelligent, literate, entertaining and well-crafted crosswords that appeal to the broad range of Times solvers.” They are looking for “lively fill, with words, phrases, and names that solvers know or can infer from the crossings; original, on-target clues, pitched at the puzzle’s intended difficulty level, including a variety of cultural reference points; and more." Rates: $500 for Monday to Saturday 15x15 puzzles, and $1,500 for Sunday 21x21 puzzles. Submit puzzles through Submittable.

Running: Ashley Mateo, founder of RUNHER, is looking for pitches of “deeply reported stories about women’s running that invite readers to immerse themselves in the sport and its community.” Please, no prescriptive service stories or gear roundups. Investigative features will be prioritized over first-person essays. Rate: $0.50 - $2/word for 1,000 - 1,500 words. Deadline: May 17. Submit through this pitch form.

Gaming: Jack King, British GQ contributing editor, is always looking for writers (including US-based) to help expand gaming coverage. “I'd love to meet some great writers — especially with experience across profiles and in-depth feature reportage, and a distinct voice — in the space.” Pitch: [email protected].

Sports Business: Meredith Turits, the editorial director at Front Office Sports, is always looking for pitches of “features and featurettes on topics at the intersection of sports, business, and culture.” These can be evergreen or timely but “must include a strong business angle.” Rate: historically $.50/word. E-mail pitches to [email protected] with “Pitch” in the subject.

gender/identity/sexuality

Girls and women: Sarah Little, founder of More to Her Story, is looking for more pitches on under-told stories about girls and women worldwide. Their focus isn’t just what’s in the headlines but the stories slipping through the cracks in mainstream media. Pitch here.

LGBTQ+ History: QueerAF is looking for pitches for 700-1000-word history articles for Trans+ History Week. They want 'think piece’ style histories, aiming to be thought-provoking and speculative, focusing on the lessons we can learn from history. To pitch, you must provide examples of previous work, a working headline, and four to five bullet points about what your article will cover. One of these bullet points should tell us how the piece will conclude and what learning there is from this history lesson. Pitch here.

Queerness and Christianity: Tyler Huckabee, managing editor at Sojourners, is always looking for pitches of “good, thoughtful pitches on queerness and Christianity.” They accept reported pieces, analyses, and commentary that address social justice issues or appeal to a well-informed faith audience. Rate: $150 - $300 on opinion + reviews, $300 - $500 for reported articles. E-mail pitches to [email protected].

Many literary magazines pay to publish your creative work, whether it’s short stories, essays, poems, or other mediums. ChillSubs offers an amazing (and free!) database to help you find the right opportunities.

Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.

Roxane Gay is accepting nonfiction essays from emerging writers for her newsletter, The Audacity. Emerging writers have “fewer than three article/essay/short story publications and no published books or book contracts.” Essays should be between 1500 and 3000 words. Rate: $1500. Submit through Submittable.

TalkDeath is always looking for pitches of articles, fiction, and creative non-fiction on “bereavement, grief support, the funeral industry, death positivity, and anything related to death. They are especially interested in hearing from writers who can “speak to death practices and traditions from equity deserving groups, the Global South, and Indigenous writers.” Rate” $.20 for 800 - 1,000 words. Send pitches to [email protected].

Seyward Darby, editor in chief at Atavist Magazine, is looking for pitches of "longform nonfiction stories. “Atavist stories can be historical or current; they can be about crime or science, adventure or romance; they can be rooted in investigative reporting or in first-person experiences. What unites them is their narrative approach.” Rate: $6,000 per story, “plus royalties based on traffic.” E-mail pitches to [email protected] and/or [email protected].

remote writing + editing jobs

These job listings were active when this newsletter was scheduled for publication, but they may have expired since then. If you appreciate these weekly roundups, feel free to buy me a coffee.

Reminder: Vet each opportunity before submitting.
Inclusion does not equal endorsement.

Edutopia is looking for a full-time, remote Assistant Editor to write stories, scripts, research summaries, social media posts, and feature articles for the pre-K to 12 education beat. Ideal candidates have 1 - 2 years of journalism writing experience + a degree in journalism or a related field. Rate: $55k - $75k depending on experience and location. Deadline: Sept 15.

Girls Who Eat is hiring a freelance Brand Copywriter with previous experience in better-for-you or non-toxic brands to work 30 - 40 hours a month during CST business hours. You will be responsible for creating a variety of content, including newsletters, roundups, ingredient deep dives, gift guides, and branded campaigns. Ideal candidates have a deep understanding of ingredients across food, beauty, and household industries. Rate: $30/hr. To apply, fill out this form.

from previous editions

This subscriber-only section includes all remote job openings shared in previous editions of this literary life. Upgrade now for access.

Beach.com’s sister site, Yacht.com, is seeking freelance travel writers to help create yacht travel and coastal lifestyle content. You will be responsible for contributing 2–3 articles per month (around 1,500 words), including destination guides and listicles tailored to yacht travelers. Priority destinations include the Caribbean (St. Lucia, the BVIs, Grenada, etc) and the Mediterranean (Greece, Italy, Croatia, Mallorca, Ibiza, etc). To apply, fill out this form.

Bustle Digital Group is hiring a part-time affiliate shopping writer (fashion & women’s lifestyle) for their Commerce and Affiliate Marketing Team. You will be responsible for writing articles, reviews, and round-ups aimed at helping BDG’s audience make “informed purchasing decisions,” with successful articles earning affiliate revenue. Ideal candidates have 3+ years of experience in writing, editing, or creating content in a digital publishing and/or affiliate marketing environment. Rate: $22 - $25/hr.

Eleven is adding more freelance Topic-Expert Writers on a rolling basis. Ideal candidates have “subject-matter expertise as demonstrated by a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent or 3+ years’ industry or relevant writing experience,” plus familiarity with SEO, research skills, and the ability to take constructive feedback. Pay: monthly basis.

Everyday Health is looking to hire more freelance editors. Ideal candidates have experience working on clinical and lifestyle content. They should also be able to write assignment briefs, edit new and updated content, and perform minor updates to optimize existing content. The rate is $30/hr. 

HousingWire is hiring a full-time, remote News Reporter to cover the U.S. homebuilding industry, including new construction trends, policy shifts, builder strategies, supply chain issues, and the broader economic forces shaping the sector. Ideal candidates have at least two years of experience, strong sourcing, interviewing, and news judgment skills, a competitive desire to break news, and a willingness to travel to attend industry events and meet sources in person. Rate: $60k - $75k, based on experience, plus benefits.

Launch Potato is hiring an Editorial Assistant to join their FinanceBuzz team to help publish new content, update published content, and help with fact-checking and copyediting. Ideal candidates have at least one year of experience in a fast-paced environment.

Observer Media is hiring a Freelance Reporter—Business of Media to cover major social media and streaming companies. Ideal candidates are early-to-mid-career business journalists (2+ years) familiar with writing breaking news and the ability to attend and cover industry events. Rate: $250 - $400 per article (600 - 800 words). E-mail resumes to [email protected] with three to five writing samples or a link to a personal website/portfolio.

Raw Story also wants to add a Night and Weekend Newswriter to their ranks to cover breaking news in national politics, criminal justice, social justice, extremism, and more. Ideal candidates can find new stories or different angles on events/mainstream issues, have a deep interest in the breaking news cycle, and have the ability to work independently on nights and weekends.

Seahawk is looking for a full-time Content Writer to join their team. You will be responsible for creating blog posts, social media posts, and other digital materials. Ideal candidates have over four years of experience in content creation, good knowledge of SEO tools, and experience using Google Docs, Google Analytics, WordPress, and social media tracking software.

Static Media is hiring remote contract Lifestyle Writers to join one of their many teams, including House Digest and Tasting Table. Responsibilities include pitching relevant and timely news stories, claiming news and evergreen articles, and writing content on a quick turnaround. Ideal candidates have a minimum of three years of editorial experience. Rate: $21/hr.

The Nerd Stash is looking for part-time weekend Entertainment and Celebrity reporters. Ideal candidates have a proven track record in covering celebrity news, soap operas, reality TV, and related entertainment verticals at established media outlets.

The Travel is adding more Freelance Travel Writers to their team. These writers have experience, especially as travel writers, with exceptional research skills, in-depth knowledge about travel trends, and strong writing skills.

recommendations

books

This week, thanks to NetGalley, I was able to devour Alma Katsu’s latest before the upcoming Sept 16 release date. For fans of The Fall of the House of Usher and Succession, Fiend follows the three Berisha siblings as they navigate working for their father’s import/export company. While they feel they’ve been blessed with this enormous wealth and power, things begin to look like a horror movie as family secrets come to light.

I also started This Book Will Bury Me, a psychological thriller exploring the ways we work through our grief. When Jane lost her father, she was desperate for anything to keep her afloat. That’s when she discovered true crime forums and a group of online sleuths aiming to solve cases before the cops do. But when Jane starts helping them investigate the brutal murders of three college students, what’s happening online bleeds into reality, pulling Jane and the others into a darker, more dangerous game.

on writing + the writer’s life

One of the best ways I learn is to research and read. Before, during, and after my MFA, I’ve read books on book writing, marketing, magazine writing, travel writing, and more. Here are the books that I still re-read after all of these years.

this literary life is reader-supported. when you buy through links in my newsletter, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org.

podcasts

As always, here are the podcasts I listen — and re-listen — to.

limited series

on books + writing

culture, news, politics, history

self-help, health, + hangs

tv + movie recaps

true crime + scary stories

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