Journalism Feature Pitches
Features may include literary journalism, longform creative nonfiction, photo essays and other nonfiction work. We appreciate ecological journalism and personal narrative that is woven into larger social themes.
During the drafting process, we will connect you with an editor who can help make your story sing. Please don’t let experience keep you from pitching.
Section specifics:
- Written features: In 3-5 paragraphs pitch longform features. Features will run no fewer than 2,000 words of narrative, investigative or immersion stories from the Lower Midwest.
- Photo essays: Pitch photo essays or let us know your availability for assignments. See our Photography and Art Submission Guidelines for more.
What to include in your pitch:
- Content: Show us your plan for the narrative arc, sources/characters, the story's relevance to our focal region (including but not exclusive to Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska).
- Length: How long you expect the piece to run. Note that our written features tend to run 2,000-5,000 words.
- Time Required: How soon it could be ready for publication.
- Your Connection: Why you’re the right person to write the story.
- Clips: Include 2-3 of your best clips (unpublished work for a class or personal project is perfectly acceptable).
- Drafted Work: If you have drafted the piece or a portion of the piece, please include a link to the draft. For creative nonfiction and personal essays submitted to the feature section, we request that drafted content of the pitched feature be included.