This post is updated regularly, but please double-check details as they may have changed.
Online media
Atlas Obscura
The quirky travel site's Stories section publishes pieces with a focus on place. They also have themed weeks, which they detail in their guide. They don't want stories about New York, first-person essays or travelogues. Submissions guidelines
Bitch Media
The feminist site accepts freelance pitches that offer a response to pop culture. They detail the guidelines for both online and print (print submissions are not accepted all-year-round). They also take illustrations. Submissions guidelines
Rachel Charlene, Senior editor – rachel@b-word.org
Bon Appetit
The food website wants conversational and funny stories about… well, food. They want a paragraph pitch written in your personal style with a suggested headline, and a few links to the most relevant past work. The clips don't have to be about food but should show your writing voice at its best. Submissions guidelines
Bustle
The women's interest site has a pitching guide that explains how they want to see pitches laid out, who to send them to, gives examples of successful pitches and also details the specific topics they are covering in the coming months. Submissions guidelines
Buzzfeed Reader
The site's cultural criticism and personal essays section takes freelance work. For criticism pieces, they want a concise note that explains the core of the idea, how you’ll support it, and why it matters. For personal essays, they want to ideally see a full first draft of the piece. Submissions guidelines
EATER
The foodie website wants "stories where food and restaurants intersect with, illuminate, or are illuminated by other subjects: business, technology, history, science, politics, society, activism, identity, the arts, pop culture, etc." They do not want recipes or pieces about home cooking. Submissions guidelines
Dazed
Anna Cafolla, Editor – anna.cafolla@dazedmedia.com
Deadspin
The sports' sites pitching guide is a long list of examples of actual pitches they received and then went on to commission, with notes about why they worked. Submissions guidelines
Digital Trends
Online publication covering tech
Paul Squire, News editor – psquire@digitaltrends.com
Gal-Dem
A new media company committed to sharing the perspectives of women and non-binary people of colour. Submission guidelines
Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Head of editorial – charlie@gal-dem.com
HuffPost
Charlie Lindlar, Commissioning editor, Personal (UK) – charlie.lindlar@huffpost.com
Hyperallergic
The quirky arts website takes pitches for interviews, reviews, reported features and photo essays. They want to see short pitches, links to writing samples and ask that you let them know if you’ve pitched the piece elsewhere. Submission guidelines
IJ Net
The international journalists’ network takes pitches that focus on the field of journalism. They’re looking for stories about journalism tools or resources, as well as media trends. The pitching guidelines include examples of stories they like to publish and they will also consider pitches for stories written in Spanish and Russian. Submission guidelines
LitHub
Corinne Segal, senior editor – csegal@lithub.com
Longreads
The longform site accepts original work, as well as curating published work. They take reported pieces, cultural criticism, memoir pieces, book reviews, bookish essays and illustrations. Unlike many other publications, they don't mind if you pitch your story elsewhere concurrently but ask that you tell them that in your email. Submission guidelines
The Muse
The careers site pitches about career and workplace issues. Email pitches to editor@themuse.com
McSweeney’s
The satirical website is entirely dependent on freelance submissions. Submission guidelines
Narratively
The immersive longform site is clear that are three key factors essential to every Narratively story: untold, human and narrative. They don't take op-eds, hot takes or essays on over-done subjects. Submission guidelines
She Knows
Kenzie Mastroe, Editor – kenzie.mastroe@shemedia.com
Study Hall
The US-based publication and freelance community accepts pitches about the media
Erin Schwartz, Managing editor – erin.schwartz@studyhall.xyz
Stylist
Sarah Biddlecombe, Commisiong editor – sarah.biddlecombe@stylist.co.uk
VICE
Ryan Bassil, Associate editor (UK) – ryan.bassil@vice.com
Daisy Jones, Associate editor (UK) – daisy.jones@vice.com
Hannah Ewens, Features editor (UK) – hannah.ewens@vice.com
The Verge
WIRED
The culture and technology publication takes long, meaty reported features for its magazine from freelancers. They also want pieces that can be illustrated with photography or graphics for the magazine. What they don't want: stories on general themes or new devices and consoles without a broader narrative. Submission guidelines
James Temperton, Digital editor (UK) – james@wired.co.uk
Amit Katwala, Senior editor (UK) – amit@wired.co.uk
Vicki Turk, Features editor (UK) – vturk@wired.co.uk
UK national newspapers
The Guardian
Hettie O'Brien, Assistant opinion editor – hettie.obrien@theguardian.com
The Independent
Hannah Fearn, Comment editor – hannah.fearn@independent.co.uk
Metro
James Besanvalle, Opinion desk – james.besanvalle@metro.co.uk
The Sun
Lisa Minot, Travel editor – lisa.minot@the-sun.co.uk
The Telegraph
Eleanor Halls, Associate editor, culture – eleanor.halls@telegraph.co.uk
International newspapers and sites
Deutsche Welle
The English-language German news site is looking for deeply reported, compelling features on the environment and climate change from around the world. They have an international audience and want writers that can break down complex topics into clear, understandable and powerful narratives. Submission guidelines
Guardian US (features)
The Guardian US' features editor wants stories about: unforgettable central characters, subcultures, crime, class in America, profiles, gut-punch essays, American values, and more. She also asks for fleshed-out pitches of 5–8 paragraphs "showing you have thought about who to reach out to and how with some pre-reporting if applicable". Submission guidelines
New York Times
The Styles desk at the NYT reports on “change in the world”. This document, put together by the desk editors, outlines exactly what constitutes a “Styles story” and has the contact details for which editors to pitch specific stories to. Submission guidelines
Magazines
1843 Magazine
Arthur House, Associate editor – arthurhouse@economist.com
Allure
Rosemary Donahue, Wellness editor – rosemary_donahue@condenast.com
Baffler Magazine
The US left-leaning journal is quite particular in the types of pitches it takes, the best way to get a sense of what it might accept is by reading it extensively. Submission guidelines
Believer Magazine
The bi-monthly arts and culture magazine accepts features, poetry and illustration but only during submission windows so check their guidelines page before submitting. Submission guidelines
Cosmopolitan
Paisley Gilmour, Sex, relationships & LGBTQ+ editor – paisley.gilmour@hearst.co.uk
Dusty Baxter-Wright, Travel, career/ and lifestyle – dusty.baxter-wright@hearst.co.uk
DJ Magazine
The dance music magazine and website takes pitches for features on: emerging sounds, reportage deep-dives into a subject surrounding dance music, culture and technology, as well as opinion pieces on timely (and potentially divisive) talking points.
Lauren Martin, Features editor – lauren.martin@djmag.com
ELLE
Katie O'Malley, Senior editor (UK) – Katie.omalley@elleuk
Enemy Magazine
A new publication which exposes abuses of power in news deserts and underrepresented communities across America
Jake Heller, Editor – jake@enemymagazine.com
The Face
Matthew Whitehouse, Deputy editor – matthew@theface.com
High Times
The weed magazine takes pitches on all things marijuana. Submission guidelines
HUCK
The British counterculture magazine publishes news, profiles, interviews, reportage and photo essays. They want to see short pitches that nail the who, what, why, when and how in a single paragraph. They do not want to see articles sent on spec. Submission guidelines
Niall Flynn, Deputy editor – niall@tcolondon.com
Marie Claire
Neha Prakash, Senior news and culture editor (US) – Neha.Prakash@hearst.com
Parents
The parenting magazine is after stories with a wide appeal, that offer expert advice. They want to see pitches that detail the idea and how you will go about executing it. Submission guidelines
Positive News
The British magazine publishes "constructive journalism", pieces that showcase the best examples of progress and possibility anywhere in the world. They want pitches of a few paragraphs that demonstrate how the story disrupts the conventional narrative around an issue.
Lucy Douglas, Editor – lucy.douglas@positive.news
Time Out
Isabelle Aron, News and city life editor (London) – isabelle.aron@timeout.com
Kate Lloyd, Features editor – kate.lloyd@timeout.com
National Geographic
The award-winning travel site wants unexpected stories about the world. The pitching guidelines are updated with the specific priorities the editors are looking to cover, but in general, they’re after diverse perspectives about travelling. Submission guidelines
New Scientist
Most of the science publication's features are written by freelancers. They want exclusives that their editors or reporters won't have spotted, and that haven’t been covered by the mainstream media in the UK, the US or Australia. Submission guidelines
The New Statesman
The current affairs magazine and website, doesn't take a whole lot of freelance pieces but the ones they do accept must be "timely, well-written contributions that bring a new angle to topics within the New Statesman’s remit." Submission guidelines
New Yorker (poetry)
The New Yorker takes original, unpublished (this includes on your own website) poetry submissions on a rolling basis. You can send up to six poems per submission. Be warned: the response time is six months. Submission guidelines