✍️ Freelance Friday: 20 Publications Seeking Culture & Personal Essays
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Hello and welcome to this Culture & Personal Essays edition of Freelance Friday - and welcome to our new home on Ghost!
We're excited to bring you this special category-focused newsletter featuring 20 publications actively seeking pitch calls for culture & personal essays. These publications are always accepting pitches, so bookmark this list and come back to it whenever you're ready to pitch.
This week, we've also added a new Top 5 Highest-Paying Publications section to help you identify the best-paying opportunities in this category. Whether you're looking to maximize your earnings or simply want to know which publications offer competitive rates, this section highlights the top-paying outlets.
All opportunities listed below are evergreen - meaning they have no deadline and are always open for submissions. As we settle into our new platform, you'll notice improved navigation, better mobile experience, and the same great content you've come to expect from Inside The Newsroom.
For more information about our freelance board, click here.
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🚨Sponsored Opportunities🚨
🆕 E.W. Scripps
E.W. Scripps is one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, and aims to serve its communities through quality, objective local journalism. Browse all of its openings here, and remember to mention that we sent you. 🙏
Scripps are still hiring for the below two positions. Please reach out to me directly if you'd like a personal introduction to its recruiters.
- Station: KGTV
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Type: Full-Time
- Salary: $31.25-$33 per hour
- Deadline: ASAP
- Station: WGBA/WACY
- Location: Green Bay, WI
- Type: Full-Time
- Salary: Competitive
- Deadline: ASAP
The Guardian Foundation
The Guardian Foundation is an independent charity whose mission is to promote global press freedom and access to liberal journalism.
The Emerging Voices Awards celebrate new voices and fresh perspectives in the UK which, now more than ever, is essential to the future of quality, independent journalism.
- Type: Award
- Prize: £1,000 for the winner, £200 for the runner-up
- Location: United Kingdom
- Deadline: February 1, 2026 (19-25 age category) and February 15, 2026 (16-18 age category)
- More info and apply here
Wallace House Center for Journalists
The Knight-Wallace Fellowships offer accomplished journalists two rare commodities: time and resources. Journalists eager for growth and deeply committed to the future of journalism spend an academic year at the University of Michigan to access the resources of a world-class university and dive into a journalism project. Areas of focus can include but are not limited to sharpening professional skills, addressing a challenge facing your newsroom, digging into data and research for a long-term reporting project, or developing a journalism venture.
- Type: Fellowship
- Stipend: $85,000
- Location: Ann Arbor, MI
- Deadline: February 1, 2026
The Livingston Awards recognize outstanding reporting by journalists under the age of 35. Each year, prizes of $10,000 are presented in local, national and international reporting.
- Type: Award
- Prize: $10,000
- Location: Worldwide
- Deadline: February 1, 2026
Report For America
Report for America has 70 open positions available for journalists looking to make a real impact in local newsrooms across the U.S.
These aren’t just jobs, they’re opportunities to cover critical beats that are often overlooked, from housing and education to criminal justice and rural communities. Positions span the country, from small towns to major cities, and cover everything from data journalism to bilingual reporting.
Available beats include: Housing & Development, Education Environment & Climate, Criminal Justice, Rural Communities, Immigration & Human Rights, Investigative & Data Journalism
The deadline to apply is February 16, 2026.
📬 ✍️ Culture & Personal Essays Pitch Calls
- 🌲 BFI’s Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: £120 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Burnaway Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: $0.30/word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Harper’s Magazine Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: $1/word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Little White Lies Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: £0.20/word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 New York Magazine Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: $1/word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Ori Magazine Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: 0.5 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Reboot Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: 750 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Smithsonian Pitch Call: Culture Writing | Rate: $1-$2/word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Acacia Pitch Call: Essays and Features | Rate: $200-$700/article | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Interstellar Flight Press Pitch Call: Essays and Nonfiction | Rate: $30/article | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 The New York Times Pitch Call: Modern Love Essays | Rate: Varies | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Cafe Mom’s Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: 75 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 HuffPost Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: 0.1 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Men’s Journal Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: $2 per word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Mindbodygreen Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: $0.10-$0.30 per word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Ms. Magazine Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: $1/word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Narratively Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: 300 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 POPSUGAR Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: $50-$100 per article | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 Rewire News Group Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: $0.25-$0.35 per word | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
- 🌲 The Atavist Magazine Pitch Call: Love/Relationships Writing | Rate: 6000 | Remote | Writer | Pitch here
💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying Publications
Looking to maximize your earnings? These five publications offer the best rates in the culture & personal essays category:
- Men's Journal - $2/word | Love/Relationships Writing
- For a 1,500-word piece, that's $3,000. One of the highest per-word rates in the industry.
- Pitch here
- Smithsonian - $1-$2/word | Culture Writing
- Top-tier rate for culture pieces. A 2,000-word feature could earn $2,000-$4,000.
- Pitch here
- Harper's Magazine - $1/word | Culture Writing
- Prestigious publication with competitive rates. Known for thoughtful, in-depth culture coverage.
- Pitch here
- New York Magazine - $1/word | Culture Writing
- Major publication with strong rates and wide reach. Excellent for building your portfolio.
- Pitch here
- Ms. Magazine - $1/word | Love/Relationships Writing
- Leading feminist publication with solid rates. Great for relationship and personal essay pieces.
- Pitch here
Note: Rates are based on information available at time of publication. Always confirm rates with editors before accepting assignments.
📢 Community Callouts
For Editors & Publications
Are you an editor or publication actively seeking freelance contributors in culture & personal essays? Hit reply with your pitch call details, and we'll add you to our database.
For Freelancers
Know of an evergreen pitch call we're missing in culture & personal essays? Found a publication always accepting pitches? Reply with the details (publication, topic, rate if known, link) and we'll add it to our database and credit you.
Success Stories
Landed a pitch from this list? We'd love to hear about it. Share your win (anonymously if preferred) and inspire other freelancers.
That's it for this Culture & Personal Essays edition of Freelance Friday.
Remember: Our full database is always available and constantly growing. If you found this useful, forward it to a fellow freelancer.
Until next time, Daniel
