Pitches wanted (stories about normal people who endure, face extraordinary circumstances) | 80 cents to $1 per word

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: THE GUARDIAN

Jessica Reed, Head of Narrative at The Guardian, is looking for pitches:

I’m an editor at The Guardian, based in the US.

I’d like to tell you about what I want to commission in 2025.

I don’t want to read about celebrities, trends, or famous artists. I certainly don’t want to read one more essay about Taylor Swift in my lifetime. I’m not into big-name this, Ivy-league that. And I can’t say I want to commission more stories about pure politics (although this politician made for one helluva NYT profile, far away from the deadly snake pit of naked and vulgar ambition that is D.C).

Instead, I want to read stories about normal people. Normal people who go on, who endure, who persevere, who resist. I’m talking about 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. The stories that make up what America is today.

This is key: these stories should tell us something about who we are, at this moment in time. It’s a small picture embedded in a much bigger picture.

I am also devoted to finding stories about normal people facing extraordinary circumstances: the women with anorexia who want the right to die; the man who is searching for his daughter’s killer, the parents with low IQ whose kids get taken away, the family choosing mercy over the death penalty, the migrants who walk for weeks on end to the border, the US vets going to Ukraine, the guerilla environmental activists sitting in trees for months, the woman who transitioned while in prison.

(I also enjoy sending writers to do stupid stuff, or witness big events and write about it with gusto, or hitchhike, or hang out in the Colorado town where everyone has a gun, or witness a bison hunt).

The story, the angle, the characters and the impulse behind their actions is what will bring a story to life. My mantra: write about why people do the things they do. The “why” should do a lot of work here: I like to think the best writers are similar to forensic psychotherapists, but with a pen (and different but equally laudable ethics).

Is there anything more interesting than what pushes us to do things, from the funny to the tragic to the absurd?

•••

Ideal word count: 2,000-5,000.

Takes place in: only in the US, please (or Canada, sometimes).

I have the bandwidth to take on a few unsolicited long-form pieces per month.

To recap: this year, I would like to hear from experienced long-form writers or narrative journalists who …

• Have a solid understanding of how to build a narrative arc

• Have a specific story in mind (not an issue; a story)

• Have done enough pre-reporting to know they can probably land the story

• Have already thought about characters, scenes, or interviews (why is this person fascinating? Do they have a quick turn of phrase? Are they eccentric? Can they lasso a cow with their eyes closed? Would two people who disagree be in the same room? Would you tag along to witness something bizarre, arresting or spectacular unfolding?) and also …

• If necessary, would like to travel to get color, and infuse life into their writing.

•••

Essays: I commission them. But as I often say, I don’t think writers have more than one or two good essays in them per year. Unless you’re very funny, nothing that interesting happens to most of us that frequently.

Examples of essays I edited and loved: this one, this one, this one, this one. Also I like polemic: this one was so prescient, like it was written last week, and it freaks me out!

•••

I am at jessica.reed @ theguardian.com. I cannot answer all pitches at this time (I try to, but I can’t promise anything), so if you have tried me three times and haven’t heard from me, consider it a no.

Rates are $0.80-$1/word, with a few exceptions below and above.

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CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):

• Questions/submissions: jessica.reed@theguardian.com

• Website: https://www.theguardian.com/us

TTO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: The Guardian US is the American edition of The Guardian, covering national and international news, politics, culture, and environmental issues. It provides in-depth reporting and analysis tailored to a US audience while maintaining a global perspective. The platform aims to deliver independent, investigative journalism with a commitment to public interest reporting. More information here.

• Read through a selection of recent feature stories on its website.

• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook Database and at SuccessfulPitches.com.

• Do not forget to end your pitch with (1) a short introduction about yourself; (2) a paragraph highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits; and (3) links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.

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