Pitches wanted (heart, love) | ~$1,000+ per piece
Added 2024-11-02 14:51:59 +0000 UTCCOMPANY/PUBLICATION: NARRATIVELY
Deadline: 7 November 2024
Due to high demand, we are opening this call back up for one week only, from October 31, 2024-November 7, 2024. Pitch us!
Our current collab with Creative Nonfiction explores the heart from all angles: your epic heartbreak, what you’ve done for love or an incredible life-saving procedure involving that organ in your chest.
If you caught our special series back in September, The Ever-Present Liquid, you know the stories we collaborate on with Creative Nonfiction magazine are pretty fun and eye-opening. This one is no exception. We’ve got a call for pitches inspired by that subject so many of us love (or hate to love… or is it love to hate?!): matters of the heart. In their cutesy V-Day form, they are among the most common tattoo designs people ask for, they are the thing most songs are written about and when it comes to the vital organ from which so much of the above originates, well, there are looong, cut-throat waiting lists for new ones. So, where are we going with all this?
We want your best pitches around the heart and love: tales about unimaginable breakups and heartache, the epic lengths you’ve gone to for romance, stories about pig heart transplants in humans or a shocking tale of organ-donor bribery, betrayal and intrigue. More specifically — because we love BIG stories — we want to hear about the time you walked 500 miles backwards to save your relationship and then failed, that time you woke up speaking French after undergoing heart surgery (and then uprooted your life and moved to France as a result!) and, you know, the one during your investigative days when you found a missing human heart in someone’s refrigerator… Just spitballing here, but we think you get it.
These can be first-person or reported pieces, and they should have the same epic, unexpected, immersive, cinematic storytelling and compelling narrative arcs we always look for. Surprise, delight and educate us. And as with our past calls, this one is very much up for interpretation, so think outside the box and take your best shot!
Some examples of stories we’ve published in the past that fit the theme:
A Super Strange True Love Story: My Disappearing Fiancé
I Professed My Love at Mile 15...But Not to My Husband
The Pandemic Ruined My Poly Relationship—But Saved My Marriage
The Donkey Farmer's Magical Matchmaking Book
Scott McLeod Missed His Chance to Go to the Moon...But Landed the Love of His Life
He's a Murderer With an Intergalactic Alibi. And She's in Love With Him.
(There’s room for a piece like this, too: Sweet Talk: How to Write (and Read) Romance Novels, With Author Nichole Perkins)
And a few from pubs we love that get at the idea of what we’re looking for:
The Practicalities of Transporting a 400-Year-Old Heart
Word Count: We’re looking for stories around the same length as our typical features, between 3,000 and 6,000 words, but we’re not prescriptive and it can absolutely vary if a piece calls for something longer or shorter.
Pitches Due: November 7, 2024
CONFIDENTIAL NOTE: Reports indicate that Narratively pays $1,000+ per piece. It is recommended that you discuss the rate(s) with the editor upon the acceptance of your pitch.
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Submissions: Via Submittable
Website: https://www.narratively.com
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