Pitches wanted (coastal ecosystem, research, scientist profiles) (WORLDWIDE) | ~80 cents per word

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: HAKAI MAGAZINE

Colin Schultz, News Editor of Hakai Magazine, is looking for pitches:

I am on the hunt for colorful, action-packed, behind-the-scenes profiles of scientific research for
Hakai Magazine. Stories should, ideally, be about projects currently undergoing field research. Pieces will be ~800 words, paid at CAN $1.10 per word.

These stories must relate to coastal peoples or coastal ecosystems (marine coasts--needs to be salty.) The research hypothesis, methods, or lead character (or all three!) should be exciting, unexpected, awe-inspiring, counterintuitive, or otherwise intriguing.

Bonus points if the research is related to understanding the current consequences of climate change or preventing the same. Bonus points if the research is inspired or guided by traditional ecological knowledge or Indigenous ways of knowing.

The goal is to introduce readers to interesting scientists doing interesting work. We want to get to know their personalities and motivations, and to explore the pitfalls of real research as it happens. We want to tell readers about what's coming up next.

If you are a writer with an idea, I'm at colin.schultz@hakaimagazine.com. Likewise, if you are a scientist whose work fits (and you're willing to talk about what you're doing, why, and what you're seeing in your trials), please reach out! So what would these look like? I'm glad you asked. Here's some recent examples I think fit this style:

• Scientists Have Built a Real-Time Sperm Whale Collision Detection System by Claudia Geib: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/scientists-have-built-a-real-time-sperm-whale-collision-detection-system/
• Hidden on a Mountain in the Desert, Signs of the World’s First Reefs by Jack Tamisiea: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/hidden-on-a-mountain-in-the-desert-signs-of-the-worlds-first-reefs/
• The Plan to Rear Fish on the Moon by Chris Baraniuk: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/the-plan-to-rear-fish-on-the-moon/
• Predicting When the Next Bluff Will Fall by Ramin Skibba: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/predicting-when-the-next-bluff-will-fall/
• The Mighty Taku Glacier Takes a Bow by Tim Lydon: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/the-mighty-taku-glacier-takes-a-bow/
• Petrifying Climate Change by Ally Hirschlag: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/petrifying-climate-change/
• The Environmental Threat You’ve Never Heard Of by Doug Johnson: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/the-environmental-threat-youve-never-heard-of/
• The Military Wants to Hide Covert Messages in Marine Mammal Sounds by Jeremy Hsu: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/the-military-wants-to-hide-covert-messages-in-marine-mammal-sounds/
• Who Will Save the Slender Yoke-Moss? by Sabrina Imbler: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/who-will-save-the-slender-yoke-moss/
• RoboCop Sets Sail by Vanessa Minke-Martin: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/robocop-sets-sail/
• For a Better Way to Catch Seafood, Look to the Čibu·d by Brandon Wei: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/for-a-better-way-to-catch-seafood-look-to-the-cibud/
• What Tear Gas Does to Fish by Brian Owens: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/what-tear-gas-does-to-fish/

Etc. This is just one kind of story Hakai Magazine is after. For our full submission guidelines check out: https://hakaimagazine.com/submission-guidelines/

We do have travel funding available for the right stories.

For this and everything else, it really depends on what the story is—who the characters are, how interesting / unexpected / surprising the research is, how important the takeaway is.

This is an ongoing, evergreen want for the magazine. We take pitches from all over the world.

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

• Submissions: colin.schultz@hakaimagazine.com
• Website: https://hakaimagazine.com/

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: Hakai Magazine explores science and society in coastal ecosystems. Its editorially independent web publication examines the ties between the ocean, land, and human societies through long- and short-form journalism. More information here.
• Read through its selection of news pieces on its website.
• Review the submission guidelines here.
• 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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