Pitches wanted (women who changed the world) (worldwide) | 50 cents per word

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: ATLAS OBSCURA 

Deadline: 2 February 2022 (sorry for almost missing this)

WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

Deadline for pitches: February 2, 2022

Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura are looking for pitches about women on every continent who have changed the world—both in the past and in the present.

From March 1 through March 31 (Women’s History Month), Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura will be celebrating the women who were left out of the history books through the centuries—and the women around the globe who are making history today. Think off-the-beaten-path explorers, ground-breaking scientists, overlooked inventors, and forgotten firsts. We are looking for fascinating tales of women in history, geography, science, culture, exploration, and food.

And we are particularly interested in stories about women of color, those from the LGBTQ community, and those from other underrepresented groups who are even more likely to have been written out of the history books.

As an example, these are a few of the stories that we’ve published recently that would be a perfect fit in our Women’s History Month coverage:

• How a Rebellion Planted Seeds of Revival in Rural Mexico
• Women Plundered and Swashbuckled With the Best (and Worst) of Them
• The Hidden History of the First Black Women to Serve in the U.S. Navy
• The Brides ‘Imported’ to Colonial America for Their Brewing Skills
• The Last Woman to Win a Nobel Prize in Physics Did the Work Without Being Paid

RATES AND COMPENSATION

Payment varies depending on a story’s length, the amount of reporting required, and the format. Our rates start at $300 and we usually pay around $0.50/word. The majority of our commissioned articles are 800 to 1,500 words. The writer of the piece retains the copyright under a temporary exclusive license, as well as a right to a portion of the revenue if a story is optioned for film or television.

If you are a writer with photography experience and can shoot your own story, please let us know in your pitch. If approved, we pay writers to photograph for an additional fee that most often ranges from $100 to $500, depending on the story, the level of photography experience, and how many photos we would plan on using. In these cases, we’ll send you a photography contract, in which you will retain copyright under a temporary exclusive license. Similarly, if you have already taken photos while pre-reporting your story, please let us know in your pitch. If we want to use any of your photos, we will offer additional compensation under a licensing agreement.

If reporting your story will require travel or research expenses, please let us know in your pitch. We can sometimes offer a rate increase to cover modest travel or research expenses such as gas, a bus or train ticket, or an obscure book. (If you have received support from a sponsor or joined a press trip, please let us know in your pitch.)

Our kill fee is 25 percent, though we rarely kill stories. In most cases, we pay invoices upon publication. You should receive payment within 30 days, but usually within two weeks.

Pitch guidelines here.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Questions / submissions: pitches@atlasobscura.com
• Website: https://www.atlasobscura.com

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: Atlas Obscura aims to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. It publishes best-in-class journalism about hidden places, incredible history, and scientific marvels. More information here.
• Read through a selection of recent articles/stories 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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