Pitches wanted (deserts): Wild Life | ~20 cents to $1+ per word

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: WILD LIFE

Cara Giaimo, Editor for Wild Life, is looking for pitches:

Are you a fan of the many incredible animals, plants, fungi, bacteria etc. who live here on earth with us? I'm working on a new book for Atlas Obscura about those guys. it's called Wild Life. I want you to pitch me for it!

Just like Atlas Obscura is a travel guide for hidden corners, Wild Life is a field guide but somewhat off the trail. It highlights some of the world’s most interesting species, relationships, ecosystem dynamics, etc., as well as a few of the people who know them best.

This book already has flying snakes, tree-eating trees, bird wars, and caterpillars who wear their old heads on top of their current head like hats. also profiles of a caddisfly artist, a Spirit Bear protector, a honey hunter, and a zoomusicologist. And so much more.

We’re going biome by biome. Right now we’re on DESERTS — both cold and hot. Think tardigrades, Joshua trees, that Saharan dust cloud that feeds the Amazon. "Wow... those are basic and boring," you scoff. Good! Pitch me!

If this sounds like your thing, here’s more info about all of it — what I’m looking for, rates, timelines, where to send pitches, etc. Don't be shy pitch me! I’ve already worked with some amazing writers on this book and you’re probably next.

WHAT IS “WILD LIFE?”

Wild Life is a book by Atlas Obscura about the natural world. I’m writing and editing this book with the help of many contributors — including you, perhaps!

This will be structured like the original Atlas Obscura book, if you're familiar with it— if not, there are a few pages here for you to look at. The idea with this is to highlight as many examples as we can fit of the incredible non-human life we share the world with... like a sweeping nature documentary in a book, but with some of the grandiosity switched out for weirdness. Part field guide, part encyclopedia, part frenzied email from someone preoccupied with interesting bugs.

It'll have all the hits (carnivorous plants, bioluminescent undersea creatures, fairy circles) but also a number of b-sides (snow flies with antifreeze for blood, the Australian "cane toad front," vines that grow their own greenhouses).

It will also emphasize larger themes like the mysteries of evolution, changing ideas about conservation and who it's for, and of course the climate and biodiversity crises. My goal is for even people who are steeped in this kind of thing, like you and me, to be able to open it and be surprised.

WHAT SHOULD I PITCH?

The book is organized into roughly 8 chapters, each covering a different biome. The chapter at hand right now is DESERTS. This includes anyplace with very little rainfall — dry hot places like the Sahara, coastal/fog deserts like the Atacama and polar deserts like Antarctica. I’m looking for pitches for entries, sidebars and interviews.

ENTRIES:

Much of the book will be composed of entries — short writeups of interesting creatures found in that biome. An entry introduces the species (plant, animal or otherwise), population, or dynamic at hand, and explains why it’s notable. It may briefly quote an expert, or a relevant scientific paper, news article, or historical document. It will be 300-450 words long. Ideally it will make people think “wow, the beings sharing the planet with me are so cool; how very precious our Earth is, and also badass.” Here is an annotated example of an entry to give you a better idea.

The subject of an entry may be interesting because it has a unique skill or behavior, a record-setting physical trait, or a complex relationship with others in its ecosystem (including people). It may be also be illustrative of a broader phenomenon. In addition to species, I’m looking for entries about places, ecosystem dynamics, and tools that people use to understand desert life. Think lemmings, Joshua trees, that Saharan dust cloud that feeds the Amazon — stuff like that.

Payment for an entry is $350.

SIDEBARS:

Each chapter also has some sidebars, which are longer (700 - 1000 words), and dig into broader phenomena. These will be big spreads in the finished book. For instance, in the Forests chapter, we have a camouflage explainer, a carnivorous plants rundown, and a map of notable trees. If you want to pitch one of these for Deserts, think something that has a lot of sub-examples within it, and that will be visually compelling.

Payment for a sidebar is $800.

INTERVIEWS:

Each chapter also contains short interviews (~500 words) with people who interact closely with nonhuman members of the biome. Scientists are a good fit for this, but I’m especially interested in people who might have a different sort of relationship or come at it from a different angle.

These are tied to entries, so if you’re pitching an entry and someone comes to mind who might be good to interview, feel free to pitch that alongside.

Payment for an interview is $100 (although if someone is very difficult to track down, requires translation etc. higher fees are possible).

Examples of all of all of these writing types can be found here.

LOGISTICS

You can view a contributor contract here. Things to note (some in the contract & some not) —

Rights granted: It's a work for hire situation, where all the rights go to Atlas Obscura.

Editorial oversight: I’ll be editing entries and working with writers to get them to a place we both like. Once I pass them off to the publisher, Workman, they may be copyedited further. We have the ability to push back if they make any significant changes that seem off, and I would also make an effort to run any changes by you.

The book will also be fact-checked by the publisher and will go through a sensitivity read.

Credit: The contract guarantees credit but does not have specifics. Your name will appear in the book, associated with the things you’ve written, but entries won’t be directly bylined. The book will be officially “by” the Atlas Obscura co-founders (Josh Foer and Dylan Thuras), and me.

Payment is net 30 after invoicing — invoicing happens at the end of each month, for anything you and I have finished up that month.

Timing: I’m accepting pitches through next Tuesday, July 6th, and assigning the following week. I’m hoping to have drafts in by the second week of August.

OK I DIG IT! WHAT SHOULD I DO?

If you’re interested in contributing to the Deserts chapter:

Pitch me at wildlife@atlasobscura.com. Short pitches of a few sentences are fine. If your other contracts allow it, feel free to pitch me things you’ve written about before, I don’t mind at all. Pitches are due July 6th, and I’ll get back to you before July 16th.

If we haven’t worked together before, send over links to a clip or two.

If you don’t want to work on this now, but might want to get involved later on:

Email me at wildlife@atlasobscura.com and let me know! I’ll keep you on the list for future pitch callouts, which I’ll be sending every 3 months or so as work begins on new chapters.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?

No! If you have any questions at all, email me! And have a great week.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Questions / submissions: wildlife@atlasobscura.com

Website: https://www.atlasobscura.com/