Pitches wanted (cookbooks) | $200-$300 per article

[This opportunity was posted 30+ days ago and has expired.]

I am also officially on the hunt for new pitches for when we come back in August. I pay $200-$300 per piece, depending on the amount of work that goes into it. At the moment, I can only commission pieces from writers based in the US, apologies. 

THE IDEAL SPN PIECE IS:

• About cookbooks. The pitch must be about cookbooks. (You’d be surprised.)
• Under 1400 words, with 800ish words as a sweet spot. Go shorter for art-heavy pitches.
• The nerdier and snackier the better. Think blog posts. Think goofy. Think bullet lists and lots of photos. Think meta cookbook topics—not about the food but about the book.

I AM LOOKING FOR:

• Q&As with cookbook authors and other pros.
• Guides to cookbooks from a specific corner of the world and/or cookbook subgenres are great. Tell me about your collection of antique British baking books! Tell me about the zine cookbooks from the 90s you have in a box in your closet! Tell me about the cookbooks you grew up with in Peru!
• Explainers on subsections of the cookbook world—what exactly does a prop stylist do? What goes into designing a cookbook cover? What are the hallmarks of a successful celebrity cookbook?
• Analysis: I would LOVE a few sharply angled deep-dives on the the form and function of the recipe. What goes into the language that allows readers to “recreate” the author’s dishes in their own kitchens? Is that even actually possible? What does it mean that we try? And how might the recipe evolve to better serve home cooks?
• Pegs to fall cookbooks—anything coming out after September 1.

I AM NOT LOOKING FOR:

• Cookbook reviews.
• Pitches that are simply “this book is great, here’s why.”
• Pitches that are about newspaper recipes, food TV shows, or other non-cookbook recipe media. (A beat is a beat.)
• Pitches about cookbook stores, unless there’s a specific angle. (IE not a profile of a cookbook store, but rather “what cookbook store owner x can tell us about y.”)(Pitches from cookbook store owners welcome.)
• Anything New York-specific.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

[This opportunity was posted 30+ days ago and has expired.]