Freelance writing, High Country News, pays $100-$200 (Western US)

HCN will consider pitches for well-researched stories on any natural resource or environmental topic, as long as it concerns the West. We define “resources” to include people, politics, culture and aesthetic values -- not just coal, oil and timber. Keep in mind that we have an 11-state region (OR, WA, CA, MT, ID, NV, WY, CO, NM, AZ, UT) to cover in a small news space; we want local stories that have significance across the entire region and that can be told in ways that go beyond what the daily newspapers report.

Our ideal articles are magazine-style. They include strong storytelling, compelling characters and scenes, a clear, jargon-free style, and a dedication to intellectual honesty. We want writers who can view topics with a critical eye and dig deeply into issues. We also would like our writers to be as diverse as the region they cover, and encourage Native American, Hispanic, and other minority journalists to send us queries.

We divide submissions into departments (generally 800 to 1,600 words; specific departments are listed below), of which we print 3 to 6 per issue, and narrative feature stories, from 1,600 to 10,000 words (most commonly 4,000 words), of which we print one or two per issue.

Our pay rates are negotiable based on the writer’s experience and working relationship with us. We generally pay upon publication.

E-mail queries are preferred; send them to editor at hcn.org and include “Story Query” in the subject line. We very rarely accept already-completed stories; we prefer to work with writers to shape the piece to our needs. Ideally, your pitch should explain why your story is appropriate for HCN, which department it fits, how it will advance any previous coverage we’ve done on the topic (please search our Web archives to see what else we’ve published), and how it will differ from stories in other publications. If we haven’t worked with you before, please also include a résumé and clips.

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

Our Writers on the Range columns are syndicated each week to approximately 75 newspapers, magazines and Web sites. They also appear on our Web site and occasionally in High Country News.

We are looking for taut and pithy opinion pieces about issues that affect Westerners. The piece should be tied to current events, though we will consider less current pieces if they make strong statements about life in the West.

We are open to a wide range of philosophies, perspectives and styles, but are particularly interested in those that tackle public lands, wildlife, rural communities, recreation, water and energy.

Payment may range from $100 to $200 per accepted piece. Some rewriting may be involved. Submissions should be in single-spaced plain text in the body of an e-mail, with “WOTR submission” and the title in the subject line. No attachments, please.

More information about the other departments here.