Chapter 51
Interview with The Nod + pitch calls + resources
Hello dear writers,
Happy Chaturthi! Have an extra modak on me, please.
I hope the last few weeks have been mindful and demure (as spoken by the gods of Tiktok)!
I do realise this newsletter is a month late but I trust it will be worth it. I am aiming to send it out monthly but life gets in the way (though I am not complaining). If you have the time, do check out a story that is dear to my heart and which took me a year (from pitch to publication) — it is about Goa’s seaweed queen. And yes, I have tasted some nice Indian seaweed.
This newsletter has an interview with Megha from The Nod, which is a fun new magazine you should read + lots of pitch calls + other opportunities.
Ready? Let’s begin.
THE INTERVIEW
The Nod is one of the newest digital magazines in India — they went live mid May — and are doing some fun stuff. Their stories aren’t the usual kind, and they cover a range of topics from unusual angles. I’ve worked with them on one story and it was an easy process: deadlines to editing to the final publication. They sent over invoice details immediately after publication.
Here, I interview Megha Mahindru, the launch editor at The Nod.
Megha was the former Features Director at Vogue India, where she spent almost a decade covering travel, design, food, books and art. Before that (over the past two decades), her work has featured in publications such as Rolling Stone India, Hindustan Times, Time Out Mumbai, British Vogue to name a few. Note: I may be biased because we know each other but Megha is a lovely person and wonderful editor.
Tell us a bit about The Nod, what is the magazine aiming to achieve and what does it offer to the reader?
The Nod is a digital magazine that Ridhima Sapre and I launched with a bunch of us (journalists, art directors, stylists and photographers) earlier this year (on May 13), and it is imagined as a lifestyle website for the time-strapped readers to escape the mess of digital clutter today. A quick look at the website and our social will hopefully make it evident that our idea is to present to readers a smart, clean reading platform where they can immerse themselves in current, clever and crisp writing that simplifies modern life. We want to steer clear of listicles and roundups or feature celebs in their airport looks, instead The Nod will offer you something that is refreshing, new and at the same time a whole of fun to consume and stay updated.
I think the core of a good publication is to be useful to its readers and as the editor of The Nod, I hope it becomes that place on the Internet where readers learn about things for the first time. Whether it’s a new brand or a new forward-thinking idea, a new digital trend or a lifestyle malaise affecting us all, The Nod is where we will bring it all to you in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming. We are not in the race for the number of stories we do, but offer a quality of writing that is lacking in the lifestyle space in India today. Like news, I think fashion and lifestyle reporting is all about capturing the times we live in, and I hope The Nod will become this online authority in cultural commentary through its definitive features about modern living. Here’s a bit more from the website.
Is The Nod open to pitches? If yes, for which sections and how often?
While we have a brilliant team of writers and editor in-house, we are always looking for interesting pitches from different parts of India and the world, which may appeal to anyone living a chronically online life today. We cover all aspects of modern life today—so our pitches like our lives reflect everything from what we wear to what we eat, read, watch, experience and more.
Do you commission or prefer being pitched?
It’s a mix of both. I like working with my contributors on shaping up their pitches and stories.
What are the kinds of pitches that interest you (also add what not to pitch about...)?
As I’d mentioned, The Nod wants to be a clutter-free space in the age of overwhelming content, so our pitches and features should offer a unique POV rather than straight-up reporting. I’m not interested in reviews and previews—there are way too many websites and magazines who are doing this well—The Nod is where you will find us addressing micro or macro views of something taking shape in pop culture. To give an example, when a new restaurant opened in Mumbai (Otra), our angle was not to highlight the space or what stands out in the food but dig a bit deeper for the angle. What emerged was this story on Chef Alex and his unique way of handling the toxic workplace that is hospitality today in this amazing feature by food writer Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi.
What are the hallmarks of a good pitch to you?
A good pitch should introduce a fresh idea in a succinct form. Writers often write essays about the story they plan to pitch, but a good pitch should be no longer than 100-150 words that captures your unique take/ story. I believe in working with my writers on approaching a story from various points of views, so even if it’s a straight-up profile, I request them to try and get quotes of people who work or live with them to talk about this creative.
You can email megha.mahendru@ril.com or get in touch with The Nod on their contact us page. Megha says, “The Nod’s rates are on par with other Indian publications and vary according to the length of the piece as well as the caliber of writer.”
RESOURCES
Read: 19 tips for being a successful travel writer
Archival Material: Writer Sarah Kernan curates digital collections of archival materials for educational use. Here’s her essay on the European discovery of chocolate.
Jobs: I curate a list, every month, of jobs found on LinkedIn. Most are related to the media.
Gigs: Freelance Framework shares freelance gigs daily.
Guide: Plugging my own post here. This is a guide on how to craft a pitch, and includes resources and examples of pitches of mine. I have been noticing many new writers aren’t following the basics of a good pitch and I hope this is useful.
MISCELLANY
MASTERCLASS: More Than Words: An Illustration Masterclass on Creating Wordless Stories aims to create a platform for understanding, discussing and developing wordless stories. Date: October 3-6 (in-person sessions in Bhopal) and October to first week of November 2024 (mentoring online). Email here.
GRANT: Fund for Investigative Journalism is seeking investigative journalists for its reporting grants, which support groundbreaking projects! The maximum award is US$10,000. Deadline: Sept. 9. Details, here.
PRIZE: The 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize will open for entries from 1 September 2024 to 1 November 2024. It is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words). Details, here.
FELLOWSHIP: The Kohli Fellowship for Sociology 2025 is open for applications. Deadline: October 18. Details, here.
PAPERS: The Medieval History unit, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, invites papers for the Young Scholars' Conference (March 5-7 , 2025). Submit your abstracts and bio note by Sep 30, medievalhistoryjnu@gmail.com. More details, here.
MENTORSHIP: South Asia Speaks Foundation welcomes emerging writers in South Asia who are serious about producing a work of fiction, nonfiction, reportage, poetry or translation.
AWARDS: The Fetisov Journalism Awards seeks nominations. This competition has four categories: contribution to peace, contribution to civil rights, investigative reporting and environmental journalism. Works must have been published between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024. Entries in languages other than English must be accompanied by a translation into English. Winners will get CHF100,000 (US$115,463), CHF20,000 (US$23,092) and CHF10,000 (US$11,546), respectively. Details, here.
PITCH CALLS
Wired has a new features editor, who is seeking pitches for ambitious narrative longform journalism. Details, here.
- Email: amit_katwala@wired.com
- Rate: $2500Nat Geo editor wants stories about the environment—biodiversity, climate change, and how to live more sustainably. She is looking for stories that reveal the beauty of our natural world or contextualize important issues.
- Email sarah.gibbens@natgeo.comPositive News UK is looking for pitches for News articles, long-reads, interviews. Guidelines, here.
- Rate: 30p/word
- Email Lucy: editorial@positive.newsLate Nighter — a new site dedicated to the business of late night TV (past, present, and future) — seeks pitches. These can be reported pieces about late-night trends, memorable moments in late-night history, profiles/interviews with the people shaping today's late night landscape.
- Rate: range from $50-75 (for short, news-type) stories to $500+ for longform features.
- Email: jennifer@latenighter.comObserver is looking for Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec pitches on art world trends, galleries and museums, artist interviews, and exhibition reviews.
- Email: artnews@observer.com
- Rate: $250Cosmopolitan’s features team wants bold, buzzy, high-impact storytelling that captures the current moment and reflects the experiences of young women specifically.
- Rate: $1.50–$2/word
- Email: erin.quinlan@hearst.comCosmopolitan is also specifically looking for pitches for Confessays: erotic personal essays detailing real-life sexperiences—ideally of a particularly hot, surprising, out-there, or otherwise memorable nature.
- Email: Kayla.Kibbe@hearst.com
- Rate: $250@BusinessInsider is looking for unique relationship essays. Do you and your partner have a unique conflict? A story about gender roles? Age gap? Finances? Workplace romance? Divorce?
Additionally, he is also seeking stories from parents who want to write a first-person essay about how much money they spent on their kid's college dorm room this year, especially if the price is shockingly high.
- Email: folito@businessinsider.com
- Rate: $220Business Insider is also looking to assign some short lifestyle-focused personal essays! DM Stephanie
- Rates start at $220 for 500 words.Business Insider is looking for pitches for sources or personal essays on financial infidelity. Has a partner lied to you about their debt or their income? Hidden poor spending habits or substantial investments? How did it impact your relationship? (The editor takes pitches on all things work, tech, finance, and careers).
- Email: kfields@insider.comRestart.run wants General gaming news, and pitches.
- Email: brandy@moonrock.biz, jb@moonrock.biz
- Rate: $25-40 per news post (150-200 words), $250-400 per feature (~750 words), $500-700 per review (750-1000 words).DAME is a women-owned and led news and opinion site. They cover politics, policy, culture, media criticism, climate & more. They’re accepting pitches! Pitching guidelines (and link to pitch form), here.
- Rate: $350 - $750
Betches wants political SEO pitches designed for all levels of political engagement - think voter basics and how-tos, policy deep dives, election process, etc catered to millennial/genz.
- Rate: $300H&E Naturist is open to pitches about fresh and invigorating naturist and naked-themed material.
- Rate: £0.10 per word@newlinesmag is looking for an investigative journalist in India who knows Punjab well and has been reporting there for a while. This is for a possible longform project. DM Surbhi
The magazine Solar Today is targeting the subject of “#solar for survival and resilience” this December. They want two-paragraph pitches for op-ed explainers by Sept 9.
- Email kfriedrich@ases.orgFuture Commerce, a culture magazine for eCommerce and retail futurists, are accepting pitches about “the future of how we buy and belong”. Deadline: Oct 30
- Rate: $0.20 to $0.50 per word (1,500 words)
- Email: hello@futurecommerce.com@The_Rumpus is open for fiction submissions until September 15. Details, here.
Wealth of Geeks is accepting pitches for geeky side hustles. Details, here.
- Rate: $150+
- Email: storyideas@wealthofgeeks.comDiscover wants pitches (print and web) that enlighten, inform and get readers excited about science. Details and editor contacts, here.
- Rate: $1/word (print), $300 (web)The Observer (new Review) is looking for pitches from science and technology journalists.
- Email: ian.tucker@observer.co.uk
- Rate: £361 per 1000 wordsPlanitzen is always accepting pitches for feature articles that bring an expert lens to today’s key planning issues. Details, here.
- Rate: $500 per feature
Fine Books is looking for timely and/or interesting stories about books and book collecting for their winter issue.
- Rate: $200-600
- Email: allison@finebooksmagazine.comThe Cut is a New York Magazine site covering women's lives and interests, including sex, love and relationships. They're always open to pitches. Details, here.
- Rate: $500-$600
Cinema for All is accepting pitches about the issues that are important to your community cinema, the films you're watching, or the festivals and events you've been to!
- Rate: £50Point.me is looking for stories of people doing amazing things with their points (e.g. spending little money on epic trips, turning big expenses into free travel). You can be the subject or do an ‘As Told To’. Submit, here.
- Rate: Pay starts at $400Self is a magazine dedicated to helping people take good care of themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. They cover writing on dating, relationships and sex and are always open to pitches.
- Rate: $450-$800
Type Investigations is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to transforming the field of independent investigative journalism. They accept pitches on a rolling basis. Guidelines, here.
- Rate: $1 per wordThe Clique is a new magazine that is looking for pitches for their Fashion and Career & Finance verticals.
- Rate: start at $75/piece
- Email: info@theclique.clickAustralian-based @GriffithReview is currently accepting non-fiction pitches. Submissions are free. Deadline is 8 September. Submission, here.
- Rate: AUD $500McMillan Kids UK is pulling together a new anthology, and the editor wants to read your submissions. If you've any poems about FEELINGS - joy, happiness, anxiety, sadness, etc - DM Charlie.
I am open to suggestions on people to interview/ what to cover in upcoming editions. Reach out, please! It helps me feel I am not talking into a void!
If you liked this newsletter, please share it?
Until next time, have a lovely Chaturthi season, keep pitching and keep writing!
Cheers,
Joanna