Chapter 54
Interview with Free Press Journal + the return of Ask Jo
Dear gentle reader,
Can you believe that we are almost two months into the year 2025? Is this year giving you strange 2020 flashbacks, or is it just me?
As some of you know, I used to have an offshoot of this newsletter called Ask Jo, where you could pick my brain for 15 minutes (and above) about freelancing. I wish to bring that back. I don’t claim to be an expert in this but if talking to me can help you in any way, I would be happy to get into a conversation. If interested:
In some industry news: Kisan India is a new digital agriculture (video-first) platform designed to bridge the gap between farmers, private stakeholders, and the Government of India.
This edition is a short one, unlike this month! It has an interview with Shruti Pandit from Free Press Journal + pitch calls + job opps and other useful information.
Ready? Let’s begin.
THE INTERVIEW
My second interview of the year is with Shruti Pandit of Free Press Journal. I;ve written for the newspaper and working with her was a breeze!
Shruti Pandit has been an editor in three languages — Marathi, English, Hindi. Worked with BCCL for the longest period of time and had a short stint with Dainik Bhaskar as their National Head, Magazines.
She launched Mumbai Times, the supplement of Maharashtra Times as an editor in March 2000. She launched quite a few products for BCCL, the last one was Goa Times as an editor, a job that she had for more than six years. At Goa, she wore three hats — editor of Goa Times, editor Response Art n Edit, and paid content head.
At FPJ, she is a Consulting Editor, Features. “My main role is to ideate, create and curate content for the features pages and contribute to the main pages as and when required with featur-ish stories. I also write for the Edit Page once in a while about arts and culture. I also facilitate collaborations and media partnerships.”
Excerpts from an interview:
Tell us a bit about the features section at FPJ, what are you aiming to achieve and what does it offer to the reader?
The features section at FPJ has a broad base. We have in-house pages and collaborations with varied publications like Smart Photography, Car India, Society Achievers, Sanctuary Asia among others. The idea is to give the readers a bouquet of varied subjects by the experts in that field.
The in-house content also has varied features that we attempt to base on the current topics — it could be a news article or someone in the news, an upcoming concert — just about anything. Going deeper, yet presenting the topic in a simple manner and with a limited word count; an interview of an interesting person or a celeb; human interest stories... just about everything that can be transformed into a feature.
Do you commission or prefer being pitched?
Both options are open. We welcome ideas — more the merrier when it comes ideas and brains. Some pitches are accepted, some are not. We also commission a lot of stuff to our regular contributors. We are very much open to pitches. All are welcome to share their ideas. Just mail them to me or Manasi, the backbone of the system.
What are the kinds of pitches that interest you (also add what not to pitch about...)? What are the hallmarks of a good pitch to you?
There are no defined hallmarks or benchmarks that one can follow every week. However, yes, few things remain constant — thinking out of the box, current trends, human interest stories. As far as possible, avoid something that’s been done again and again and again, unless you can give that an angle that's not been explored yet. Interviews with A-listers are welcome any time because readers always want to know what they are doing. But then again, there should be at least two questions that differentiate your interview from the ones that everyone is doing.
Email ShrutiMRK@outlook.com or mmastakar2@gmail.com. Their rates depend on the seniority of the writer, starting from ₹1500 to ₹4000.
Pitch Calls
Kitchen Work (‘a journal about what and how we eat and drink’) is accepting free submissions for its next issue devoted to stories about cities. Deadline is 15 March.
- Rate: $0.20 per word (fiction, non-fiction & poetry)
- Email: submissions@kitchenwork.comFront Office Sports (@FOS) is looking for features ideas on style/fashion within the business of sports (emphasis on business).
- Email: meredith@frontofficesports.comMail Online is on the hunt for SEO-friendly stories (1st person, experts, amazing dupes, limited/new menu items & everything in between).
- Email: giuli.graziano@mailonline.co.ukBroccoli, a new music magazine, is looking for pitches. Details, here.
Are you estranged from your family? Do you have a story to tell about it? Jenny Bartoy, editor of the anthology NO CONTACT (Catapult, April 2026) is seeking personal essays and flash nonfiction around this topic. Guidelines, here. Deadline: April 1
- Payment: minimum $50 flash nonfiction / $100 essay).Business Insider is looking for pitches: essays from parents on the topic of their kids misbehaving + pitches from parents who had kids in 2016 and only have baby photos of their kids with filters — you know, the puppy ears filter, or the rosy cheeks one.
- Rate: Generally pays around $230Business Insider is looking for freelance pitches of people who quit/left/lost a job and had it spark a major change for their life/home/etc. Pitch big work change stories with a headline in mind. DM pitches to Paige.
- Rate: $240+ for about 600~ words.Shephali Bhatt will be commissioning stories on consumer internet & social media, their impact on businesses, and more importantly, everyone’s lives for Livemint Lounge.
- Email: shephali.bhatt@partner.livemint.comBetches is seeking pitches from late bloomers, anything from a first kiss in your 20s to learning to ride a bike as an adult. They’re interested in candid essays and humor pieces.
- Email: emma@betches.com.
- Rate: $250-$400Kitchen Work Issue #10 will be devoted to stories/illustrations about Cities - markets, cafes, urban picnics, tiny kitchens, and big dinner tables in your favorite city. Deadline: March 15. Details, here.
- Email: submissions@kitchenwork.com
- Rate: $0.20 per word | $100 per accepted illustration.Maison Neuve are looking for pitches for their summer issue — well-researched, narrative-driven stories that balance a sense of storytelling with thoughtful analysis; A strong point of view, argument or ‘so what’ principle; Lyrical, literary scene-setting that draws the reader in. They are open to all writers, as long as the stories are in some way relevant to a Canadian readership. Deadline: March 5. Guidelines, here.
- Email: nour@maisonneuve.org
- Rate: 0.15/wordSkin Deep Magazine wants pitches on bold, fresh work that sits at the intersection of racial justice and culture. Details, here.
- Email: submissions@skindeepmag.com- Rate: £150-£300 per piece
The Whole Earth Redux is a print publication featuring essays and short stories that take an object from the online archive, Whole Earth Index, and excavate its deeper histories, argue its importance for understanding the present, or imagine the alternate realities it inspires. Deadline: march 14. Details, here.
- Editorial support: $450Gaming site, Restart, is looking for pitches related to GTA 6 and the wider GTA franchise (think retrospectives, rankings, etc.).
- Rate: $200.
- Email: hello@restart.run
MISCELLANY
APPLICATIONS: Hyundai Artlab is seeking to support two art writers whose forward-thinking insights connect across boundaries, bridging cultural communities in ways both big and small. Deadline: March 3, 2025. Submit, here.
Call for Ambassadors: Young people aged 18 to 35 working or studying in the energy sector, sign up for the Young Energy Ambassadors. Deadline: March 1. Details, here.
FELLOWSHIP: The Loveliest Review Fellowship is open to all seven genres—Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Drama, Photography, Art and Reviews. Deadline: April 1. Details, here.
FELLOWSHIP: Vox has opened submissions for Future Perfect fellows. Pay: $74k! Application deadline: March 16. Details, here.
PRIZE: The 2025 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize is now accepting submissions until June 30, 2025. This competition seeks to discover and support emerging voices in life writing, poetry, and fiction from around the globe. Details, here.
FELLOWSHIP: The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is accepting applications for the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship. The selected journalist will spend 6 months in a program with access to MIT's Center for International Studies and media outlets like The Boston Globe and The New York Times. Deadline: April 20. Guidelines, here.
FELLOWSHIP: Journalists ages 22 to 35 from developing countries and countries in transition can apply for the Reham Al-Farra (RAF) Memorial Journalists Fellowship Program. Deadline: March 31. Details, here.
JOBS: A curated list of over 20 media jobs from across India.
GUIDE: WordBox curates poetry submissions every month. Here is the list for February.
WRITERS RETREAT: The Bound Writers retreat will take place in Goa in March with mentors Tashan Mehta, Tara Khandelwal, Aishwarya Javalgekar, and Chandrahas Choudhury. Some seats are available. Details, here.
Before we end, some motivation for when you are struggling to write:
Until next time, sending you much luck in braving the upcoming heat waves. Summer is truly here!
Regards,
Joanna
Vox's fellowship is only available for US residents. I think it could be useful to add that.