Esquire wants personal essays from men, Guardian Documentaries wants democracy stories, Chicken Soup wants inspirational pitches

31 pitch opportunities this week $50 to $1,500, including a $20,000 storytelling grant for Alaska creatives and a fully-funded documentary commission

A look at every call in today’s roundup. Full details, deadlines, and how to submit are below for paid subscribers.

Quick reminder on how this newsletter works, since we run two different pitch calls on two different days:

• Tuesdays → Pitch calls for writers — journalists and publications looking for people to write and submit their own stories, essays, or bylines.

• Thursdays (today) → Pitch calls for business owners — journalists working on stories who need sources, experts, products, or founders to feature.

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• Scott Monaco (Travel Writing) — open call for essays and photo essays on less-reported destinations ($200 essays/photo essays, $50 humor) ⏰ Deadline this week — July 31, 2026

• Inside Climate News — environmental justice stories in Florida

• Urban Omnibus — NYC built environment pitches ($350–$500+)

• Plott Hound Magazine — animal-centric speculative fiction, poetry, and essays ($50–$100 / $0.08 per word) ⏰ Deadline this week — July 15, 2026

• Football Heritage — podcast episodes and articles on football history and culture

• Esquire.com — personal essays for “Secret Lives of Men” and reported essays for “The Lost Arts”

• JustSpace Alliance Newsletter — guest pieces on space ethics and inclusion ($400)

• Metro — opinion and “pub chat” hot takes (rates from £120)

• The Protopian Fiction Prize (Democratic Futures) — short fiction imagining democratic futures ⏰ Deadline this week — July 31, 2026 (early notice)

• The Digger (Scotland) — weekly features on Scotland’s criminal justice system (£200)

• Bay Nature — nature and environmental science pitches for the SF Bay Area ⏰ Deadline this week — July 14, 2026

• Dialogue Earth — visual/social-first storytelling on urban heat in the Global South ($1,500)

• Oregon Humanities — personal essays and reporting on the theme “Passage,” Oregon residents only ($750–$1,500)

• Chicken Soup for the Soul — inspirational stories on gratitude and counting blessings

• Queer Kentucky — funded HIV/AIDS reporting project centered on rural, BIPOC queer Kentucky ($150–$250)

• Celebrating Abortion (zine) — personal essays on abortion as a positive, uncomplicated experience ($100)

• Guardian Documentaries x arte.tv — short documentary pitches on democracy in Europe (up to £10,000/€11,500)

• MIT Technology Review (”Breakthroughs” issue) — pitches for the annual high-impact innovations round-up ($1–$2/word) ⏰ Deadline approaching — mid-to-late July 2026

• JustSpace Alliance — space ethics/inclusion guest pieces ($400) (same open call as above)

• Fansplaining — fandom longreads: features, criticism, personal essays ($300)

• Rewire News Group — pop culture x reproductive justice, abortion access, LGBTQ+ community stories ($200–$500+)

• AFAR — reported features, personal essays, photo essays on travel ($0.50–$1+/word)

• Driftwood Press (Adrift Writing Contest) — poetry chapbook and short story contest ($500–$750) ⏰ Deadline this week — July 15, 2026

• DAME Magazine — reported, human-centric, intersectional stories ($350–$750)

• MIT Technology Review (ongoing tech desk) — news and analysis pitches on emerging technology

• Trails Mag (Issue 16, Photography Issue) — portraiture, news, personal, and adventure photo features; cover photo ($1,500); Hiker Box calendar items

Other opportunities (speaking gigs, creator programs & press trips)

• The Adam Kolton Alaska Storytelling Grant — $20,000 unrestricted award for storytellers documenting Alaska’s wild lands and communities ⏰ Deadline this week — August 23, 2026 (early notice)

• LA28 Volunteer Program presented by Delta — volunteer at the 2028 Olympic/Paralympic Games (unpaid)

• Southlands (Editorial Fellow) — fact-checking/research role for a new Southern print journal ($1,000 honorarium)

• Adventure Travel Trade Association (AdventureFAM/WEEK/NEXT) — fully-funded media press trips to Baños (Ecuador), Japan, and Chile

• The New York Sun — building a freelance reporter roster, NYC-based

• Create & Cultivate — content creators to cover their LA business festival, September 19–20

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