Slate How to Pitch Slate changes — 20210601_rev01

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**Avoid** vague, one- or two-sentence pitches on a topic, as in, "I would like to write about _X_ because of _Y_ news peg." A short paragraph that captures your argument will be more effective.

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**Do** specify what section of the site you're pitching and find the editor within each section-News & Politics, Culture, Human Interest, Business, and Technology-who is best suited to consider your idea. (For details on which editors to pitch to for what topics, see below.)

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**Do** include a bit about your background in the form of a one- to two-sentence bio. If you can, please provide any relevant published work that's written in a voice similar to Slate's. If not, writing from a personal blog or anywhere else is fine. We do not need a complete CV.

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**Do** be mindful if you pitch your idea to multiple publications. As a general rule, and if the story isn't too timely, it's best to wait about a week before sharing the pitch with another publication. If you do decide to cast a wide net, it's always helpful to let us know ahead of time so we can respond accordingly. We unfortunately aren't always able to respond to every pitch in a timely manner; if after a week or so you haven't heard back, feel free to take it elsewhere.

17

**Do** be mindful if you pitch your idea to multiple publications. As a general rule, and if the story isn't too timely, it's best to wait about a week before sharing the pitch with another publication. If you do decide to cast a wide net, it's always helpful to let us know ahead of time so we can respond accordingly. We unfortunately aren't always able to respond to every pitch. If after a week or so you haven't heard back, feel free to take it elsewhere.

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**Avoid** sending your pitch to another Slate editor if the first editor passes. We are in close and constant touch with each other and frequently the decision to pass is not made alone.

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To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [eventually became a Slate story](https://slate.com/culture/2020/09/postal-workers-heroes-airmail-pilot-movies.html):

21

To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [eventually became a Slate story](https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/01/merby-merman-calendar-history-masculinity.html):

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> I write to see if you might be interested in an essay on a spate of adventure films that came out in the 1930s about airmail pilots: "Air Mail" (1932), "Night Flight" (1933), "Ceiling Zero" (1936), "Flight From Glory" (1937), and "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939). At the time, airmail pilots often had to fly in dangerous conditions to deliver mail on time and as such, accidents were common. These postal workers took on a certain kind of mystique as risk-taking rogues, and Hollywood soon took notice. In the 1930s, capitalizing on the fame of airmail pilot Charles Lindbergh, the industry released a series of sexy thrillers about the dashing men who risked their lives to deliver mail. "Only Angels Have Wings" starred Cary Grant as one such daredevil airmail pilot who braves the treacherous path across the Andes Mountains to make sure packages are delivered on time (even if it means leaving Rita Hayworth behind).

23

> In St. John's, Newfoundland, a provincial fishing town roughly midway between Montreal and Greenland, the mermen began to appear in the summer of 2017. Sunning themselves on rocks by the harbor, or on the graffiti-strewn pylons of an abandoned waterfront factory, they caused quite a stir; one merman even ventured into a local tavern where he was spotted splayed out on the bar smoking a long cigarette. Soon a photo shoot was organized, and the [Merb'y calendar](https://www.nlbmc.com/)-b'y is Newfoundland-speak for dude-was born.

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>

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> However, these movies glamorized the very conditions that actual airmail pilots were fighting against in the courts; it was at this time that the first professional union of pilots (ALPA) formed to push back against the predatory mail delivery contracts that forced pilots to fly in unsafe conditions, a practice known as "pilot pushing." I think this essay could be, amongst other things, a timely warning against letting postal workers operate as deified tireless public servants (rather than workers) in our cultural imagination.

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[And another:](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/for-palestinians-the-coronavirus-lockdown-feels-somewhat-familiar.html)

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> Abdelfattah Abusrour, founder of a cultural centre inside Aida refugee camp, describes his daily situation: From within, Bethlehem is locked down due to the threat of COVID-19. From without, it is encircled by the checkpoints of the Israeli military. Twenty miles away, in volatile Hebron, the head of a small Palestinian NGO tells me how he has been delivering food parcels to families suffering amid food shortages-but now, shut up at home as all Palestinians face a fourteen-day curfew, he's worried for families left behind. With poor medical infrastructure, COVID-19 threatens to rip through the fragile communities living on occupation's brink.

25

> It turns out that the Merb'ys did not suddenly emerge from the sea, but from the head of Hasan Hai, a Pakistani-Newfoundlander who works at a St. John's tech start-up and as a bartender on the side. Several years ago, Hai, a gentle giant with tattoos, shaved head and 12-inch mane of facial hair, started the Newfoundland Labrador Beard and Mustache Club, a social organization, he says, that has evolved into something akin to a woke Elks Lodge-"the intent is to promote healthy and non-traditional expressions of masculinity, to break free of those dated stereotypes," he told me recently. The bearded Merb'y models are mostly members of the club and their friends.

30

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>

31

> Yet to many of the men and women I've spoken to, from a UN official, to a representative of the Palestinian Medical Relief society, to a Christian farmer and community leader, life under lockdown feels remarkably normal. Restrictions on movement, restrictions on association, overshadowed by fear. Many can still remember the monthslong lockdowns that marked the Intifadas. As countries across the Western world begin to shut down themselves, perhaps this a time to reflect on how this is the reality of life for thousands of Palestinians. This piece will not only shine a light on the potential devastation that COVID-19 could cause to an oppressed society, but will seek to show how our new reality, shocking as it is, has been a Palestinian reality for years.

27

> As skin-baring calendars go, the Merb'ys version has revealed significant demand for a chest-hair-and-pot-belly alternative to the busty-women-in-bikinis genre. The hope was to raise a thousand dollars for a local charity. The viral calendars ended up netting $300,000 in the first year through sales to 37 countries, funds that were donated to a sexual assault and domestic violence initiative. Since their first calendar debuted two years ago, the Beard and Mustache Club mission has rapidly expanded. They run fundraisers throughout the year and will soon partner with the play _Come From Away_ to expand their reach outside Newfoundland. The Merb'ys impact has even extended into academia: they were recently included in a series of papers investigating the anthropological significance of the mermaid trend and its nexus to gender.

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>

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> Hai told me that some of the club members have found dressing up as a merman to be a cathartic experience, so I'd hope to capture some of that in the story. I'd also include the story of Hai's transformation from a man "unable to understand or express my emotions in a healthy way," he said, to being comfortable with vulnerability-a journey sparked years ago when he was called out for inappropriate behavior.

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Please refer below for the relevant editor for your pitch.

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### Culture

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Forrest Wickman (movies)

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[**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)

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Sam Adams (television)

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[**sam.adams@slate.com**](mailto:sam.adams@slate.com)

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Allegra Frank (music)

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[**allegra.frank@slate.com**](mailto:allegra.frank@slate.com)

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Sam Adams (television)

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[**sam.adams@slate.com**](mailto:sam.adams@slate.com)

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Forrest Wickman (movies)

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[**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)

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Seth Maxon (books, non-fiction)

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[**seth.maxon@slate.com**](mailto:seth.maxon@slate.com)

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Various (books, fiction)

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Books

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[**books@slate.com**](mailto:books@slate.com)

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### Human Interest

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Laura Bennett (reported features, personal essays)

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[**laura.bennett@slate.com**](mailto:laura.bennett@slate.com)

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Jeffrey Bloomer (features, screeds, sex, relationships, downtime)

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Jeffrey Bloomer (all features, essays, work, sex and relationships)

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[**jeffrey.bloomer@slate.com**](mailto:jeffrey.bloomer@slate.com)

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Bryan Lowder (food, LGBTQ issues/culture)

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[**bryan.lowder@slate.com**](mailto:bryan.lowder@slate.com)

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57

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Recurring features ([Rabbit Holes](https://slate.com/tag/rabbit-holes), [Spark Notes](https://slate.com/tag/spark-notes), [Our One Fight](https://slate.com/tag/our-one-fight), etc.)

64

[**humaninterest@slate.com**](http://www.slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/humaninterest@slate.com)

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Rebecca Onion (history, family)

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[**rebecca.onion@slate.com**](<mailto: rebecca.onion@slate.com>)

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60

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[Coronavirus Diaries](https://slate.com/tag/coronavirus-diaries) (these have a high bar-we're looking for concrete, revealing dispatches)

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[**coronavirusdiaries@slate.com**](mailto:coronavirusdiaries@slate.com)

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### News/Politics

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62

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Susan Matthews (politics, gender, features)

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Josh Keating (international, foreign policy)

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[**josh.keating@slate.com**](mailto:josh.keating@slate.com)

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Susan Matthews (news, politics, law, gender, features)

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[**susan.matthews@slate.com**](mailto:susanmatthews@slate.com)

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Tom Scocca (politics and policy)

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[**tom.scocca@slate.com**](<mailto: tom.scocca@slate.com>)

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Josh Keating (international, foreign policy-please no pitches on hyperlocal issues)

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[**josh.keating@slate.com**](mailto:josh.keating@slate.com)

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Jeremy Stahl (jurisprudence)

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[**jeremy.stahl@slate.com**](mailto:jeremy.stahl@slate.com)

82

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### Technology

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Torie Bosch (for Future Tense/stories on the policy, ethics, and social implications of tech, and for guidelines on pitching Future Tense Fiction)

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Torie Bosch (for Future Tense, or stories on the policy, ethics, and social implications of tech, and for guidelines on pitching Future Tense Fiction)

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[**torie.bosch@slate.com**](mailto:torie.bosch@slate.com)

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Jonathan Fischer (big tech, cities, media/internet culture)

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[**jonathan.fischer@slate.com**](mailto:jonathan.fischer@slate.com)

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Jaime Green (Future Tense/emerging technology effects on public policy and society; currently on book leave)

 **Avoid** vague, one- or two-sentence pitches on a topic, as in, "I would like to write about _X_ because of _Y_ news peg." A short paragraph that captures your argument will be more effective.
 **Do** specify what section of the site you're pitching and find the editor within each section-News & Politics, Culture, Human Interest, Business, and Technology-who is best suited to consider your idea. (For details on which editors to pitch to for what topics, see below.)
 **Do** include a bit about your background in the form of a one- to two-sentence bio. If you can, please provide any relevant published work that's written in a voice similar to Slate's. If not, writing from a personal blog or anywhere else is fine. We do not need a complete CV.
+**Do** be mindful if you pitch your idea to multiple publications. As a general rule, and if the story isn't too timely, it's best to wait about a week before sharing the pitch with another publication. If you do decide to cast a wide net, it's always helpful to let us know ahead of time so we can respond accordingly. We unfortunately aren't always able to respond to every pitch in a timely manner; if after a week or so you haven't heard back, feel free to take it elsewhere.
+**Do** be mindful if you pitch your idea to multiple publications. As a general rule, and if the story isn't too timely, it's best to wait about a week before sharing the pitch with another publication. If you do decide to cast a wide net, it's always helpful to let us know ahead of time so we can respond accordingly. We unfortunately aren't always able to respond to every pitch. If after a week or so you haven't heard back, feel free to take it elsewhere.
 **Avoid** sending your pitch to another Slate editor if the first editor passes. We are in close and constant touch with each other and frequently the decision to pass is not made alone.
+To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [eventually became a Slate story](https://slate.com/culture/2020/09/postal-workers-heroes-airmail-pilot-movies.html):
+To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [eventually became a Slate story](https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/01/merby-merman-calendar-history-masculinity.html):
+> I write to see if you might be interested in an essay on a spate of adventure films that came out in the 1930s about airmail pilots: "Air Mail" (1932), "Night Flight" (1933), "Ceiling Zero" (1936), "Flight From Glory" (1937), and "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939). At the time, airmail pilots often had to fly in dangerous conditions to deliver mail on time and as such, accidents were common. These postal workers took on a certain kind of mystique as risk-taking rogues, and Hollywood soon took notice. In the 1930s, capitalizing on the fame of airmail pilot Charles Lindbergh, the industry released a series of sexy thrillers about the dashing men who risked their lives to deliver mail. "Only Angels Have Wings" starred Cary Grant as one such daredevil airmail pilot who braves the treacherous path across the Andes Mountains to make sure packages are delivered on time (even if it means leaving Rita Hayworth behind).
+> In St. John's, Newfoundland, a provincial fishing town roughly midway between Montreal and Greenland, the mermen began to appear in the summer of 2017. Sunning themselves on rocks by the harbor, or on the graffiti-strewn pylons of an abandoned waterfront factory, they caused quite a stir; one merman even ventured into a local tavern where he was spotted splayed out on the bar smoking a long cigarette. Soon a photo shoot was organized, and the [Merb'y calendar](https://www.nlbmc.com/)-b'y is Newfoundland-speak for dude-was born.
+>
+> However, these movies glamorized the very conditions that actual airmail pilots were fighting against in the courts; it was at this time that the first professional union of pilots (ALPA) formed to push back against the predatory mail delivery contracts that forced pilots to fly in unsafe conditions, a practice known as "pilot pushing." I think this essay could be, amongst other things, a timely warning against letting postal workers operate as deified tireless public servants (rather than workers) in our cultural imagination.
+[And another:](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/for-palestinians-the-coronavirus-lockdown-feels-somewhat-familiar.html)
+> Abdelfattah Abusrour, founder of a cultural centre inside Aida refugee camp, describes his daily situation: From within, Bethlehem is locked down due to the threat of COVID-19. From without, it is encircled by the checkpoints of the Israeli military. Twenty miles away, in volatile Hebron, the head of a small Palestinian NGO tells me how he has been delivering food parcels to families suffering amid food shortages-but now, shut up at home as all Palestinians face a fourteen-day curfew, he's worried for families left behind. With poor medical infrastructure, COVID-19 threatens to rip through the fragile communities living on occupation's brink.
+> It turns out that the Merb'ys did not suddenly emerge from the sea, but from the head of Hasan Hai, a Pakistani-Newfoundlander who works at a St. John's tech start-up and as a bartender on the side. Several years ago, Hai, a gentle giant with tattoos, shaved head and 12-inch mane of facial hair, started the Newfoundland Labrador Beard and Mustache Club, a social organization, he says, that has evolved into something akin to a woke Elks Lodge-"the intent is to promote healthy and non-traditional expressions of masculinity, to break free of those dated stereotypes," he told me recently. The bearded Merb'y models are mostly members of the club and their friends.
+>
+> Yet to many of the men and women I've spoken to, from a UN official, to a representative of the Palestinian Medical Relief society, to a Christian farmer and community leader, life under lockdown feels remarkably normal. Restrictions on movement, restrictions on association, overshadowed by fear. Many can still remember the monthslong lockdowns that marked the Intifadas. As countries across the Western world begin to shut down themselves, perhaps this a time to reflect on how this is the reality of life for thousands of Palestinians. This piece will not only shine a light on the potential devastation that COVID-19 could cause to an oppressed society, but will seek to show how our new reality, shocking as it is, has been a Palestinian reality for years.
+> As skin-baring calendars go, the Merb'ys version has revealed significant demand for a chest-hair-and-pot-belly alternative to the busty-women-in-bikinis genre. The hope was to raise a thousand dollars for a local charity. The viral calendars ended up netting $300,000 in the first year through sales to 37 countries, funds that were donated to a sexual assault and domestic violence initiative. Since their first calendar debuted two years ago, the Beard and Mustache Club mission has rapidly expanded. They run fundraisers throughout the year and will soon partner with the play _Come From Away_ to expand their reach outside Newfoundland. The Merb'ys impact has even extended into academia: they were recently included in a series of papers investigating the anthropological significance of the mermaid trend and its nexus to gender.
+>
+> Hai told me that some of the club members have found dressing up as a merman to be a cathartic experience, so I'd hope to capture some of that in the story. I'd also include the story of Hai's transformation from a man "unable to understand or express my emotions in a healthy way," he said, to being comfortable with vulnerability-a journey sparked years ago when he was called out for inappropriate behavior.
 Please refer below for the relevant editor for your pitch.
 ### Culture
+Forrest Wickman (movies)
+[**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)
+Sam Adams (television)
+[**sam.adams@slate.com**](mailto:sam.adams@slate.com)
 Allegra Frank (music)
 [**allegra.frank@slate.com**](mailto:allegra.frank@slate.com)
+Sam Adams (television)
+[**sam.adams@slate.com**](mailto:sam.adams@slate.com)
+Forrest Wickman (movies)
+[**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)
+Seth Maxon (books, non-fiction)
+[**seth.maxon@slate.com**](mailto:seth.maxon@slate.com)
+Various (books, fiction)
+Books
 [**books@slate.com**](mailto:books@slate.com)
 ### Human Interest
 Laura Bennett (reported features, personal essays)
 [**laura.bennett@slate.com**](mailto:laura.bennett@slate.com)
+Jeffrey Bloomer (features, screeds, sex, relationships, downtime)
+Jeffrey Bloomer (all features, essays, work, sex and relationships)
 [**jeffrey.bloomer@slate.com**](mailto:jeffrey.bloomer@slate.com)
 Bryan Lowder (food, LGBTQ issues/culture)
 [**bryan.lowder@slate.com**](mailto:bryan.lowder@slate.com)
+Recurring features ([Rabbit Holes](https://slate.com/tag/rabbit-holes), [Spark Notes](https://slate.com/tag/spark-notes), [Our One Fight](https://slate.com/tag/our-one-fight), etc.)
+[**humaninterest@slate.com**](http://www.slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/humaninterest@slate.com)
+Rebecca Onion (history, family)
+[**rebecca.onion@slate.com**](<mailto: rebecca.onion@slate.com>)
+[Coronavirus Diaries](https://slate.com/tag/coronavirus-diaries) (these have a high bar-we're looking for concrete, revealing dispatches)
+[**coronavirusdiaries@slate.com**](mailto:coronavirusdiaries@slate.com)
 ### News/Politics
+Susan Matthews (politics, gender, features)
+Josh Keating (international, foreign policy)
+[**josh.keating@slate.com**](mailto:josh.keating@slate.com)
+Susan Matthews (news, politics, law, gender, features)
 [**susan.matthews@slate.com**](mailto:susanmatthews@slate.com)
 Tom Scocca (politics and policy)
 [**tom.scocca@slate.com**](<mailto: tom.scocca@slate.com>)
+Josh Keating (international, foreign policy-please no pitches on hyperlocal issues)
+[**josh.keating@slate.com**](mailto:josh.keating@slate.com)
 Jeremy Stahl (jurisprudence)
 [**jeremy.stahl@slate.com**](mailto:jeremy.stahl@slate.com)
 ### Technology
+Torie Bosch (for Future Tense/stories on the policy, ethics, and social implications of tech, and for guidelines on pitching Future Tense Fiction)
+Torie Bosch (for Future Tense, or stories on the policy, ethics, and social implications of tech, and for guidelines on pitching Future Tense Fiction)
 [**torie.bosch@slate.com**](mailto:torie.bosch@slate.com)
 Jonathan Fischer (big tech, cities, media/internet culture)
 [**jonathan.fischer@slate.com**](mailto:jonathan.fischer@slate.com)
 Jaime Green (Future Tense/emerging technology effects on public policy and society; currently on book leave)
 ### Sports
 Seth Maxon
 [**seth.maxon@slate.com**](mailto:seth.maxon@slate.com)
+### Slate Plus Academy
+Gabriel Roth
+[**gabriel.roth@slate.com**](mailto:gabriel.roth@slate.com)
 ### The Gist
 Margaret Kelley
 [**margaret.kelley@slate.com**](http://margaret.kelley/)

How to Pitch Slate

Full text changes — 20210501_rev01 to 20210601_rev01