Call for Pitches: The Ever-Present Liquid—Stories on Water

Announcing a special collaboration with Creative Nonfiction magazine that explores the shape-shifting magic, nourishment and destructiveness of H2O in all its forms.

We’re back with a new series in our collab with the iconic Creative Nonfiction magazine, this one about that magical, sometimes terrifying, ubiquitous compound… water. It makes up about 60 percent of our body weight; it covers approximately 71 percent of the Earth; and it’s one of our basic human needs. We come to water to experience euphoria; and its power and unpredictability can also have devastating consequences. 

Which brings us to this call for pitches. We’re looking for stories about water, yes, but what about water, exactly? We want you to interpret this call in whatever way you feel inspired, which could mean anything from pitching us a story about a Jaws-like tale set in open water to one about a pioneering effort to produce safe drinking water. Do you have a profile of a swimmer who broke an unthinkable record despite physical challenges? Have you recently learned about a group of women who set out to retrieve a rumored fortune from a 200-year-old shipwreck? Did you or your neighbor organize a dangerous rescue mission after an avalanche and change the way things are done in your mountain town?

Whatever your story — floods, snorkeling, championship ice-sculpting, dehydration, desalination — we want to hear about it. These can be first-person or reported pieces, and they should have the same epic, immersive, cinematic storytelling and compelling narrative arcs we always look for. Surprise, delight and educate us! 

Some examples of stories we’ve published in the past that fit the theme:

The Curse of the Ship of Gold

The Obsessive Life and Mysterious Death of the Fisherman Who Discovered The Loch Ness Monster

The Teenage Prank That's Lasted 60 Years

Thirty Years Ago I Watched My Friend’s Father Drown. I Think About It Every Time My Children Go Near Water.

Word Count: We’re looking for stories around the same length as our typical features, between 3,000 and 6,000 words, but we’re not prescriptive and it can absolutely vary if a piece calls for something longer or shorter. 

Rates: Rates for these stories will start at $1,000 per story.

Pitches Due: Tuesday, May 28.

Ready? Head over to our Submittable page and pitch away.