How to Pitch Five Magazines Looking for Front-of-Book Trend Pieces
Welcome to the Friday Freebie Five, a new weekly feature on Dream of Travel Writing’s Six Figure Travel Writer blog.
Each week, we comb our Travel Magazine Database to bring you five magazine sections open to freelancers around a theme–front-of-book trend pieces, long-form first-person features, short narrative postcards–to inspire your pitches.
Hemispheres
“Hemi IQ” is, “a smart guide to the world this month,” featuring a collection of about ten vignettes, interviews, and guides of 140-to-500 words, each of which fall under a designated category. Categories differ each month, but can include “Early Childhood Education,” “Photography,” “Culinary Arts,” “Fashion,” “Agriculture,” “Hospitality,” “Zoology,” “Computer Science,” “Design,” “Health,” “Music,” “Political Science,” “Chemistry,” and “Performing Arts.” An example of “Early Childhood Education” is, “Haute-Chair Cuisine,” an article about a Manhattan restaurant that redefined the kids’ meal. “The Future’s So Bright” is a “Computer Science” article about new sunglasses that discreetly record video. “On Savannah Style” is a “Fashion” interview with Paula Wallace, the President and Founder of Savannah College of Art and Design. “When’s the Beef?” is a “Culinary Arts” timeline that illustrates two millennia of beef history, resulting in McDonald’s global enterprise.
Condé Nast Traveler
“Word of Mouth” consists of what’s trending in world travel, like taking a no frills trip to St. Barts, recommended hotels, and top restaurants. This section typically consists of four to six articles that are written in first or third person and range from 800 to 2,000 words long.
Robb Report (US)
“Quantum View” is a 200-word article covering an interesting topic or trend with a double-page infographic. The article is written in third person and often includes quotes from a relevant person. Recent examples include “Keller’s Culinary Universe,” which covers the cooking school of Thomas Keller and the many chefs he has trained, “Gigayachts With the Biggest Splash,” covering the largest yachts in history, and “Wish You Were Here,” which describes the results of Virutoso’s Luxe List covering the latest travel trends and favorite destinations.
Rachel Ray Every Day
“Shop Talk” is a collection of articles, written by different contributors, which cover food and drink products, trends, and give the reader advice. There’s also often a Q&A with an expert on a food topic. Articles run from 200 to 400 words long and are written in second and third person. Examples from this section include “Well Dressed,” a Q&A with an olive oil expert on how to choose which one to dress your salad with, “Farm-to-Doorstep,” describing Wildkale.com, a food delivery service connecting farms to consumers wanting fresh produce, and “It’s in the Bag,” covering how to best transport your food shopping home without damaging it.
SKI
“Trends” is a 500-word article which covers a news item or trend in the skiing industry. This could be a product, destination or person. The article is written in third person and often includes quotes from a relevant source or expert. Recent examples include “Blurring the Lines,” which covers ski brands who are branching into making gear for off-season sports like running and cycling, “Tiny Town,” about the trend for tiny homes for ski employees in skiing towns, and “Zero Tolerance,” covering how avalanche education and guides are helping reduce deaths in backcountry skiing.
You can find complete how-to pitching information for each magazine listed, including email addresses for all editors, in our Travel Magazine Database by clicking on the magazine’s name and logging in with your account.
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