How to Pitch Houstonia
Thank you for your interest in writing for Houstonia. Please read through the guide below before you pitch us. It includes what stories we’re looking for (and not looking for) and who to send them to.
General Guidelines
Do pitch:
- A story with a clear angle or thesis, not just a topic
- Stories examining a proven trend
- Stories about interesting Houstonians
- Unexpected and untold stories
Do not pitch:
- Listicles and round-ups (these are done in-house)
- Event coverage
- Stories outside Houston or Texas (except Travel)
- Q&As
- PR-driven stories
- A topic with no clear angle (bears repeating!)
Keep the audience in mind.
The typical Houstonia reader is a seasoned Houstonian who doesn’t need the city over-explained to them. They know what’s what, and are looking for authoritative and engaging coverage of Houston to make the most out of living here.
Guidelines by Section
Eat & Drink
Our food and drink section covers everything from restaurants, bars, breweries, coffee shops, and clubs to beer, wine, spirits, food retail, and food culture. We typically write news and openings in-house, so successful pitches will capture a slice of the food scene that we haven’t been paying attention to. Please do not pitch events, round-ups, or anything to do with a National Day. When pitching profiles, make sure your angle or reason for highlighting a certain person over anyone else is compelling and timely.
Pitch Sofia Gonzalez: [email protected]
Arts & Culture
Our arts and culture section covers museums, visual and performing arts, public art, and any other cultural institutions, as well as local artists of all kinds, but we are constantly pushing to further expand our definition of culture. We don’t assign reviews, previews, or recaps. Rather, we want to uncover the unexpected story behind the exhibit, event, artwork, etc, that puts it in context for readers and tells them something they don’t already know.
Pitch meredith Nudo: [email protected]
News & City Life
Daily news is covered in-house, but we’re always looking for features that explore what we’re missing in our big, sprawling city. This section’s topics are wide-ranging, including but not limited to elections, political issues, the oil and gas industry, transportation, community and activist groups, sports, and religion. Successful pitches will include a brief reporting plan detailing how you will report the story and who you will be interviewing.
Pitch Erica Cheng: [email protected]
Travel & Outdoors
We’re always looking for exceptional travel stories that our staff cannot get to. Our scope extends primarily to Texas, the South, the Southwest, and Mexico. Successful pitches will have a unique hook or perspective that only the writer can bring (no parachute journalism, please), and go beyond the "what to do" guide.
Pitch Sofia Gonzalez: [email protected]
Home & Real Estate
We will occasionally commission stories for this section, focusing on trends in residential real estate, design, architecture, and gardening that offer either practical or aspirational value.
Pitch meredith Nudo: [email protected]
Style & Shopping
We are not actively commissioning freelance stories for this section. If you have an amazing pitch you think we absolutely cannot miss, feel free to email us for consideration. We do not run product reviews or accept free samples.
Pitch Brittany Britto Garley: [email protected]
Health & Wellness
We are not actively commissioning freelance stories for this section. If you have an amazing pitch you think we absolutely cannot miss, feel free to email us for consideration. We do not run product reviews or accept free samples.
Pitch Brittany Britto Garley: [email protected]
Longform
A handful of times a year, Houstonia commissions longform stories across all sections and topics. These are deeply reported features, reported essays, or investigations that can stretch between 2,000 and 4,000 words. Only pitches from writers with demonstrated longform experience will be considered.
Pitch Brittany Britto Garley: [email protected]
Additional Notes
- Our base rate is 50 cents a word, for both digital and print. Deeply reported longform stories pay up to $1 a word.
- We strive to respond to everyone, but the volume of emails we receive often makes this difficult. If we haven’t gotten back to you regarding a pitch after a couple weeks, feel free to send it to someone else.
- We always love reading your awesome pitches, but because of our limited freelance budget, we unfortunately cannot say yes to every pitch, even if it’s a good one. We navigate this just like a personal budget: While we’d love to be able to purchase all the cute clothes in the store, we can only afford so much, so we focus on our absolute favorites that fit our current needs.
- Never ask for comped products, a free meal, or any other freebies in exchange for your coverage in Houstonia. This is a serious breach of our ethical standards as journalists, and will result in termination of the business relationship. If you need research expenses covered on top of your writing fee, that can be discussed at the time of your assignment.
- We don’t accept stories on spec. Please make sure your pitch is accepted before submitting a draft.
- Houstonia is a city magazine that covers the city of Houston, for Houstonians by Houstonians. We are only looking for pitches from people based in Houston, or (for some stories) in Texas.
