Richmond magazine does accept story-idea pitches from freelance writers (but not unsolicited manuscripts), and any material you submit will not be returned. The pitch should include a resume, a cover letter explaining your story idea and how you plan to approach the piece, along with recent samples of your published work.
The following are departments within the magazine (and our sister publications) for which freelance stories are welcome:
- Arts & Entertainment
- Local
- Living
- Eat & Drink
- Features
- R•Home
- Richmond Bride
- R•Health & Beauty
- Welcome Inc.
- Guides (South of the James, Carytown Guide, Go West, Private Schools Guide, Virginia College Guide)
Some tips for successfully pitching your story idea:
- Whatever your idea, it needs to have a connection to Richmond, i.e., the city and the surrounding counties.
- Read the magazine. We get a lot of people who want to write for us but don't have a clear idea of how our magazine is formatted, who our audience is and what we’ve covered in the recent past. This is the first red flag — it tells us a writer hasn't really thought of their idea from the perspective of our needs.
- Make sure your story ideas are specific and unique. In most cases, this will mean doing a bit of reporting before you pitch your story idea to us, but that extra work will pay off.
Email your pitch to the appropriate editor.
