26 Publications Paying for Climate, Environment and Sustainability Writing

A collection of worldwide publications that will pay freelancers for writing related to climate, the environment and sustainability - with pay rates.

Hello!

Welcome to the latest paid edition of the Freelance Writing Network. This week I’ve collected 26 publications paying freelancers for writing about climate, the environment & sustainability.

Remember: this is a mix of English language publications across the world. For freelancers, it doesn’t generally matter where you are pitching unless you have a strong link to a particular place. Editors are used to receiving freelance pitches from everywhere in the world! That’s even more true when it comes to writing about the environment or climate.

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I haven’t shared this in a while but I’d still like to finish putting together a post for paid subscribers with input from writers (particularly freelance journalists) about how they find and generate ideas for features to cold pitch editors and publications.

As there are now far more paid subscribers than when I last shared this a month ago, I’ve reattached the Google Forms link with a couple of quick questions. I’m planning on sharing this next Monday. If you’re able to share just a few sentences of your ideas then it would be great, and you’ll get far more back next week in the full post.

One of my examples would be that I have a couple of sites that I scan through, and some PR related email lists I subscribe to that I use largely for ideas about interesting new topics or people I could interview. It’s usually what gets the juices flowing!

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On with the publications, and as always I hope you can find something useful here! If you get commissioned from a publication you find as part of this list, I’d love to hear about it too. I’d also strongly recommend researching each publication thoroughly before sending your pitch in to an editor.

• FERN (Food & Environment Reporting Network) provides independent, non-profit journalism at the intersection of food, agriculture, and the environment. Reports from multiple writers suggest they pay as much as $2 a word depending on the complexity of the project. Check out their pitch details.

• Earth Island Journal is a non-profit magazine published with support from readers and Earth Island Institute. “We publish quarterly in print and daily online. Our stories, told from around the world, anticipate threats to the environment, and seek out innovative solutions to the world’s environmental challenges.” They pay $0.25/word for print features up to 4,000 words, though 2,800 words is most common and pay $200 for stories published online. Submission guidelines here.

• Hakai Magazine explores science and society in coastal ecosystems. “Our editorially independent web publication examines the ties between the ocean, land, and human societies through long- and short-form journalism, illustration, photography, and video.” Feature pay starts at CAN $1.55/word. Submission guidelines here.

• Terrain.org welcomes submissions from new and experienced authors and artists alike. “Our online journal accepts only the finest poetry, essays, fiction, articles, artwork, videos, and other contributions—material that reaches deep into the earth’s fiery core, or humanity’s incalculable core, and brings forth new insights and wisdom.” They pay $50 for accepted work.