Story Annotations

Erika Hayasaki on how to leave the newsroom and kill it as a freelancer

Erika Hayasaki on how to leave the newsroom and kill it as a freelancer

Journalist, professor, author, mother – How does she do it all? With passion, persistence, another paycheck and perspective: "I'm not just one story."
Immigration reporting from the inside-out: through the mouths and eyes of babes

Immigration reporting from the inside-out: through the mouths and eyes of babes

Dan Barry and a team of New York Times reporters channel the voices of children held in migrant detention camps
Feeding the world – and feeling despair

Feeding the world – and feeling despair

A former farmer turns to writing to uncover the global crisis of farmer suicides – and plants the seeds of a response
At the Guardian's Long Read, no rigid formula or geographic limits

At the Guardian’s Long Read, no rigid formula or geographic limits

The editor's advice: Study what's been published before. Be authoritative, fresh and "arresting." Dare to send a (good) cold pitch
The story ideas Mother Jones' managing editor wants to see

The story ideas Mother Jones’ managing editor wants to see

The magazine is known for its hard-hitting investigations, but Ian Gordon says, “We write so much about bad actors that we're always looking for people to bring some levity to…
Pacific Standard's executive editor shares some do's and don'ts on pitching stories

Pacific Standard’s executive editor shares some do’s and don’ts on pitching stories

Jennifer Sahn also mounts a defense of the overwhelmed editor, and why you might not hear back right away when you email
The thing with feathers: Burkhard Bilger and his haute-couture "plumassier"

The thing with feathers: Burkhard Bilger and his haute-couture “plumassier”

In his profile of a fashion creative who works exclusively with feathers, The New Yorker reporter shows off his own plumage in the beautiful writing
How to break into The California Sunday Magazine

How to break into The California Sunday Magazine

Editor Douglas McGray doles out a million great tips and insights, including the possibly scary, "We really put a lot of weight on the pitch."
Annotation Tuesday: Elizabeth Weil and “The Curse of the Bahia Emerald”

Annotation Tuesday: Elizabeth Weil and “The Curse of the Bahia Emerald”

Elizabeth Weil, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and Outside, says she doesn’t write about “super important” things. But her warm and captivating voice has animated every…
A veteran freelancer on pitching The New York Times Magazine and more

A veteran freelancer on pitching The New York Times Magazine and more

Reporter (and editor) Paul Tullis has been on both sides of the pitching process; here, he annotates his "Into the Wildfires" proposal