New Republic wants long-form political essays
Founded in 1914, The New Republic is a left-leaning ‘progressive’ US political magazine and website. The print edition is published ten times a year and has a circulation of 50,000, while the website features between 1-5 articles a day, and has approximately 500,000 visitors per month. ‘Name’ writers such as Neil Ferguson, Camille Paglia, Matt Groening, Steve Pinker and Zadie Smith have been contributors, but editor Michael Tomasky and his team are open to freelance pitches and unsolicited submissions from all writers, new as well as established.
If you are pitching an idea for an essay, reportage, or other non-fiction, briefly explain your angle, why it’s timely, and why you’re the person to write it; hyperlinking any references and citations in your pitch. If you are sending a completed submission, briefly summarise it in your email and attach your full article. In all cases, include a brief biography and links to examples of your work. Note, The New Republic is not a news site, but publishes in-depth longform researched journalism and opinion piece essays, as well as reviews and other non-fiction.
It is essential to send your pitch/feature to the right editor, as anything sent to more than one editor will be deleted unread. Departments are called ‘verticals’, and the editor for The Soapbox (the politics, law, healthcare, media vertical) is Jason Linkins: jlinkins@tnr.com. For Apocalypse Soon (climate change, science, Covid-19 and the environment), contact Heather Souvaine Horn: hshorn@tnr.com. Sold Short addresses identity, inequality and justice and is edited by Patrick Caldwell: pcaldwell@tnr.com and he has his own pitching guide at https:// newrepublic.com/article/160249/pitch-sold-short. He also edits the State of the Nation section of the print edition. Email Emily Cook for Critical Mass, covering arts and culture including books, film and TV: emily@tnr.com. Emily also edits feature stories for the print title. Laura Marsh is the editor to contact for books and the arts in the physical edition: lmarsh@tnr.com. You can submit poetry, no more than a page long, via poetry@tnr.com.
While New Republic is very US-centric it does cover a wide range of stories with global reach. Recent pieces have included ‘Is Nuclear Power Just Too Dangerous?’, ‘Thom Gunn’s Anti-Confessional Poetry’, ‘Argentina Keeps Redesigning Its Currency, Solving Nothing’ and ‘How Buster Keaton Revolutionized the Early Film Industry’.
It’s best to read the magazine or website at https:// newrepublic.com before pitching and follow the full guidelines at https://newrepublic.com/pages/ contact#submissionGuidelines
Payment varies at around 12-15¢ per word.