30 Publications that Pay for Writing About Human Rights and Social Justice

For those who want to get paid to write about human rights and social justice, here’s a list of 30 publications that pay for writing on the topic.

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1. Type Investigations is a nonprofit investigative newsroom. They cover the “most urgent issues of our time, including racial and economic justice, climate and environmental health, and civil and human rights.” Their written features are generally 4,000-5,000 words and, according to their pitch guide, they typically pay $3,000-$6,000 (including travel and reporting expenses). For more information, refer to their pitch guide.

2. In These Times is a progressive magazine and website committed to covering and analyzing popular movements for economic, environmental, social, gender, and racial justice. Reported stories and investigations range from 1,200 to 4,000 words; opinion and thinkpieces range from 800-1500 words. According to their guidelines, they pay $1/​word for investigative features (plus approved expenses) and for print features (3,300+ words) and $400 for a web-only story up to 1,500 words. To learn more and see all of their rates, refer to their submissions guidelines.

3. EachOther is a UK-focused charity that uses independent journalism, storytelling and filmmaking to ”put the human into human rights.” The digital content they produce is grounded in the lived experience of ordinary people affected by human rights issues. They are looking for stories for their Inspired Source series, which is part of their work to amplify voices that are underrepresented in the media and marginalised by society. According to their pitch guide, they pay aspiring writers based in the UK £100 to produce a 400-600 word opinion piece. To learn more, refer to this page.

4. Rooted in Rights Blog is a “platform dedicated to amplifying the authentic perspectives of disabled writers.” They’re seeking reported and investigative articles, op-eds, creative nonfiction, personal essays, interviews, and short fiction on disability, with an emphasis on disability rights and justice, written by people who identify as disabled. Their standard word count is 500 words. According to their guidelines, they pay on a sliding scale, with the minimum payment being $400. To learn more, refer to this page.

5. Science for the People is a magazine and website dedicated to “building and promoting social movements and political struggles around progressive and radical perspectives on science and society.” They welcome pitches from anyone who can offer their readers “reporting, analysis, or perspective on the struggle to ensure science serves the people, not profit.” According to their pitch guide, they pay $250 for feature-length stories (2000 words and above), $150 for shorter features, reviews, columns, and other articles with lengths of about 1200–1500 words, $100 for short pieces (600–1000 words) and interviews.

6. Asparagus Magazine is a publication that is “dedicated to telling the large and small stories of how we can live sustainably, from an environmental, social, and cultural perspective.” Their “audience is primarily on the West Coast, and located in both Canada and the US.” They are seeking traditionally reported feature journalism, creative nonfiction, and personal essays/opinion pieces on environmental and social justice topics. They are interested in pieces between 800–1,500-word range and some features with exceptions that run into 2,000-3,000-words. According to their guidelines, they pay an average of C$0.25/word. They get funding from the Canadian government that requires them to prioritize Canadian creators. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

7. Sojourners is a magazine and an online publication that covers faith, politics, social justice, war, peace, community and art from a biblical perspective. Their feature articles are typically 1,800-2,000 words. According to their website, they pay $50 per poem. They also say they “pay for reported pieces, based on depth of reporting, and for strongly researched analysis pieces.” An old payment report suggests that they pay $0.14 per word, but current pay rates for articles are not clear. To learn more, read their contributors guidelines page.

8. Mother Jones is an investigative news organization. They report on politics, criminal and racial justice, democracy, human rights, education, climate change, food/agriculture, and more. They commission revelatory and dynamic stories that teach people something they didn’t already know. According to their pitch guide, print rates begin at $1.75/word, while their online rates begin at $0.75/word. For more details, read their freelance writer guidelines.