We want your pitches!
Here are the kinds of stories we're looking for:
Essays that reflect on personal experiences from a unique point of view
We love a good first person essay. Your story should examine or reflect on an idea, event, or perspective that at least tangentially touches upon queerness — the most important thing is that either the topic and/or your particular angle is fresh, relatable, and guided by a strong voice.
Some examples:
Expensive, Exhausting, And Deeply Unsexy: Babymaking While Queer
Coming Out To My Exes As A Trans Gay Man
What Dangerous Men Taught Me About Becoming A Woman
The Transgender Dating Dilemma
Adventures In Queer Girl Tinder
Helpful How-To Guides
Life gets hard. If you have particular expertise about how to do a certain thing that a lot of queer, trans, or gender nonconforming people do, readers would love your advice!
Some examples:
How To Flirt With Queer Girls Without Making A Total Fool Of Yourself
All The Questions You Had About Chest Binding, But Were Afraid to Ask
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Dental Dams
Cultural Commentary And Criticism
Have some burning thoughts on a trans character in your favorite (or least favorite) television show? Dying to air your grievances about the latest trend or cultural phenomenon burning through one or more LGBT social circles? We’d love your pieces. These could either be purely critical, or feel free to relate a film/book/TV show/event to some aspect of your own life.
Some examples:
Why Won’t Orange Is The New Black Acknowledge That Bisexuals Exist?
No, Queer Women Aren’t “Just Experimenting”
Remembering Lesley Gore, A Lesbian Icon
Self-Portrait Of The Artist As Ungrateful Black Writer
Kristen Stewart’s Dating Life And The Last Tabloid Taboo
Interviews/Profiles Of Celebrities And Other Important Figures
This is one area we’re especially eager to see more pitches for. BuzzFeed LGBT is interested in running fully-imagined profiles of queer and trans celebrities, thinkers, politicians, creators, artists, and other trailblazers, both established and up-and-coming. We’re excited to elevate the voices and experiences of LGBT people by exploring various aspects of their lives and careers, which are certainly impacted by — but are not limited to — their LGBT identity.
These could take the form of full profiles or more straightforward interviews with a creative twist — either of a single person, or a group which represents a certain trend.
Some examples:
Becoming Christine And The Queens
Teen Sues School District In Potentially Key Federal Case For Transgender Rights
Tegan And Sara Break Down “So Jealous” 10 Years Later
Reported Features
Another area where BuzzFeed LGBT is looking to expand further: reported features that dig deep into a particular event, story, or cultural movement, where there’s enough material to warrant spending more time reporting and going #longform with the final product.
Some examples:
This Veteran’s Job Was Discharging Gay Sailors In The Navy — But He Had A Secret
Coming Out As Gay In Elementary School
How College Wrestling Star "Tiger Mandingo" Became An HIV Scapegoat
Born In Between: Should Doctors Operate On Intersex Babies?
Not every pitch will fit into one of these frames, and some will fit in multiple — we’re always up for experimentation, so if you have an intriguing, outside-of-the-box idea, pitch it!
We’re particularly seeking pitches from writers of color and trans and gender non-conforming writers. We’re also looking for more graphic essays, humor, and photo essays.
Do You Pay?
Yep!
How To Pitch
Email LGBT Editor Shannon Keating at shannon.keating@buzzfeed.com with a few clear paragraphs explaining your topic/argument, your method of approach, and why you think BuzzFeed LGBT readers would be interested. Pitches in the bodies of emails only, please.
Also include a few lines about who you are, links to some of your past work, and why you’re the best person to write this story.
Word count varies; we’ll work with each writer on what would make the most sense for a particular piece. Typically stories are somewhere between 800 and 2,000 words.
PLEASE don’t submit your pitch to more than one outlet — if you need a quick reply, indicate that your pitch is time sensitive in the subject of your email.