Call for Pitches: The Art of Narrative Storytelling
Announcing a special collaboration with Creative Nonfiction magazine that gets at the heart of what makes a great story truly great.
It’s no secret: Over at Narratively we love us an extraordinarily told narrative. How could we not, with a name like ours!? But just what, and who, defines this style of true storytelling, and how do you pull it off… and when is the right time to do so (and why)? Since we wouldn’t dare to ponder these existential questions without major reinforcements, we’ve formed a literary dream team to help us take a crack. In partnership with Creative Nonfiction magazine and its esteemed founder, Lee Gutkind (a.k.a. the “Godfather behind creative nonfiction”), we’re very excited to announce our latest special series, The Art of Narrative Storytelling.
So, you’re probably thinking, what are we looking for exactly? We’re completely open-minded and invite you to interpret this theme in your own way! But here are a few thought-starters that have been bouncing around in our brains ever since we began contemplating this partnership with Lee and the Creative Nonfiction team: Did an obscure essay you once read in a long-defunct literary magazine change your life for reasons you’ve never been able to articulate until now? Have you always wanted to profile your narrative nonfiction hero and forge a previously uncharted path through their mysterious literary mind? Perhaps you had an aha moment while reporting undercover for your local alt weekly and won’t sleep until others learn from your writerly revelation.
Maybe you’ve discovered a mind-bending connection between the works of two masters who couldn’t possibly have met in this lifetime. Or, wait, we know: you’re currently in a secret laboratory conducting experiments on the dopamine hits (or whatever they are!) delivered to readers of longform!? Bonus points if you yourself were once the subject of a narrative nonfiction story and can talk about the bizarro sensation of reading about your own life unfurling in lyrical prose across thousands of words!
We’re open to reported longform pieces, memoir, profiles, Q&As or even some newfangled format that you think is destined to blow the world of narrative nonfiction wide open. Surprise, delight and educate us!
Rates: Rates for these stories will start at $1,500 per story.
Pitches Due: Monday, March 4.
Ready? Head over to our Submittable page and pitch away.
Yunuen Bonaparte is a photo editor based in Brooklyn. She’s been part of the Narratively family since 2017.
Can we resubmit pieces that weren’t picked in the memoir contest?
Will you be doing this again this year?