Write for Aeon

How to pitch an Essay to Aeon

Since 2012, Aeon has established itself as a unique digital magazine, publishing some of the most profound and provocative thinking on the web. We ask the big questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on science, philosophy, society and the arts.

Our signature format at Aeon is the Essay, a longform, deep dive into a topic, generally 2,500-5,000 words, presented from a unique angle, drawing together various strands of knowledge and experience, and written with clarity and verve to make ideas accessible to a curious and intelligent general reader.

Who writes for Aeon? Most of our Essays are written by academic experts, but certainly not all. If you are not an academic, but have significant professional or practical expertise in your field, don’t hesitate to bring us a great idea for an Essay. We also strongly encourage younger and emerging scholars, especially outside the US and the UK, to pitch Essay ideas to us, even if you don’t have much experience in writing outside of the academy. We love working with enthusiastic and dedicated writers with exciting, new ideas, and we’re good mentors.

The editing process:

• We’re known for our exacting, intensive editing process. If you write for us, you can expect to write 3-5 drafts of your essay, which will also be professionally factchecked and copyedited.
• If you don’t feel comfortable with being edited and responding to factchecking queries, then it’s probably better not to pitch to us.
• The whole process generally takes about 3 months from submitting a good first draft until publication.
• Your pitch will be assigned to one of our commissioning editors who will be your principal point of contact throughout the process.

A successful Essay:

• explores a subject of perennial interest, meaning that it can be read at any time, rather than being linked to a topical news story;
• is cosmopolitan in scope, so that it can be read anywhere in the world; and
• aligns with our values of pluralism and inclusivity.

A successful pitch:

• clearly, boldly and briefly outlines the Essay’s argument;
• makes the case for why the Essay is worth reading; and
• demonstrates your expertise in the subject and a real passion for what you’re going to write about.

To get a better sense of what we’re looking for, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with Aeon’s archives, where you will find examples of the Aeon Essay format and the range of topics we cover.

Please note that we are interested in receiving pitches, not completed drafts. We are not looking for rebuttals to previous pieces, news commentary or book reviews. As we receive a high volume of pitches, we cannot respond to every enquiry. We’ll be in touch if we’d like to pursue your Essay idea.

Terms and conditions for authors

See our Author Terms.

Payment:

• For writers whose principal income is from their writing, we pay a freelance fee.
• For all others, we pay an honorarium.
• If your pitch is successful, we will let you know details of the relevant fee for your country of residence before you sign a contract.

If you have a pitch for a completed short documentary, or have any additional video inquiries, please email contact.video@aeon.co