High Country News - For people who care about the West

Submission Guidelines

High Country News, a nonprofit, magazine that focuses on environmental, cultural, and social issues in the Western United States, is always looking for new voices for our pages and website.

We will consider well-researched stories on any natural resource or environmental topic, as long as it concerns the West. We define “resources” to include people, politics, culture and aesthetic values — not just coal, oil and timber. Keep in mind that we have an 11-state region to cover in a small news space; we want local stories that have significance across the entire region and that can be told in ways that go beyond what the daily newspapers report.

We welcome queries from writers familiar with High Country News. Our ideal articles include strong storytelling, compelling characters, a clear, jargon-free style, and a dedication to intellectual honesty. We want writers who can view topics with a critical eye and dig deeply into issues. We would also like our writers to be as diverse as the region they cover, and encourage Native American, Hispanic, and other minority journalists to send us queries.

We divide submissions into several general categories: “Book Reviews,” of about 350 words; “Roundups,” topical stories of about 800 words; features, generally from 2,000 to 4,000 words, of which we print one or two per issue; and essays, of no standard length but generally under 1,000 words.

New writers should begin by sending a query for a book review or Roundup. Email queries are preferred; send to editor at hcn.org and include “Story Query” in the subject line.

Freelance rates for shorter pieces begin at 25 cents a word, but are adjusted depending on the quality of work, the editing required and the writer's working relationship with the paper. The standard rate for full-length features is 50 cents a word. Regular contributors usually receive higher rates than occasional writers. Payment is made upon publication.

Writers on the Range - Submission Guidelines

We are looking for taut, pithy, entertaining essays and opinion pieces based on the real-life experiences of Westerners. The piece should be no more than 750 words long and tied into current issues and events, though we will consider less current essays if they make strong statements about life in the West.

We are open to a wide range of philosophies, perspectives and styles, but are particularly interested in those that forward the project's goal: To nudge the West from a past of reckless land use, federal dependency and warring interests to a future of environmental responsibility, ecumenical self-governance and good neighbors.

Payment ranges from $100 to $200 per accepted piece. Some rewriting may be involved. Submissions should be in single-spaced plain text in the body of an e-mail, with “WOTR submission” and the title in the subject line. No attachments, please. Please email to Writers on the Range Editor Betsy Marston, betsym at hcn.org.

Photographic Guidelines

Solicited work:
High Country News accepts good quality color or black and white prints (8x10 preferred) and 35 mm negatives and slides. Electronic images are welcome, as well, and should be saved as JPEG files, at 300 dpi or higher at about 7 inches on the long side. Email as attached files to cindy at hcn.org.

All submissions should include the name of the photographer as it is to appear in the credit line and description of the place or name of the subject for the caption. Please also indicate whether HCN should return the photo after use or keep it for our files. We pay for each use. We also need your name, address and phone number for payment purposes and for our files.

Unsolicited work:
HCN will not return unsolicited photographs without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Rates:
Prices for individual photographs range from $35-$100 depending upon quality, published size, and location within the paper. HCN pays for work upon publication.

Contract:
High Country News' purchase includes the right to publish the photograph/art in High Country News, to collect the work in an electronic archive (currently on the World Wide Web), as well as the right to authorize reprinting for classroom use or for publication in small nonprofit newsletters. Other commercial uses of the work will be negotiated with the photographer/artist.

Responsibility:
HCN will take the best possible care of all submissions, but cannot assume responsibility for loss or damage. Please include your social security number with all submissions.

Mail photos to:
Cindy Wehling, Art Director
High Country News
PO Box 1090
Paonia, CO 81428

Multimedia Guidelines

We welcome a wide range of multimedia submissions. Please note that your submission will not be returned to you.  Do not send originals. Please do not email multimedia submissions.

Video:
Minimally compressed MOV, MiniDV.  16:9 aspect ratio preferred.

Audio:
Uncompressed AIFF or WAV, sampling rate of at least 44.1khz.

Photography:
JPG, TIF, RAW, no sharpening, in Adobe RGB color, with embedded metadata preferred.

Send submissions to:
Ryan Foster, Director of Digital Media
High Country News
PO Box 1090
Paonia, CO 81428