Smoky Mountains Living Magazine
From the Web Site:
Smoky Mountain Living is a quarterly, full-color publication dedicated to featuring the history and heritage of the Great Smoky Mountain region, its current culture, and a wide range of activities in sports, entertainment, environment, education, and the arts. We want to appeal to area residents, whet the appetites of those considering visiting or moving here, and encourage visitors to extend their stay.
Our region covers the High Country, Cherokee Indian Reservation and 12 Western North Carolina counties including Buncombe, Madison, Henderson, Transylvania, Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Cherokee, Clay, Macon, Avery and Graham. This area includes a large part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, Dupont State Forest, and others.
We focus on exciting developments in our region and explore the richness of what has been valued and maintained through the traditions of indigenous mountain people.
Feature articles: 1500 to 2000 words
Departments: 500 to 1000 words
Highlights: 400 words or lessENVIRONMENT AND OUTDOORS
Within the parks, along the Appalachian Trail, on the rivers and lakes, there’s a wealth of information and constant activities available. We look for well-written articles on outdoor activities and sports of all kinds and for solid, strong pieces on all aspects of our beautiful and varied environment from animals to plants to rivers, waterfalls, and trails.HERITAGE AND HISTORY
Outdoor drama, fascinating people from the past, or those who still remember it, museums, storytellers—we’re interested in everything from cemeteries to moonshine, from the history of the railroads to stories of the Civil War.ARTS AND CRAFTS
Our region specializes in preserving and honoring crafts and craftspeople and artists of all sorts.FAIRS AND FESTIVALS AND PERFORMING ARTS
There is a wealth of ongoing events in these areas and we look for pieces on everything from theaters and concert halls to fairs and folkmoot.PLACES
Towns in the region, as well as the many inns and wonderful gardens form the basis for these pieces.DEPARTMENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Similar to main pieces but shorter. We look for fascinating mountain people, restaurants, real estate, and sales highlights, recipes, interesting places to visit and things to do.SMOKY MOUNTAIN VIEWS
Short essay of approximately 500 words related in some way to life in the Smoky Mountains. We’re looking for light, philosophical, and funny.RIGHTS
Smoky Mountain Living Magazine buys exclusive First North American serial rights until the off-sale date of the issue in which the material is published, as well as exclusive rights to the work for promotional reprint and use.PAY
We pay from $25 (for departments and highlights) up to $350 for major pieces. Payment is upon publication.
From the Web Site:
BACKPACKER is a proud sponsor of Leave No Trace (check out our book, Leave No Trace, available from The Mountaineers Press). All articles and photos that appear in the magazine must adhere to Leave No Trace’s ecologically friendly practices. Likewise, we do not promote motorized use in the wilderness or backcountry.
Our readers are knowledgeable and experienced backpackers, therefore we accept only authentic, well-researched, well-crafted stories (see the section on “Accuracy,” below). We’re not interested in slavish imitations of stories we’ve already done. As always, you should carefully study several issues of the magazine before submitting a query. The best articles have style, depth, emotional impact, and take-away value for the reader.
We prefer queries to completed manuscripts. Please send emails with attachments and web links rather than mailing envelopes with letters and clips. We respond sooner to emails, and please include your own email address within the query. If you must mail a query and clips, include a SASE envelope if your samples must be returned. We are not responsible for unsolicited artwork, photographs, and manuscripts, so please don’t send originals or anything that you can’t afford to lose.
All BACKPACKER assignments are made in writing, and require a signed contract with you, the freelance author, in order to be valid. The contract will specify payment amount, payment terms, and rights purchased. In general, we pay on acceptance and buy all rights. We pay $.60 to more than $1.00 per word, depending upon the complexity and demands of the article, as well as the proven experience of the writer.
From the Web Site:
Our Scope
New Mexico Magazine is about the power of place — in particular this place: more than 120,000 square miles of mountains, desert, grasslands, and forest inhabited by a culturally rich mix of individuals. The magazine is an enterprise of the New Mexico Tourism Department, who strives to make potential visitors aware of our state’s multicultural heritage, climate, environment and uniqueness.Frequency and Demographics
New Mexico Magazine is published monthly and has more than 100,000 qualified readers. About one-third of our audience lives in the state. The rest live elsewhere in the country. On average, our out-of-state readers visit New Mexico twice a year.Stories We’re Looking For
We’re looking for story ideas about New Mexico experiences, with opinionated storytelling and a first-person point of view when appropriate. The story should capture a place in such a way that readers are inspired to follow in the writer’s footsteps. Therefore, they need to be about things our readers could (conceivably) do right now. For example: What’s it like to spend the night at a wolf sanctuary near Gallup? How does a person go about attending a bona fide mountain man gathering in the 21st century? Where are the best hot springs? What are the most fun small towns you’ve never heard of? We also put an emphasis on covering areas throughout the state.In each issue, we want to publish a lively editorial mix, covering both the down-home (like a diner in Tucumcari) and the upscale (maybe a new bistro in world-class Santa Fe). We also want to explore the gamut of the Old West and the New Age. History stories are great — our readers love them — but they should include information on how to enjoy a historic place in the present day.
Writers We’re Looking For
We’re looking for writers — both in New Mexico and elsewhere — who are adept at establishing a theme then sustaining a story with fresh eyes and true insight. We place a premium on good storytelling, tight composition, and factual accuracy. Also, we expect original work.Writers approaching us for the first time should begin by submitting ideas for the “Going Places” section.
Please submit your story idea along with a working head and subhead and a paragraph synopsis. Also include published clips and a short sum-up about your strengths as a writer. Once you throw your hat into the ring, our staff will consider your proposal as well as your potential to write stories we’ve conceptualized in house.
Rates and Specifics
Payment is processed upon acceptance. Pay is roughly 35-40 cents per word.