How to pitch JRNY Travel Magazine

We're making changes to the magazine: here's what you need to know

For the last few months, we’ve been busy working away behind the scenes at JRNY to make significant changes to the magazine, which will be in place from Issue 11 (June 2025) onwards. The whys and hows of this probably deserve their own post, so I won’t go into them now – but there are a few changes that are worth knowing about if you want to send me a pitch for the magazine.

First off though, a disclaimer: please read this entire post before you pitch me. That way, you won’t waste your own or my time. And please, please, don’t pitch me asking if I’m looking for certain destinations – just take a chance and send that pitch.

This is an open-ended pitch call, which means that you don’t have to rush to send me anything – you can send me a pitch at any point. So (please) don’t feel you have to rush your way to my inbox, particularly if your idea for a story isn’t quite fully formed as yet.

What we’re looking for

I always describe what we publish here at JRNY as ‘stories about lesser-known places and new takes on more familiar ones’. Here’s a few more specifics:

• A clear focus. So don’t pitch a story about a whole country to me – pitch a story about one aspect of or one place in the country that you think is interesting. Make it clear in your pitch what that is – Food? Culture? Wildlife? I need to be able to clearly see what you’re going to be writing about

• Excellent, inquisitive and inclusive writing that includes local voices

• Diversity. I strive to include at least 50% female writers in each issue, but I also know that I have a long way to go when it comes to commissioning underrepresented writers. If you are from an underrepresented group, please do not let a shortage of bylines put you off pitching me

• Achievable travel. It doesn’t have to always be affordable to the majority of our readers (though that does help!), but you shouldn’t be writing about an experience that can’t be booked or recreated by the general public

• Sustainable and ethical travel. Now, more than ever, we all need to be thinking about how we travel, both in terms of how we get to a destination and what we do when we are there. Be aware too of greenwashing, and bear in mind that sustainability isn’t just about methods of travel; community plays a huge role, from the impact of the tourist trade (not to mention overtourism) to how (and whether) the tourist dollar finds its way to local people.

Changes to JRNY content

The new version of the magazine will include a few different regular sections to previously. Some of these will be produced in house, but those open to freelancers include:

• City (non-UK; 800 words)

• Food & drink (800 words)

• UK short breaks (800 words; note that I am also commissioning longer, UK-based features)

In addition, we will be looking to include stories that fall into the following categories: obscure/unknown destinations; adventure; sustainability (though, as before, I’d urge you to include sustainability as standard in your work); wildlife; luxury travel; and budget travel. Note though that our stories will not be limited to these categories – so please do still pitch even if your angle doesn’t fit neatly into one of these.

When it comes to European content, I am keen to move towards at least 50% of the articles we publish being off the back of a trip done using flight-free travel. As you can expect, most of what I get pitched involves flying, so if you can get somewhere without doing so, make sure you tell me.

Not familiar with what we publish?

You can buy print and digital copies of the magazine here – or subscribe here. A digital subscription is only £5 for a whole year. Bargain.

Alternatively, you can access some of our previous articles here. I’d always recommend checking out our style before you pitch us as it’s quite different to a lot of other publications.

What we won’t commission

• Destinations in conflict zones or that the FCDO advises against travelling to; there are also a number of destinations, including but not limited to the UAE and Saudia Arabia, which I am very unlikely to commission stories on

• Interviews

• Opinion pieces

• One-off events

• Listicles

• Cruises – the exception to this are small-scale and sustainable options

• Spas or wellness retreats

• Sports tourism

• Pet-friendly/focused travel

• News-based or time-limited content

When we publish and how far ahead we commission

We currently publish three issues a year: February, June and November. I usually have an issue’s content tied up around four months before going to press (which is generally a few weeks before it hits the shelves); most of my commissioning happens a lot further in advance.

At the time of writing, the majority of what I am currently commissioning is for our 2026 issues.

Article length, rates and payment

Going forward, most of our articles will be between 800 and 1,500 words; the exception is our 2,000-word cover story, which will usually be something we reach out to someone about.

We currently pay £0.20 per word and also pay for any photographs used. Payment is made on publication.

A note about payment on publication: I appreciate that payment on publication, particularly when submission is months ahead of publication, is far from ideal. But we’ve had to move onto this model in order to make our finances work – we rely on bringing in money via advertising (as well as subscriptions), and so need to be paid for that before we can pay contributors. As a result, if I am commissioning something for an issue that’s far in advance, I’ll give the writer a choice of a long deadline or a short one – the long one is obviously in line with when I’m most likely to edit for that allocated issue (usually about three months before publication), but I offer the short one as well in case the writer is in a position where they’d prefer to write it sooner. With the latter option, there’s always the chance that we might have space come up that we need to fill in an earlier issue, and so if the article is ready we can slot it in (and get the writer paid sooner!), but of course there's no guarantee of that happening.

How to pitch

Please include the following:

• A potential headline

• A short overview of the story (no more than 250 words)

• Flag if your story matches any of the sections or categories mentioned above (not required but good to know)

• Details on how and when you’ll research it. Be sure to mention if you’re not travelling by plane to reach the destination, or if you live there

• If you’re travelling independently or on a group press trip

• When you could submit by

• If you have photos taken with a DSLR or Mirrorless camera (not a dealbreaker but good to know), or if the PR or tour operator would be able to provide photos

• A line or two (assuming we’ve not previously worked together) about your writing experience, with links to recent articles.

(More information about pitching can be found in my two posts on pitching here and here.)

Pitches should be addressed to me, Emma Gibbs, at emma@jrnymag.com, with “PITCH” in the subject line, plus the destination and/or potential headline.

Responses and chasing up

I try to respond to every pitch that ends up in my JRNY inbox, but things often fall through the cracks – particularly when I’m in the thick of an edit or busy with other projects (which is often – JRNY is just one of the jobs I do as a freelancer). If it’s been a week or two and you’ve heard nothing, please do feel free to chase me up.

Note that I can’t always give detailed feedback on rejections; if it’s a ‘no’ but you want to pitch more stories, I’d suggest sending them as new emails rather than tagging them onto an email chain.

Deadline for pitches

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth reiterating – there is none! Yes, there will be times when I can’t commission something just because I don’t have space, but my inbox is always open to pitches.

Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment on this article and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.