Publication: Modern Love (The New York Times)
Topic(s): Personal essays, love, modern relationships, marriage, dating, heartbreak, identity, sexuality, culture, family dynamics
Rate: ~$500 per published essay
Deadline: 30 June 2026

Modern Love, one of the most influential personal essay platforms globally, is commissioning true stories centered on contemporary love and relationships. This includes narratives on finding love, losing it, sustaining it, and navigating emotional complexity in modern life.

The publication operates across multiple formats including a column, podcast, book, and television adaptation, but remains rooted in deeply personal storytelling. Writers are expected to submit real-life experiences shaped by emotional conflict or a central relational dilemma.

Themes commonly explored include adoption, polyamory, digital-age dating, race, sexuality, friendship, disability, religion, and shifting cultural expectations around intimacy. Submissions are strongest when they are anchored in a clear personal turning point or moral/emotional tension.

The editorial direction strongly favors authenticity and lived experience. All submissions must be entirely factual with no fictionalization, composite characters, or altered identities. Previously published work is not accepted.

Writers must submit essays between 1,500 and 1,700 words via email. Selected pieces undergo editorial collaboration prior to publication, and accepted contributors are compensated upon publication.

The platform is particularly open to diverse voices, with strong encouragement for submissions from Black and Indigenous writers, writers of color, LGBTQ+ communities, and international contributors outside the United States.

Response times typically range from 3 to 4 months due to high submission volume. There is no need for follow-ups.