Publication: New Lines Magazine
Topics: North Africa, Francophone West Africa, reportage, culture, history, underreported stories
Rate (USD): $600 for Spotlight; $800 for regular essays, with flexibility for exceptional access or multimedia
Deadline: No deadline
Editor: Erin Clare Brown, North Africa Editor
Submit Via: Email — ebrown@newlinesmag.com
New Lines Magazine is seeking freelance pitches for stories running in November, December, and January, with a particular focus on North Africa and Francophone West Africa.
The editor is especially interested in stories from Algeria, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania, but strong ideas from elsewhere in the region may also be considered.
The publication is looking for hard-hitting, enlightening reportage that explores subjects and places traditional media often overlook.
For this pitch call, the editor specifically says she is already receiving plenty of stories about conflict, migration, and climate change. Writers should therefore look for fresher subjects and unexpected angles.
What New Lines Magazine Is Looking For
Strong pitches could explore:
- Underreported cultural phenomena
- Fascinating historical stories
- Unexpected people and communities
- Investigative or deeply reported features
- Strange or surprising real-world stories
- Social and cultural trends
- Stories involving unusual access or characters
- History that reveals surprising connections between places
- Grassroots movements and overlooked communities
- Emerging cultural trends before they become mainstream
The key is the New Lines approach: ambitious reporting, strong characters, unusual premises, rich context, and a story that makes the editor want to know more.
The editor highlights stories ranging from a Dutch drug kingpin establishing himself in Sierra Leone to investigations into the Congo’s dinosaur legends, grassroots resistance to Boko Haram in Chad, and the history of Moroccan communities in Vietnam.
Spotlight Newsletter
The editor is also accepting pitches for Spotlight, New Lines Magazine’s newsletter covering underreported news and cultural trends from around the world.
Spotlight pieces generally run 1,500–1,800 words and should examine emerging ideas, events, or cultural developments before they become mainstream—or provide a fresh and fascinating way of understanding a topic already attracting attention.
Recent examples have covered Nigerian Twitch streamers and the long-running controversy surrounding Georges Abdallah.
How to Pitch New Lines Magazine
Send your pitch by email to ebrown@newlinesmag.com.
Use “PITCH” + your proposed headline in the subject line.
Put the entire pitch directly in the body of the email. Do not send attachments.
Include several relevant clips from your previous work. The editor particularly wants to see clips of 1,500 words or longer, so prioritize substantial reported pieces when selecting your samples.
Most importantly, pitch a story you can genuinely report. Strong access, original sources, local knowledge, unusual expertise, and compelling characters can significantly strengthen an idea.
The editor has also specifically warned writers not to submit AI-generated pitches. Your pitch should reflect your own reporting, voice, ideas, and knowledge of the story.
Pitching Tip
Don’t pitch a broad topic such as “the changing culture of Morocco.”
Instead, find the specific person, phenomenon, community, conflict, historical connection, or unexpected development that makes the story impossible to ignore.
A strong New Lines pitch should ideally make the editor think: “Wait, what?”
If you can combine that surprising premise with credible reporting access and meaningful context, you have a much stronger chance of getting attention.
