Look, we get a lot of emails. Some of them are pitches with genuinely interesting angles. Some are pre-written articles that have clearly already been sent to fifteen other publications. And some are just a single line that says, “Do you accept guest posts?” which, yes, obviously, is literally why this page exists.
So here is everything. Read it before you send anything.
What The Italian Journal Actually Is
We are not a travel brochure. We are not a tourism board newsletter. We are not a place where you send a listicle called “10 Reasons to Visit Rome This Summer” and expect us to publish it.
The Italian Journal covers culture, travel, history, food, fashion, design, business and world ideas. Italy is our lens, not a wall we don’t go beyond. Our readers are curious and well-travelled, and they read a lot. They can spot the difference between something written with real knowledge and something cobbled together based on a couple of Google searches. So we publish for the former kind of reader, which means we need the former kind of writer.
The tone here is conversational but not sloppy. Opinionated but grounded in fact. Personal where that adds something, not just for the sake of it. If you have read a few pieces on the site before pitching, you already know what we mean. If you have not, go spend twenty minutes there first. It will save everyone time.
What We Are Looking For
Strong reported pieces. First-person travel writing that goes somewhere most publications do not. Cultural analysis that actually has a point of view. Historical stories that connect something from the past to something happening right now. Business and innovation coverage, especially anything touching European markets, Italian industry, design, or the luxury space. Food writing that goes deeper than a restaurant review. Fashion coverage with a real editorial angle, not just trend rundowns.
Opinion pieces work here too, but they need to be argued properly. Having a strong opinion is not enough. You have to make the case.
A few things that do not work for us, and we are just going to say this plainly. Generic destination guides.
- Anything that reads like it was written for SEO first and readers second.
- Press release rewrites dressed up as features.
- Stories with no original reporting or original thinking behind them.
- If your piece could have been written by anyone who spent an afternoon on Wikipedia, it is probably not right for us.
Who Should Pitch
- Real journalists and freelance writers who have experience in covering the abovementioned topics.
- Travel writers who have actually traveled to the places they write about.
- Academics and researchers who are capable of making their knowledge comprehensible, but without dumbing it down.
- Professionals in food, fashion, design, architecture or business who have a genuine insider perspective and can write.
- People who have lived in or spent serious time in Italy and have something specific and honest to say about it.
You do not need a long list of publications behind your name. What you need is a good story and the ability to tell it.
Pitching vs. Sending a Full Draft
Both work, honestly. If you have a finished piece you feel is appropriate, send it along. If you want to check an idea before writing it, pitch it first. A pitch should take the form of two or three short paragraphs: what the piece is about, why it matters right now and why you’re the right person to write it. And quite literally, that is all we need to determine if the answer is yes, no or let us discuss the matter further.
Do not pitch it to us in a one-line e-mail with no detail and ask us to let you know if we’re interested. We cannot evaluate something that does not exist yet.
The Practical Stuff
Minimum length is 800 words. Most pieces that work well here run between 900 and 1,800 words. Longer is fine if the story genuinely needs the space. Longer is not fine if it is just padding.
Your piece needs to be original and unpublished. That means not on your blog, not on LinkedIn, not on Medium, not anywhere. We check. If it has been published somewhere before, it is not something we can use.
Use proper structure. Headers where they make sense. Paragraphs that are not the length of a college essay introduction. Writing that works on a phone screen, because most people are reading on one.
If you are citing statistics, studies or specific claims, link the source or refer to it clearly in the text. Do not just drop a number in without telling us where it came from.
No AI-generated content. We can usually tell. If a submission reads like something assembled rather than written, it goes in the trash. We are looking for a human voice, not a polished output.
Photos are welcome but not required. If you have strong images from a trip or a shoot that go with your piece, send them. Make sure you own the rights. We will not use images you pulled from somewhere without permission.
Include a short bio with your submission. Two to four sentences. Who you are, what you do, and where else your work has appeared, if relevant.
What Happens After You Send It
We read everything that comes in. You will hear back from us within five to seven business days. Sometimes faster. If we want to move forward with something, we will say so. If it is not the right fit, we will tell you that too. We do not ghost contributors.
We do edit accepted pieces. Sometimes lightly, sometimes more substantially. We will not change the core argument or the voice of your piece without talking to you. But expect editing. It is part of how this works.
Payment
We do not currently offer payment for contributions. What we do offer is a real editorial process, a published byline, and an audience that is genuinely engaged with the subject matter. If payment policy changes, this page will reflect that.
How to Submit
Send your pitch or completed piece to the editorial team through the contact page at theitalianjournal.com
Put “Contributor Submission“ in the subject line along with a brief description of the piece. Attach your draft as a Word doc or share a Google Doc link. Include your bio at the end of the document.
That is it. We look forward to reading what you send.