Contributor Guidelines

Broad-interest, multi-sport adventure athletes with an enthusiast mindset. They want AJ to be an escape, a happy place, a reliable home for the best the outdoor world has to offer. Age, gender, and demographics are irrelevant. Our readers share a mindset of openness to the world, curiosity about what's out there, and a willingness to accept uncertainty and discomfort in the pursuit of discovery.

Experienced, knowing, warm, optimistic, friendly, thoughtful.

• Layered, well-considered narratives with universal appeal, whatever the core subject
• Solutions-oriented service stories
• Stories that place their subjects within larger contexts
• Some of the best outdoor, nature, and wildlife photography in the world — portfolios, photo projects, photo essays

• Gear reviews
• Trip reports
• Doom, melancholy, climate angst, or politics
• Events, records, and personal accomplishments

• Stories about the frontiers of adventure, exploration, science, environment, and wildlife
• Stories set anywhere but the American West
• A broader diversity of voices — though never at the expense of narrative quality. AJ is wide open and welcoming whatever your gender, sexual orientation, background, or anything else. For editorial purposes, we don't care how you identify — we just want your best adventure stories.

Send an email to [email protected] with a short pitch. Include a headline/dek combination that frames the story. We do not assign essays to writers we haven't worked with previously; if your story or essay is already written, include it along with any supporting imagery.

Please do not send simultaneous pitches to multiple outlets.

Do not indent the first paragraph. Indent all subsequent paragraphs except the first graf after a section break. No line breaks between grafs. Spell out all numbers unless doing so feels absurd. Merriam-Webster is our reference for spelling.

Your draft should include suggestions for what to include on the subject's Resources page, plus a short bio. Feel free to reference current and larger projects, such as books. Provide any personal URLs you'd like listed — portfolio, socials, etc.

Drafts filed significantly over the assigned length will be returned for trimming.

Stories are paid upon acceptance.

Writers retain copyright to their original work. This is not a work-for-hire arrangement. You are welcome to publish your story elsewhere 90 days after the issue's on-sale date.

Photo usage fees are paid within 30 days of printing.