Thanks for your interest in pitching stories for Foodism and Escapism. We want you to write for us! Here, you’ll find some guidelines and information on how to pitch.
Foodism and Escapism Guidelines
We currently pay for print-first features and travel guides, which are then repurposed online. Familiarize yourself with our past Foodism and Escapism issues, and any upcoming themes.
Please check to see if we’ve already covered the topic or destination recently. If we have, what new angle/perspective can you bring? Oh, and a little humour and familiarity with our brand voice goes a long way.
In your pitch email, tell us…
- About yourself and describe the story and its original hook in a brief paragraph.
- Be as specific as possible. Does your story require reporting or sources? Tell us who they are.
- Include any of your past, relevant writing examples.
- Please send all pitches with the word PITCH (yes, all-caps) in your subject line to: katie.bridges@twentytwomedia.ca
Any pitches must be previously unpublished work — even if it’s on your personal blog.
What to pitch
The Food Feature
Flat rate of $600 for 1,200 – 1,500 words
We have limited features in print every year. For Foodism, we’re interested in original stories that explore Toronto’s diverse and layered food scene, from where local chefs go for a bite after their shift ends, to what’s on offer at a new Asian night market, and one Toronto writer’s journey to find Pakistani food reminiscent of her childhood. This is an opportunity to dive deeper than a listicle or roundup.
Topics can also zoom out to explore wider themes (but should still have a Toronto connection) like why is Canada’s wine industry so white? If you’ve observed a trend like aquavit showing up on Toronto’s bar menus, asked if “ethical” foie gras exists, or noticed food culture moments like overlooked suppliers, show us how it’s relevant now and why it’s worth a deeper dive with examples, and your own point of view or critique.
We are also interested in features that take a closer look at region-specific food and beverages and their makers within Canada, like these winemakers in the Oliver-Osoyoos wine region, or abroad, like that time our editor ate cheese in the Azores for five days. This brings us to our next feature…
The Travel Feature
Flat rate of $600 for 1,200 – 1,500 words
We love travel so much that we include travel features in both Escapism and Foodism. For Escapism, features don’t have to have a food or beverage angle, but they do need a unique perspective like how (and more importantly why) would one hike up Mount Fuji with a lung infection?
Eating and drinking is always a big part of travel, but we want to know what makes your gastronomic endeavour or epicurean adventure so special? What was it like when you ditched the all-inclusive resorts and discovered Mexico’s underrated wine scene in Valle de Guadalupe? Or found out how Tucson became UNESCO’s first city of gastronomy?
What we don’t want to see: “I went/am going to [insert name of any place in the world here]. That is a place, not a pitch. What makes said place relevant/exciting now? What is it that you want readers to know about this place that they can’t already find with a quick Google search?
The Travel Guide
These are around 500 words and up, and we pay $0.40 per word.
Our travel guides are less about first-person experiences in longform, and more about what to see, eat and do in a given destination, like Anguilla or Saint Martin. However, we still want to hear your voice and personality come through in these pieces.
If you could provide tourism contacts/media kits/images of the destination, that would be wonderful, but not necessary.
Lastly, if your pitch doesn’t fit in these guidelines, it may still be something we’re interested in! Let us know by sending us a pitch of your fleshed-out idea.