Thank you for your interest in working with DRAFT Magazine and its editorial team. DRAFT prides itself on providing its audience with current, accurate and creative coverage of beer and other areas of life enjoyed by our readers, and we’re delighted you’re interested in contributing. Please follow our guidelines below when submitting editorial queries.
- DRAFT does not accept pre-written stories of any kind. Writers interested in contributing to DRAFT must submit a formal pitch/query, and all freelance work must be pitched to, accepted and assigned by a DRAFT editor.
- Formal pitches should be no more than a page, and should include your story idea, a basic outline of what you’d cover, sources you plan to include, and any additional pertinent information you think we may want to know when considering your pitch for an assignment.
- All queries should be accompanied by a link to or PDFs of two published writing samples. Unpublished samples will not be considered.
- DRAFT does not consider previously published works of any kind.
- Like most magazines, DRAFT’s editors work at least four months in advance. Please keep timeliness in mind when pitching.
- DRAFT does not require writers to be cicerone- or BJCP-certified.
- Direct pitches to: Editorial, editorial [at] draftmag [dot] com. Due to the heavy number of queries we receive, DRAFT regrets that its editors cannot respond to most pitches right away; if after submitting a pitch, you haven’t received a response in four weeks, feel free to follow up.
WHAT TO PITCH
Though many pitches have merit, DRAFT can only assign and publish the most tightly focused, error-free queries that meet our needs and guidelines. Pitches need not be beer-centric, but those that are should focus on beer/brewery news, trends and ideas, rather than the technical aspects of brewing and/or profiles. Aside from beer, we happily accept pitches on topics ranging from food, sports (both professional and leisure), travel, and many other topics. Whatever the focus, it must appeal to DRAFT’s audience, and should cover a new idea or story, or provide a unique angle on a topic that’s already received media attention. The scope of your query should be national; even if you’re pitching a “Brewery Spotlight,” the subject should appeal to readers across the country, rather than existing patrons or local readers. Any story assigned must be researched and reported by you (e.g., quotes should be taken from interviews you conduct yourself), so be sure to give us examples of the sources you’ll consult in your pitch.
WHAT NOT TO PITCH
DRAFT does not consider pitches on beer reviews; reviews are conducted by DRAFT’s expert tasting panels. Pitches on event coverage will also not be considered. DRAFT almost never accepts first-person tales for publication. Finally, we generally do not accept pitches on brewery profiles; simply existing is not news. We do, however, consider profiles of new and/or newsmaking companies or figures.