Midwestern Creativity in Action: Pitch Us a Story Idea

The Creativity News Desk is a cultural reporting and storytelling initiative covering the creative Midwest. We amplify Midwestern creativity and the voices of diverse Midwesterners. Our initiative constructs a new lens for the Midwest and its people—far beyond “flyover country.”


We work with freelance writers, photographers, videographers, and illustrators to cover stories of arts, culture, and creativity in the Midwest.


We accept story ideas through this pitch submission form year-round. Our team will contact those with selected pitches within 2-4 weeks via email. Creatives contracted to produce stories are compensated at competitive rates.


To help you with your pitch:

 

The Creativity News Desk is published by Arts Midwest, a U.S. Regional Arts Organization serving the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, the Native Nations that share this geography, and beyond. 











Here, we’ll ask some questions about your idea. If you’re the writer for this story, this doesn't necessarily bind you to cover it exactly as written here; final story plans will be solidified in discussion with the Arts Midwest team.


Arts Midwest seeks to platform content that expands the idea of that it means to be a Midwesterner and highlights diverse voices across our region, including but not limited to stories created of, by, and for people of color, Native communities, and rural communities.





Here we ask you if you'll be the person writing the story, if the pitch is selected. If so, you’ll provide links to up to three work samples and/or a portfolio so we can get an idea of your range of work. Work samples do not have to be published works, but should show your reporting, interviewing, and writing skills.













Arts Midwest values diversity of lived experience and seeks to be inclusive and accessible to all applicants. For this reason, we ask you to select the following self-identifiers. Race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and age do not determine eligibility to participate. The following questions are optional but will help us to determine if we are building toward our diversity objectives for storytelling. 

How would you describe your race and/or ethnicity? These categories are defined by the U.S. Census. Select all that apply.


How would you describe your race and/or ethnicity? These categories are defined by the U.S. Census. Select all that apply.







By submitting any stories, ideas, suggestions, or other materials (collectively, “Ideas”) to Arts Midwest, you agree to the following: