By Susan W. Clark
Far more than birds fill the pages of Audubon Magazine; and if you haven’t looked lately, you should definitely put this highly-rated publication on your target list. Recent articles have covered topics like eco-friendly wines, the collapse of global fisheries, and supporting wind power. As an Oregonian, I immediately noticed the feature on the Opal Creek Wilderness, a place not far from Portland that Audubon Editor David Seideman has visited many times.
This is a top-rung publication with a huge audience. Audubon Magazine has half a million readers for its quarterly issues. The American Association of Magazine Editors (ASME) has often nominated it for the “Ellies,” and it is in the finalists again this year. I didn’t see any other green magazines in the list of finalists, so this is the top of our green markets.
Stories that will interest this elite publication will deal with how humans and nature are connecting or colliding: balanced reporting on the environment, stories about birds or other animals and their habitats, and examples of how people are working to understand and protect the natural world. The emphasis will need to be on a fresh perspective or new topic you can write about extraordinarily well.
Columns and departments include “Field Notes” (50-400 words), “Audubon at Home” (1500 words related to backyard projects), “Profiles” (300-2000 words on fascinating people), and “Journal” (1000-2000 words of personal essay). Features range from 2000-4000 words and need to be new and surprising to the well-educated, affluent readers.
Send your brief query along with clips and an SASE to the Editor-in-Chief, David Seideman, 700 Broadway, New York NY 10003. Guidelines clearly state that only hard copy queries will be accepted. Audubon Magazine pays on acceptance, with rates that vary depending on who you are as well as the article you write.
Why not set a goal of finding the perfect story for Audubon Magazine and getting into one of the very best publications on the market?
Photographer, editor, and award-winning writer, Susan W. Clark is an ardent advocate for sustainability. The Utne Reader applauded her article “Sustainable Revolution” from In Good Tilth magazine as “world-changing.” She is a regular contributor to In Good Tilth and Touch the Soil. Her work has appeared in the Capitol Press, Portland Tribune, Small Farmer’s Journal, and Permaculture Activist. She edits Salt of the Earth, the quarterly journal of Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust. Her observations about living within our ecological means are posted at http://susanwclark.wordpress.com.
