Call for submissions

Harvard Public Health’s mission is to publish impact journalism that explores ideas and approaches for tackling public health challenges. We maintain a rigorous focus on what works, what doesn’t, and why. Read more about Harvard Public Health.

How to pitch

Features. We seek stories about ideas and actions meant to improve public health, not treatment for individuals. Those stories could be scene-driven narratives, investigative reports, trend analyses, Q&As, riffs on emerging ideas, and more. Pitches should give a sense of who will be featured and why, how you will get access to those individuals, what supporting interviews will be conducted, what research will be cited, why the story matters now, and why you are the best person to write it. Our stories generally run between 750 and 3,000 words; pitches should typically not exceed 300 words.

Opinion pieces. We seek well-argued pieces that put forward the author’s clear point of view. Our opinion essays typically run 600 to 900 words and should focus on new ideas and approaches that could change health outcomes. We aim to spark dialogue and discussion – think dinner party, not lecture hall. Accordingly, strive for a conversational tone. We welcome writers from all backgrounds, but they must honor journalistic ethics. A good pitch will show, in one to two paragraphs, the argument for the idea, how it will create impact, whether any scientific evidence supports the argument, and why you are positioned to write about it with authority.

Submit your pitches using the form below.