Washingtonian Magazine’s no-nonsense, no-fluff style wins over the hearts of 150,000 highly educated, well-paid readers each month. It’s been around since 1965, and ever under the same editor, Jack Limpert. Through over 40 years of publication, the magazine brings Washington-area residents and visitors meaty articles about art, culture, food and dining, travel, news, politics, jobs, education, and more. (http://www.washingtonian.com)
You’ll find reviews of both mainstream and independent films and plays, an events calendar full of culturally rich activities, and pages upon pages of restaurant profiles – from the region’s best, most expensive French restaurant to the cheapest eats around town. What you won’t find is filler.
Though the magazine covers both serious and light topics, Limpert makes it clear in the writer’s guidelines that he only wants articles that have a solid point. He also mentions that since the readership is mostly well-educated (half of the readers have a graduate degree), “you do not have to write down to the reader.”
One thing I like about this magazine, from a writer’s perspective, is that the writer’s guidelines are full of advice and tips. Limpert is very specific about what he wants and outlines what he thinks is a good magazine article. Even if you’ve no interest in writing for this magazine, you should give these guidelines a read – they’re full of valuable writing advice.
If you do want to write for Washingtonian, once you’ve read the guidelines carefully, send your query or fully-written story to Limpert with some background information about yourself. He doesn’t mention clips, but it can’t hurt to send two or three links to pieces you’ve had published.
Washingtonian publishes stories between 50 and 20,000 words in length, according to the subject and where they appear in the magazine. This hardly gives you a target story length to aim for, so Limpert suggests you write what you think is the optimum length for your article, and always ask if you have any doubts.
Payment is 75 cents per word upon publication.
You’ll find the writer’s guidelines here: http://www.washingtonian.com/writers-guidelines/
Send queries and submissions to:
Assistant Editor
The Washingtonian
1828 L St., NW, Washington, DC 20036
Or: editorial@washingtonian.com
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.]
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