Re: we are taking interest in your idea...

Nov 06, 2020

Welcome to the second edition of Missed Pitches, a home for rejected ideas. I am still getting a handle on how to format this newsletter and working through the first batch of submissions, which I am featuring today.

For editors: If you’re an editor who is looking for story pitches from writers, make your life easier and subscribe to this newsletter to get a weekly batch of story ideas not yet published.

For writers: If you are a writer who has a rejected idea and have not yet submitted to this newsletter, use this Google Form to have your idea featured here. Follow on Twitter at @MissedPitches. Read the previous edition here. Cheers! // rungomez

Hiking with baby goats (by Taylor Jennings, tnj235@nyu.edu)
I spent $1,000 to fly home during a pandemic to reunite with my boyfriend. Then he dumped me (by Jessica Ramos, jayaramos@outlook.com)
Two note Samba (by Gabriel da Silva-Schicchi, gabrielschicchi@gmail.com)
Holocaust education in American schools is rapidly expanding (by Isabel Funk, isabel.funk4@gmail.com)
Why the architect of marriage equality worries about the new U.S. Supreme Court (by Mike De Socio, mike@mikedesocio.com)
Freelance opportunities
Writing jobs
Writing contests

The following rejected story pitches have been lightly edited for space and clarity.

Hiking with baby goats (by Taylor Jennings, tnj235@nyu.edu)

The last thing I did before the quarantine was go hiking with baby goats. In my reported personal essay about the event, I interview goat fanatics like inventor of Original Goat Yoga, Lainey Morse, about her love of goats and why she thinks people gravitate towards them. And in an era of endless Zoom calls, I speak with other agro-tourism businesses on how they've adapted to the pandemic. Spoiler: You can now have a goat Zoom bomb your work meeting.

I spent $1,000 to fly home during a pandemic to reunite with my boyfriend. Then he dumped me (by Jessica Ramos, jayaramos@outlook.com)

I finally reunited with my boyfriend in Spain after spending three months of long-distance and $1,064 for a one-way 12-hour flight back. When I arrived, he dumped me two hours into our reunion.

I'd like to discuss my experience being in a long-distance intercultural relationship during a pandemic, how it has and continues to negatively affected my mental health, the experience of traveling during a pandemic to be with my boyfriend, and of course, the break up.

Two note Samba (by Gabriel da Silva-Schicchi, gabrielschicchi@gmail.com)

Because of your interest in voice-centered and place-specific stories with cross-cultural themes, I feel you could be a perfect fit for my upmarket novel, Two Note Samba.

Told from multiple perspectives, it's the story of Olivia Strathouse, a depressed country star setting off for a concert in Rio de Janeiro. Tagging along is her husband, Cole, still burning with boyish infatuation for her after twelve years of marriage but consumed with quiet resentment. The carnivalesque surroundings bring out their worst qualities, and after getting lost in the slums, Olivia escapes her bleak reality through sex and alcohol. A glamorous but mysterious Brazilian actress forces them both to confront their foibles, while she herself becomes a fugitive from the Brazilian government.

In our climate of stark social divisions and self-absorption, the conflicting perspectives and the nebula of good and bad intentions challenge the reader to empathize instead of picking a side. Two Note Samba runs a brisk 50,000 words across Rio over the course of one day, and would be ideal for reading groups. Its tone is most like that of Jennifer Egan, or Sofia Coppola films like Lost in Translation.

Holocaust education in American schools is rapidly expanding (by Isabel Funk, isabel.funk4@gmail.com)

More than a dozen states now legally require that the Holocaust be taught in public schools. Legislators, scholars and Jewish studies experts told me this is because of a vast increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. Since 2014, the number of states with legislation requiring Holocaust education has more than doubled from five to 13. This isn’t limited to blue states — Kentucky is the first Southern state to take action. Over the past decade, the Anti-Defamation League reported a 64 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents. Oregon, Texas and Washington are among the most recent to follow suit.

I spoke with the 14-year-old girl behind Oregon’s legislation, a state representative from Washington and professors from across the country about this trend. Although the rise in anti-Semitism has been covered many times, this article explores a different angle: the way anti-Semitism is being addressed. Other articles on this subject have not looked holistically at the issue and all 12 states. In the current climate and as a young Jewish writer myself, I feel that educating the youth about “Never Again” and the history of how injustices are perpetrated is more important than ever.

I have a 1,300-word draft, but I am open to re-reporting and re-writing. Please let me know if you’d be interested. I have also included a few links to articles I have published for reference.

Why the architect of marriage equality worries about the new U.S. Supreme Court (by Mike De Socio, mike@mikedesocio.com)

Evan Wolfson was the architect of U.S. marriage equality. Now his legacy is on the line. Since 2015, marriage equality has been celebrated as the “law of the land,” but in reality it rests on a Supreme Court decision that can always be overturned or undermined. No one is more aware of that than the man who spent 20 years fighting for that victory as the leader of Freedom to Marry.

In this profile of Evan Wolfson, who has already agreed to speak with me, I would explain how Wolfson engineered the fight for marriage equality in the first place, why that achievement is now at risk, and what can be done to protect it.

Freelance Opportunities

via @Alyslice (Oct 22): We're looking for strong #freelance #tech reporters #Writers and #columnists to pitch @businessinsider @SAI @techinsider and cover the major players shaping the enterprise tech and VC/startup industry! Pitch me at akalish[at]businessinsider[dot]com.

via @cardplayerlife (Oct 28): PSA: Dear Freelance Poker Writers. I'm budgeting $1,200 between now and the end of the year for contributed features. Pitch me your stories: robbie@cardplayerlifestyle.com I know it's not "replacement income", but it's the best I can do. Let's see others follow suit.

via @shonaghosh (Nov 2): I am more broadly interested in the impacts of Google's platform power on consumers (another piece, from 2019) so if you're a freelance journalist with ideas, pitch me at sghosh@businessinsider.com

via @ecr_life (Nov 4): Do you have a hard time putting your emotions and/or opinions into words, but find yourself with an urge to speak out on a certain topic? We would like to help you find your voice. Submit your pitch to us here: https://ecrlife.org/contact/

via @FPSWeekly (Nov 5): Have a commentary you'd like to pitch to us? Check out our Contribute page to see how! http://firstpersonscholar.com/contribute/