We’re commissioning 2,000–4,000-word pieces that:
- Tell a compelling story about how something works – or fails to work – in the developing world.
- Combine deep subject knowledge with accessible storytelling.
- Surface important but underreported trends, people, or institutions.
We’re especially interested in:
- Unexpected success stories: projects, entrepreneurs, or policies driving real change.
- Unexpected failures: what can we learn from development projects that didn’t work?
- Technological innovation: AI, energy, urban planning, or health breakthroughs in low- and middle-income countries.
- Institutional and policy experiments: from land titling to regulatory reform.
- Unusual empirical insights – we welcome all your graphs, charts, and cost-effectiveness analyses!
Our readers include policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in development. We are keen, when appropriate, to link to current or future policy debates.
Deadlines
We accept pitches on a rolling basis, but review at specific times. We will next review pitches beginning July 1, 2026.
What to Include in Your Pitch
Please send a short document (no more than one page) outlining:
- The core idea: What question or problem does your story explore?
- The angle: Why this story, now? What makes it surprising or illuminating?
- A brief bio. Include 1–2 links to previous work if available. This may be essays, academic work, or other examples of writing.
Send pitches to submissions@indevelopmentmag.com with the subject line: Pitch: [Your proposed headline]
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to respond to every pitch with feedback; if your pitch is accepted, we will be in touch within two weeks.
Payment and Process
Payment is $2,000 upon publication. In general, the editorial process will involve 2-3 rounds of revision, in addition to fact-checking and copy-editing; the process will likely take 1-2 months.