CONTRIBUTOR GUIDELINES
Alaska Airlines Magazine is the monthly in-flight magazine for Alaska Airlines, reaching more than 1.8 million travelers in Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Western Canada and 10 cities in Mexico each month. Recent additions include Denver, Chicago, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Orlando and Hawaii. Our mission is to inform and entertain a well-educated, sophisticated and affluent audience. We produce a superior magazine with high-quality writing and striking photography.We look for writing with vivid visual images, anecdotes and a strong narrative flow. We are interested in writers who can cover business with insight and style; local writers who can lend inside perspective to our destination and travel columns; journalists who write with a sense of humor, though we do not publish a humor column.
Alaska Airlines Magazine is 75 percent freelance written. The best way for writers to get started with the magazine is to send clips of previously published work and a well-written query that includes a sample lead that represents the direction, tone and style proposed for the story. The query should demonstrate advance research and original thought on the part of the writer.
The Journal column is the best way to break into Alaska Airlines Magazine. Journal is a collection of short pieces that range from business personality profiles to new museum exhibits in cities served by Alaska Airlines. Stories might examine business trends and contemporary corporate issues; notable artists or influential community leaders. The emphasis should be on subjects of broad appeal, presented in lively prose.
Other departments and columns cover travel destinations, personalities, technology, sports, education, personal investing, architecture and a range of other topics. In most cases, we focus on subjects and sources within the Alaska Airlines route system. We look to localize stories to the West Coast.
We are not interested in fiction, poetry or book reviews at this time.
Features are on assignment only. We rarely work on spec, and we seldom buy unsolicited manuscripts. If you take your own photographs, please ask for our photography guidelines.
Assignments are acknowledged by written contract. Alaska Airlines Magazine pays within 30 days of publication, buying First North American Rights, with reprint rights. We pay a kill-fee of one-third the contracted price. Rates begin at $150 to $250 for short articles in the Journal section, or for restaurant and hotel reviews (300 to 800 words); $150 for business shorts (500 words); $500 for columns (1,600 words); and $700 for features (2,000 to 2,500 words). Expenses, if agreed to in advance, are paid on invoice. Expenses and rates vary in special circumstances.
All queries should be written and we prefer to receive them by standard mail; we will not accept pitches over the telephone. Features should be queried about six months in advance. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You will receive a written response within six weeks. Please do not send original artwork or slides, as we cannot be responsible for their receipt, or their return.
For a sample copy of Alaska Airlines Magazine, send a 9" x 12" envelope with sufficient postage (about $4.600. Alaska Airlines Magazine is published by Paradigm Communications Group through a contract with Alaska Airlines. We are not airline employees, nor are we agents of the airline.
Please send queries to: Paul Frichtl, Editor, Alaska Airlines Magazine, 2701 First Avenue, Suite 250, Seattle, WA 98121.
Thank you for your interest in working with Alaska Airlines Magazine.
