We develop insightful anthropology stories for anthropologists and anyone with an interest in anthropology. Our aim is to champion engaging, incisive anthropology writing and multimodal content from across the discipline. Vivid description, captivating tales, and adventurous forms of writing are at the heart of what we do. Think short-form magazine-style stories with scientific bite—low on jargon, high on storytelling.

We publish four main types of content, described in more detail below: essays from our thematic calls for pitches, section submissions, association news, and obituaries.

Pitches

Anthropology News invites short essays and stories from anthropologists through calls for pitches and direct invitations. Currently we do not accept unsolicited pitches or approaches from freelancers. Remember that Anthropology News is a magazine, not a scholarly journal—and our style and content reflect this. A link to a sample of writing for a nonspecialist audience would be helpful but is not necessary.

A good pitch clearly and concisely outlines the story’s argument; boldly tells us something of why the story is surprising, insightful, exciting, or worth reading; and demonstrates your expertise and enthusiasm for the subject you want to write about.

Currently, we accept pitches for four different kinds of pieces:

  • Essays are ~1,600 words stories providing ethnographic or narrative insight into a particular theme.
  • Photo essays comprise six to eight high-resolution images and an introductory essay of ~750 words.
  • “Ten Things…” features are a crisp, concise list of 10 ideas, observations, or opinions on a specific topic.
  • “How to…” features provide a lighthearted series of tips and advice often on a practical topic. 

We run an engaged editing process. If you write for us, you can expect to write several drafts of your essay. If you are comfortable with being edited and responding to requests and queries, then great, pitch your essay/story idea! The whole process generally takes about two or three months from submitting a good first draft through to publication.

Section Submissions

Each year we invite the AAA’s 38 specialized sections to join us in developing pieces for the Anthropology News website based on issue themes. AAA members can pitch stories/essays and photo essays to the section contributing editors (hard-working volunteers appointed by their section) for any section of which they are a member. See our “About” page for a list of current participating sections and their contributing editors.

Section editors can find more information, including section submission guidelines, here.

Association News

Anthropology News publishes AAA news and items of historical record, columns from the executive director and AAA president, executive board motions, and features highlighting AAA members in the news and new fellows and awards.

Obituaries

Anthropology News is the association’s major vehicle for information about the deaths of our colleagues. Please notify us at [email protected] as soon as you learn of a death or to offer your service in writing a tribute for a colleague or friend to be published on our website.

Obituaries should be about 500 words long. When writing an obituary, focus on the subject’s scholarly contributions and influence on the field. You may include personal or biographical details, when appropriate, but focus on the subject’s impacts to anthropology.

Since the readership of Anthropology News spans all subfields, try to explain the subject’s scholarly contributions in terms that will be understandable by any anthropologist. Be very selective in describing service to the profession, professional association positions held, and honors and awards (include only the very highest of high points). Above all, try to give readers a starting point for understanding the subject’s life work and its significance. An obituary’s job is not to praise the deceased (it is not a eulogy); it is to give a sense of what they did that was noteworthy, revealing, or likely to be important or interesting to anthropologists. This should include potentially difficult topics, including academic or personal misconduct (or allegations of these). It is important to include a substantive account of such incidents in an obituary—not to defend the subject’s reputation, but to provide a full and accurate picture of their professional lives and activities.

Punctuation, spelling, style guides

Anthropology News follows the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) for issues of punctuation and grammar, for the most part. We consult the Elements of Indigenous Style for guidelines on Indigenous style. We follow the Merriam-Webster dictionary for spelling.

Use US spelling and punctuation, including the serial or Oxford comma and double quotation marks.

Authors should capitalize names of peoples when they are used as adjectives or nouns (e.g., Black, Indigenous) and use the personal pronouns used by those about and with whom you are writing.

Incorporating discussion of ideas, people, sources

Like most magazines, Anthropology News does not use footnotes or endnotes. All substantive discussion should appear in the body of the story. Similarly, we do not use parenthetical citations, but embed links to works, whether a scholarly journal article, a mainstream news piece, or a YouTube video. Authors should meaningfully engage with sources and ideas in their narrative and embed a link to the specific work. 

Image descriptions

To help ensure our content is accessible, images should include alt text (alternative text), image descriptions, captions, and a credit line. Authors should consult the AAA’s Guidelines for Creating Image Descriptions for information about these different elements and examples.

An example of concise and clear image descriptions in a photo essay.

An example of an image description for artwork. 

Author Information

Here is some information and advice as you write your piece:

  • Familiarize yourself with Anthropology News—read an issue or browse section contributions on the website. Think popular science venue—writing with a bit of scientific bite and for a broad audience (low on scholarly jargon, high on storytelling).
  • What is your point? What is the story here? Why are you writing this piece? An AN magazine/website story is not an overview about anthropology. It should express your fresh, interesting, even surprising viewpoint on the subject you are writing about, focusing outward rather than inward on the discipline. Vignettes and creative approaches to the essay form are welcome.
  • Limit the core points you wish to make; this is mid-form writing and readers are more likely to absorb and remember your piece if you help them to focus.
  • An intro that gets to the point. The first paragraph or two should draw the reader in, providing context for the story and a clear sense of your main point/s (without giving the whole argument away and avoiding the metadiscursive frame (where one tells readers what one is about to say/write/do/argue). Set the scene with a provocative opinion, a topical argument, a descriptive ethnographic vignette, or similar.
  • Remember that you are telling a story. Craft a narrative arc. Bring research, incidents, experiences, and interlocutors to life.
  • Support your assertions and views by embedding links to relevant published research articles, reports, news articles, podcasts, films, and other works.
  • Towards the end, bring your main point to a close or sum up your argument. You might have a final point or “kicker” to end your piece on a strong note. It might be a quote from an interlocutor or an experience that brings home your point. It might be a witty remark that makes the reader laugh. It might be a return to a vignette or episode with which you began. It might emphasize what is at stake. It might be a call to action (but avoid the somewhat overused and empty “anthropologists need to do more…”).
  • Include a short bio of ~50 words at the end of your essay, including your institution or company, your role, your area of focus, a recent or pertinent publication, and any other information that you would like to highlight. Embed links if you wish.
  • Include up to six keywords (for SEO) identifying the central themes of the piece.