Homegrown Wants To Publish Your Stories – Send Us Your Pitches!

We’ve spent the last four years discovering, curating and telling the kinds of stories that are important to us and we hope, to you as well–the young readers who forge alliances with the evolving ‘Indian identity.’ Our search has spanned the length and breadth of this amazing country (and sometimes, beyond) taking us from the toddy shops in Kerala to magical caves in Meghalaya. It’s led us to both cutting-edge ideas and the people bringing them to life. We discovered rare recipes from the motherland on the brink of extinction and found a place for them at your table. It brought us face-to-face with uncomfortable realities, challenging us to do something about them. We met the makers of provocative art, conscientious fashion, incredible photo-narratives, and independent music.

In a nutshell, our hunt for stories with purpose has been fruitful, wonderful, invigorating, and tireless but over the years, we’ve realised we haven’t even skimmed the surface. As we inch towards the big five, we’re more ready than ever to have you be a deeper part of the process. So tell us a story and be a part of the Homegrown narrative.

All that we ask? That the idea is fresh and relevant to our audience. We believe any story must either provide information that readers didn’t already have or critically question a mindset or a larger thought in a way that hasn’t been done before. Human-interest and identity focused pitches will send you to the top of our inbox, while unusual sub-cultures and hyper-local travel and food guides have an extra special place in our hearts. Make sure the subject line reads STORY PITCH, along with your working title. The most important thing is that you can paint a very clear picture of the question you’re trying to answer. Then flesh it out.

There is no barrier on who gets to tell their story and how, as long as you can prove you’ve got the chops to do things well and make people think. We’re open to personal points of view and op-eds too, so don’t sell yourself short on the basis of backgrounds or your grasp over any particular language. we don’t care about your class, caste, experience, sexuality or gender, as long as you make people think.

Here are the makings of a good Homegrown pitch:

1. Consider the main points you want to bring out and then write them out clearly
2. Put timelines to everything – how long do you need to speak to credible sources, to write out the first draft, to edit and check for copy errors and finally present copy that’s clean and crisp
3. A Pinterest board with reference images for the story. Good visual respresentation for a story is important to us, and will give your pitch weight.
4. Ideas for Social Media support if you can think of any – a Facebook album, a series of tweets, an aesthetic Instagram presentation–have fun with this.
5. Add a working title, one that captures the reader’s imagination and also conveys the gist of the story in a creative way.

Before submitting your story pitches, please familiarise yourself with Homegrown’s previously published content. Once you’ve submitted your pitch, please give us at least two weeks to respond. If your pitch is accepted for publishing, there will still be work we require from your side with collaborative edits from our side and yours. We plan our editorial calendar much in advance and may not be able to publish your piece as soon as it is accepted, but know that it will be on our schedule and you will be informed once it goes live by the team.

Here are some of pieces (in the identity space) that our readers have loved, just to get the ball rolling. Insightful stories on Indian women’s porn-watching habits, a sensitive approach to male sexual abuse, a complicated relationship with big breasts, or how members of India’s LGBTQ community came out to their loved ones. Just make sure the pitches are in line with Homegrown’s voice – fearless, thought-provoking and bold. If you’d like to contribute to our lifestyle section, look at Food+Fashion+Travel with a Homegrown lens. The undying legacy of Bandra’s favourite dive bar, the trials of renting an apartment in Mumbai as a single muslim woman, or an intimate guide to the many charms of Amritsar. At the end of the day, we’re looking for stories with soul.

Go on, then. We’re all ears.

Send in your pitches after reading the previously mentioned guidelines to editor@homegrown.co.in with the subject line STORY PITCH– along with your working title.