WE accept submission and pitches from our communities
We are on the lookout for freelance writers and storytellers with a history of drug use.
Do you want to write for Users News?
If you have a personal story you feel comfortable sharing, a particular drug topic you want to write about or a circle of mates experimenting with a new drug on the block, or new ways to ingest drugs, let us know. The central underlying theme to every article we publish is harm reduction.
While we publish objective harm reduction resources, we also like to publish narrative-driven stories with a human element. Readers want to hear from people like them, and about people like them! So authenticity and honesty is really important to us. A narrative-driven article could be:
A description of your own personal drug journey and the lessons learned along the way.
A Q&A with a peer worker in the harm reduction sector.
A profile feature on someone who has undertaken a lifestyle of DIY harm reduction on their own initiative.
A deep-dive into a new evolving drug trend which brings together multiple peer stories.
A first person story about your experience with blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C.
Our articles always prioritise the stories of people with lived and living experience of drug use. They’re never dense with quotes from academics or ‘experts’ you find in traditional news stories.
We’re looking for articles between 500 and 1000 words.
What if I don’t have much writing experience, but I want to contribute?
If you’re not comfortable writing your story, don’t fret! We can help tell your story. At NUAA, we have in-house writers who understand, and have experienced firsthand, drug-related stigma. It is their job to help people share their stories in a safe non-judgemental way for the benefit of both yourself and our readers. There is no expectation to overshare. You only need say what you want to say.
By interviewing you over the phone, over video or in person, we can turn your story into a Q&A transcript (a written summary of our conversation) or a profile feature, which is where we write a narrative about your life and include quotes from an interview.
NUAA staff can also provide guidance and mentoring for new writers. We just need you to send us an example of your writing first, whether it’s published writing or just something you’ve written at home.
All contributions receive peer payments:
Interviews: We pay $10 for short phone interviews up to 15 minutes and for email (written) interviews. We pay $30 for longer phone interviews, which may last anywhere from 15 minutes up to an hour or really in-depth email interviews.
Writing: We pay 13 cents per published word. Please note: there is a cap with our pay rate at the 1000 word mark. We are unable to pay more if an article is over 1000 words. This means we pay a maximum of $130, whether you’ve written 1000 words or 1500 words.
Ok, I’m keen to contribute. What now?
There are two different forms, one for people who want to write for Users News and one for people who want to do an interview for a story.
If you’re a budding writer, simply click the link here and fill out the pitch form.
If you want to participate in an interview, click the link here and fill out the form with your details.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you for thinking of us!