“In Development”, a magazine dedicated to exploring how progress actually happens in the developing world, is inviting pitches from journalists, researchers, and practitioners with deep knowledge of their subject area, for narrative-driven essays on ideas, policies, and technologies that have the possibility to, or are already, improving global well-being.
In Development is seeking to commission 2,000 to 4,000-word longreads that tell a compelling story about how something works or fails to work in the developing world; combine deep subject knowledge with accessible storytelling; and surface important but underreported trends, people, or institutions.
The magazine says its mission is to expand conversations about development and that it is, therefore, interested in stories that are intellectually serious, empirically grounded, and a pleasure to read, such as “pieces that a policymaker in Nairobi, a donor in New York, or a grad student in Delhi could all find illuminating.”
It is seeking unexpected success stories such as projects, entrepreneurs, or policies driving real change; comparative or historical insights, such as what can be learnt from how different countries tackled similar challenges; technological innovation, such as how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will affect developing countries; and institutional and policy experiments, ranging from land titling to regulatory reform.
In Development is inviting pitches from journalists, researchers, and practitioners with deep knowledge of their subject area, including first-time contributors, saying “what matters most is clarity, originality, and intellectual curiosity.”
The magazine said it especially values contributions from people based in developing countries and advised that the pitch should be a short document of no more than one page, outlining a core idea, which is what question or problem the story explores; the angle highlighting why the story, and why now, as well as what makes it surprising or illuminating.
The pitch should also include a brief bio with one to two links to previous work, if available, which may be essays, academic work, or other example writing.
The magazine said it understands that AI tools have become a critical part of the research process for many writers and welcomes the use of AI in brainstorming different angles, headlines, and structure or other copy-editing support.
However, it stressed, AI may not be used to invent, fabricate, or “fill in” facts, quotes, citations, datasets, or references, produce numbers, tables, or empirical claims without verifying them against primary sources, or to generate ideas or text wholesale.
The magazine advises those submitting pitches that “The final text of both the pitch and article should be something you are confident in saying you wrote, with all ideas coming from you.”
It says it will pay $2,000 per piece.
The deadline for pitches is July 1, 2026, while the likely publication date will be October 2026.
Pitches should be submitted at: https://bit.ly/44oeYXc.
