Countere Pitch Guide

If you read Countere, you’ll have a sense of what we are looking for. We are looking for stranger, fun, creative, stories that are too weird to publish elsewhere. Journalistic blockbusters, arcane knowledge, and fantastic stories.

Please don’t send us finished pieces. We prefer for you to pitch us before you write. We are a magazine for creative nonfiction that often features real-life reportage, research, and interviews. We like pieces that have an original voice, a clear style, and absurdist elements. We are not interested in academic-sounding articles, or opinion pieces, or partisan politics.

For your pitch, tell us in a few sentences: 1) What you want to write 2) A brief outline of the piece 3) Links to past writing or at least one writing sample.

Pieces that exemplify “Countere style”:

Send all pitches to overlord@countere.com.

Ideas for Pitching Countere

Features: Going on an epic adventure? Unearthed some arcane knowledge? Have access to a zany public figure? We have an open call for any type of creative, mind-bending story that pushes the frontiers of journalism and online nonfiction. Even better if you’re able to report on something of substance while incorporating what some might call surreal elements. Pitch us your travel writing, video game writing, science writing, music writing, food writing, and more.

Interviews: We are interested in interviews with dissident, complex figures: (i.e. John McAfee, Lil Darkie, Sam Hyde). Music-wise, we are most interested in hip-hop artists, but open to any genre.

Whitepills: We publish “whitepills”: short essays on how to be a good person in an upside-down world. These can be based on religion, mysticism, spirituality, or ethics. Their purpose is to uplift and inspire.

Guides: We are interested in guides, the topics as myriad as rerocking cocaine, going big bass fishin’, and resisting interrogation if you are captured in a foreign country. Think The Anarchist Cookbook meets Mad Magazine. If you possess some form of esoteric intel or oral history that’s never before been transcribed, pitch us.

International: Want to do a photo essay in Japan? Cover an underground subculture in Chile? Take a nine-day trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railroad? Visit the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia? Ingest ayahausca in Mexico? As an American-based magazine, we are interested in international reporting, correspondents, and adventures.

Random America: “Random America” is Countere’s original series that sends correspondents to, you guessed it, truly random parts of America, for them to document their findings and interview the townsfolk. Every place has a story…and its secrets. You can also pitch us a random part of your country; your story could even end up on our world map…

Fiction: We publish fiction, sometimes. We are currently not accepting submissions for fiction.

Art: We are now formally publishing art. We are interested in experimental internet art—animation, VR experiences, design wizardry—as well as features on different art movements throughout history (i.e. “The Allure of Retrofuturism”).

Documentaries and Films: If you have an idea for a video or documentary you want to collaborate on, please get in touch.

What is above is a rough guide. If you’re confident a story is right for Countere, we want to hear from you.