Guidelines for Writers
explore is a magazine for active outdoor enthusiasts. We cover a wide range of topics-hiking, mountain biking, climbing, canoeing, kayaking, winter sports and more. Our content is largely Canadian, and/or from a Canadian perspective.
OUR READERS DEMAND THE BEST, so we expect our writers to be authorities on their subjects. Our where-to and how-to pieces must provide the latest, most reliable information; our news articles must be timely and well-researched; and our features and profiles must be original in style and content.
THE LOWDOWN NEWS SECTION (100 to 1,000 words) reports on expeditions, competitions, trends, destinations, environmental issues, recreational controversies, weird new gear items, humorous spins on outdoor news items, and up-and-coming outdoor athletes and adventurers of interest to a national readership.
OUR IN-DEPTH FEATURES (2,000 to 3,000 words) include a mix of first-person adventure stories, investigative journalism, profiles of Canadian adventurers and events, and special guides to Canadian destinations. We receive many submissions describing personal adventures but only publish a very few. Our first-person features are assigned to experienced magazine journalists and must deliver an original, engaging, multi-layered story about an outdoor journey of exceptional interest; we’re not looking for travelogues or trip journals.
ALL WRITERS ARE ENCOURAGED to read back issues of the magazine and then send a detailed one-page query that identifies why the story suits explore, what section of the magazine it fits, and why you are the writer best able to deliver the story. Please, no specs.
DIVERSITY is a priority at explore magazine. We are actively searching to amplify voices and stories told by under-represented individuals and groups.
EMAILED SUBMISSIONS are preferable to mail. (If emailing sample images, please send only low-res JPEGs.) If you mail a first-time submission, attach samples (PDF). Don’t forget to include a daytime telephone number.
Email QUERIES to explore@explore-mag.com
Guidelines for Photographers
explore is a lifestyle magazine for active outdoor enthusiasts. We cover a wide range of topics- hiking, mountain biking, climbing, canoeing, kayaking, winter sports and more. And as our tagline suggests, our content is largely Canadian.
We are primarily interested in working with photographers who have stock of men and women enjoying various outdoor sports in specific wilderness settings across the country. Activities include (but are not confined to) hiking, mountain biking, road touring, climbing, mountaineering, camping, paddling, kayaking, downhill skiing, backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. Please ensure your photography represents diversity in the outdoors.
We will occasionally publish landscape images to accompany stories on a particular outdoor destination. Stock shots of other backcountry practices, such as cooking, using a GPS unit and filtering water are required on an infrequent basis.
Images of relatively unknown or obscure backcountry destinations throughout Canada are also valuable to us.
If your photographs fit the above description and you believe they are of a high enough quality to appear in explore, you are welcome to email us 5 to 7 low-res JPEGs of your best work or send us the address of your website. Stock lists are also welcome (cross-referencing types of activity with locations), as is a letter of introduction listing your photographic interests.
Email submissions to explore@explore-mag.com