Call for Submissions
The Environmental Journalism Story Incubator at SEJ2026

New Extended Deadline: March 6, 2026

Calling all environmental reporters: do you have a big reporting idea? What if you could tap into the expertise of a crack team of editors and leaders in data-driven reporting, narrative storytelling, visual journalism, audience engagement, and social media to make your work reach even further? 

The Environmental Journalism Story Incubator at SEJ2026 in Chicago is a one-day workshop and mini-fellowship that gives journalists the opportunity to build a plan for turning an idea-in-progress into a deeply reported project, in consultation with editors from publications such as bioGraphic Magazine, Sentient Media, Inside Climate News, Grist, and the Food and Environment Reporting Network, along with The Pulitzer Center and Covering Climate Now. 

We are holding an open call for submissions and will accept four reporters for this workshop. Applicants must be available to attend SEJ2026 on April 15.

With financial support from Covering Climate Now and the Pulitzer Center, successful applicants will be awarded a $1,000 stipend and registration to the SEJ2026 conference April 15-18. Travel and lodging is not included.

Over the course of the day, reporters will learn from experts, access tools for in-depth reporting, and explore a range of storytelling formats, from longform to visual journalism and multimedia. They’ll have the chance to talk with editors about building collaborative reporting projects across newsrooms, developing audience engagement strategies, and scoping out potential funding ideas.

We are accepting pitches on a wide range of environmental topics, with special interest in climate change, water and fisheries, biodiversity conservation, wildlife trafficking, zoonotic diseases, agricultural labor issues, animal welfare in agriculture, aquaculture, deforestation, food safety, and challenges affecting tribal nations and other indigenous communities. Pitches should identify solutions or areas where progress, recovery, or resilience is possible. Investigative projects are also encouraged. Story ideas may come from any geographic region. Cross-border projects and international reporting are welcome, but applications must be in English. One of the workshop slots is reserved for a project based at least partly in the Great Lakes/Midwest region.

Acceptance into the workshop does not guarantee a story contract or additional funding beyond the stipend. However, the workshop will help participants identify potential story placements and support for their reporting.

For more ideas about how to shape a story pitch, please see the coverage ad submission guidelines of the outlets involved in this workshop, including Sentient, bioGraphic, Grist, Inside Climate News, and FERN.

Who should apply?

*Experienced journalists who would like the chance to level up their reporting. 

*Freelance journalists.

*Staff journalists whose newsrooms would be open to collaborating with others.

*We strongly encourage applications from journalists who belong to groups and communities traditionally underrepresented in media.

To apply, please fill out the form in this link.

Alternatively, you may submit by secure email to EJstoryincubator@proton.me.

Please include the following:

  • Name
  • E-mail address
  • Phone number
  • A current resume
  • 1,000 words max – the pitch: (guidelines adapted from bioGraphic): (a) Make sure your pitch is about a story, not a topic. (b) Show us that you have a good sense of what the story is about—the main idea, the characters involved, where and when it takes place, and its narrative trajectory. (c) Explain why you think it’s important to tell this story now, and why you’re the right person to tell it. (d) Describe how you plan to report the story—who you plan to talk to and/or where you think you need to go to report the story properly. (e) What format or formats do you imagine for this story (written narrative, photography, video/film, audio, series, etc.), and how would it unfold in these formats?
  • 300 words max – workshop goals – What would you like to achieve through this workshop? How would access to the collaborative resources, tools, and expertise provided there help boost the impact or strength of your story?

Speakers/Organizers

  • Madeline Ostrander, climate journalist and author, SEJ board member
  • Michael Bradbury, President, Northwest Science Writers Association, and Science and Climate Journalist
  • Steve Sapienza, Senior Editor, U.S. News Partnerships, Pulitzer Center
  • Kyle Pope, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, Covering Climate Now
  • Michael Kodas, Senior Editor, Inside Climate News
  • Ana Bradley, Executive Director, Sentient Media
  • Jenny Splitter, Editor-in-Chief, Sentient Media
  • Steven Bedard, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, bioGraphic Magazine