Final Call for the Mynah Open Call!

How many times does the word "pitch" appear in this newsletter?

Hi everyone,

Our open call closes this Saturday! We’ve received some fantastic pitches so far, thank you to everyone who’s already submitted one (or three!).

In an ideal world, we’d pick every good idea. Unfortunately, we don’t have as much time, money, and energy as we’d like and I am already dreading the number of pitches we’ll have to turn down.

The pitch process is important because it gives us a sense of a contributor’s communication style. If someone can successfully describe their idea in a few paragraphs, it’s a promising sign that they have a plan for how they’re going to complete their story. That said, pitching is a skill that takes practice to develop so we don’t expect everyone to nail it on their first attempt.

We wrote a pitch guide to help demystify the process. In it, you’ll find the pitch Claire Voon sent us for her story in the last issue of the magazine. We’ve also put that story, Singapore On Public Notice, on our website so you can get a sense of how a story might evolve through the editorial process. We should say that Claire is a pro! She’s written for publications like Artforum and The New York Times and has to pitch pieces as as part of her job.

If you’re stuck on writing your pitch, here are a couple of pointers that might help.

(but read the pitch guide first!)

1. Get a feel for what the magazine publishes! The pitch guide contains a list of the types of stories Mynah usually publishes and what we will definitely pass on. While we’ve received some great personal essay pitches, we can’t accept them because it’s just not what we do. We can only publish a few stories every issue so we really prioritise stories that absolutely have to be in Mynah. If you can imagine your story in a different publication, there’s a chance it isn’t the right angle for us.

2. Sharpen your story’s connection to Singapore! While we’re on the topic, Mynah is a magazine for stories that reveal more about living in Singapore and/or its history. It’s really important that your pitch has a strong Singapore angle. We’ve received a few pitches for stories with universal themes that could take place anywhere. In addition to telling us why Singapore needs to pay attention to a specific topic, we’re also looking for pitches that make a case for why Singapore in particular has this story to tell. What is it about this place that makes this story possible? It helps if you start from a particularly Singaporean phenomenon or object and use it as a launching pad for larger ideas.

3. Be specific! If you have a story that relies on interviews, we would like to know more about who you plan to speak to. If your story is about hokkien mee, for example, give us a few names! Why those hawkers? Are you already acquainted with them? Is there something about their personality or their specific business that makes them the right source for this story? Is there a hokkien mee aficionado you’re counting on for their expertise? If you think there’s something interesting about the history of hokkien mee, give us an example! Rather than saying “I’m interested in wok hei”, you could mention how Swee Guan in Geylang uses mangrove charcoal and fold that into a larger story about the specific materials that make hawker food possible.

   
   All the Swee Guan lore comes from our first podcast episode with Lim Jialiang. The conversations we host on The Mynah Podcast are also a good way to learn about what we’re likely to publish.

4. Be punctual :) The open call will close on Saturday night, promise. No extensions. If you miss the deadline, you miss it! To be fair to everyone, we will assess all pitches at the same time. We’re really appreciative of the time it takes people to put a pitch together and aim to get back to everybody by the middle of March, if not earlier.

Submit your pitches via this form by February 15, 2025, 11.59pm Singapore time.