Longreads, founded in 2009 by Mark Armstrong, is dedicated to finding and sharing the best longform nonfiction storytelling on the web. We publish personal and reported essays, criticism, reading lists, and occasional book excerpts, interviews, and more in-depth features.
Longreads has been nominated for four National Magazine Awards (and won a 2020 ASME for Best Digital Illustration), has won a Canadian National Magazine Award (Gold), and has been cited for digital excellence by the Online News Association and Peabody Awards. Our pieces have won the Pushcart Prize, an ASJA Award, and have been included or notably mentioned in the Best American and Year’s Best anthologies across essays, food writing, science and nature writing, and sports writing. Our podcast series Bundyville, with Leah Sottile and Oregon Public Broadcasting, was named one of the best podcasts of 2018 and won an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2020.
Our stories are funded with support from our readers. For every dollar you contribute to the Longreads Story Fund, WordPress.com matches with another two dollars. Learn more about how you can contribute.
Longreads does not accept drafts/pitches or publish stories written using generative AI applications such as ChatGPT. We opt out of sharing our site content with third parties whenever possible, and have added all known AI crawlers to the “disallow” list in our robots.txt file.
Interested in writing for us? Visit our Submissions page for guidelines and more on what our editors look for.
Staff
Carolyn Wells
Carolyn Wells became an editor at Longreads following a decade of working in the documentary film industry. Originally from the UK, you can now find her in the mountains of Canada, where she shovels snow alongside a gang of pets. Carolyn loves all manner of outdoorsy things, like skiing, hiking, and camping—but also enjoys books and a good Netflix binge. You can reach her at carolyn@longreads.com.
Carolyn’s recent picks
The Owls Who Came From Away
The Estuary Smothered by a Thousand Logs
Would You Clone Your Dog?
On the Endless Symbolism of the Best Summer Movie Ever Made: Jaws
Cheri Lucas Rowlands
Cheri Lucas Rowlands is a senior editor at Automattic and has been an editor at Longreads since 2014. Stories she’s edited have won a Pushcart Prize and been notably mentioned in Best American Essays, and writers have landed agents and book deals as a result of essays they’ve worked on together. Previously, she was a freelance writer covering travel, books, and K-12 education. She’s a graduate of the MFA in creative nonfiction program at Goucher College and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can reach her at cheri@longreads.com.
Cheri’s recent picks
Pooping on the Moon Is a Messy Business
Harvard, the Human Remains Trade, and Collectors Who Fuel the Market
Inside Snapchat’s Teen Opioid Crisis
The Case of the Missing Chacmools
Krista Stevens
Krista Stevens is a senior editor at Automattic and has loved Longreads since its birth as a hashtag in 2009. Essays Krista has edited have appeared in Best American Science and Nature Writing and The Year’s Best Sports Writing. One won a Gold Award for longform writing at the Canadian National Magazine Awards. She loves books, bass, guitar, and birds. You can reach her at krista@longreads.com.
Krista’s recent picks
The Adoption Paradox
The Life and Untimely Death of a Boeing Whistleblower
Grief Guides
I Am Laura Kipnis-Bot, and I Will Make Reading Sexy and Tragic Again
Peter Rubin
Peter Rubin is an editor at Longreads and head of publishing at Automattic, Longreads‘ parent company. Previously, he was senior correspondent at Wired and executive editor at Complex. He is the author of Future Presence, a book about virtual reality and human connection, and has written for numerous national publications over his career. He lives in Oakland, California, where he increasingly tries to stay offline. You can reach him at peter.rubin@longreads.com.
Peter’s recent picks
What ‘Game of Thrones’ Did to the Media
Swallowing: I Was Mike Mew’s Patient
When My Father Talked About Larry Bird
Spreadsheet Superstars
Seyward Darby
Seyward Darby is a contributing editor at Longreads and the editor in chief of The Atavist Magazine. Previously, she was the deputy editor of Foreign Policy and online editor of The New Republic. She is the author of Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism. She has written for The New York Times, Harper’s, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and other publications. Her peculiar name comes from this book. You can reach her at seyward@atavist.com.
Seyward’s recent picks
It Began as a Rewilding Experiment. Now a Bear Is on Trial for Murder
They Took Part in Apache Ceremonies. Their Schools Expelled Them for Satanic Activities.
Rags to Riches
This Megachurch Warned of Hell. Then It Concealed Its Own Sins.
Contact Us
For submissions/pitches, feedback, and general inquiries, email hello@longreads.com.
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For membership questions, email support@longreads.com.
About Automattic
Longreads and its sister site, The Atavist Magazine, are flagship publications of Automattic. We are proudly powered by Newspack, a publishing platform for independent publishers and local newsrooms. Learn more about us, our dedication to open source and the open web, and our mission to democratize publishing.