Orato accepts well-written, first-person, event-driven, non-fiction accounts from around the world, written in English, Italian or Spanish, to begin with, and intends to expand our language offering in the future. We welcome pitches and story ideas from subjects, eyewitnesses, writers, and journalists.
First-person stories tied to a crystalizing event or moment Photos
Articles can be submitted via our story submission page. We welcome submissions from subjects, witnesses, writers, journalists, photographers, and artists. We regret that we are only able to publish a small portion of these submissions, and, in general, only respond to submissions that we intend to publish. When submitting your work, please provide a brief explanation as to why your story is timely, important, and of interest to Orato readers. Be clear about why you are the person to write the first-person story. All stories must be verifiable and will be fact-checked by a journalist who has been retained and specifically assigned to the story by Orato and our editing team. For information on submission specifics, please visit the Submit page.
In this type of narrative, the narrator is the central character of the story and relays their experience to the reader. (Sometimes, however, the storyteller can be a peripheral character or witness.) Pronouns such as “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us” are used in first-person storytelling, giving the reader a personal account and an intimate perspective of the story in question. There are many fine articles on how to write first-person, for example.
While it is preferred that work is submitted with a byline, Orato understands that in some cases, on-the-record interviews are not possible, and that publishing certain information may put authors or subjects at risk. Orato grants anonymity to sources only when naming them could result in danger, retribution, or undue stigma. Furthermore, Orato readers will always be informed as to why a particular author or subject has been granted anonymity, which shall only be granted at the managing editor’s discretion.
Orato compensates contributors for accepted stories or photography based on a number of factors, such as length of the story, quality, relevance, as well as the current typical rates established from time to time by the market and our editorial team. Compensation for your material, if accepted and published, will be determined in advance with our editors and based on a per story-fee guarantee. If you have something to submit you believe merits compensation, please reach out to the managing editor directly using the Pitch a Story form.
Short answer: No. We need to engage with freelance journalists and have them sign freelance agreements where they promise to ensure the tenets of journalism are followed to ensure that we corroborate the story and provide our readers with content they can trust. We don’t incentivize interview subjects by paying them.
Members who wish to make donations to Orato will be helping us to remain operational and independent. Members can rest assured that their donations go well beyond this platform to support aspiring journalists in their pursuit of the truth and to reclaim the integrity and ethics which disappeared in the emergence of the 24/7 digital news cycle.
