Writers Guidelines

Dear writer:

Thank you for your interest in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. More than 80,000 people buy our magazine each month. Most live in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with two-thirds in or near Minneapolis and one-third in or near St. Paul. Thus, we are first and foremost a city magazine, striving to keep Twin Citians intelligently up-to-date on local personalities, trends, and issues. We are the Twin Cities’ Great Recommender. Our forte is service stories that give our readers the inside info on the best places to shop, eat, and be entertained. We help our readers navigate through the myriad services and opportunities our area offers to find the best.

Our feature stories range from 500 to 4,000 words. Most features run 2,000 to 3,000 words. Features require careful research, thorough knowledge of our audience, and well-developed interviewing skills—not to mention the ability to write well. A good feature story does not simply describe; it examines a well-defined situation, sometimes a controversial one, from a point of view that is clearly supported by the evidence at hand. It is subjective but fair, centering on individuals rather than organizations.

Our lead time is typically three months or longer. Once we assign an article, deadlines are sacred.

If you want to write for us, first get a few copies of our magazine—ideally, a year’s worth—and read them carefully. If you don’t have access to Mpls.St.Paul at your newsstand or library, you may purchase back issues for $9.25 from our circulation department here or by calling 612-336-9206. Then, write to or e-mail one of our editors with one or two story ideas you think would interest our readers, stating and showing through a résumé and clippings why you’re qualified to write on these subjects. General queries should be directed to senior editor William Swanson. Please direct specific queries to senior editor Adam Platt for dining, travel topics or the front-of-book City Limits section (up to 300 words); arts and entertainment editor Tad Simons for arts and entertainment subjects; or senior editor Jayne Haugen Olson for home/lifestyle/shopping ideas.

If you have a finished manuscript that you’re sure will work for us, either e-mail it or mail with a self-addressed, stamped envelope with enough postage to get the article back to you if we reject it. With manuscripts and query letters, allow at least six weeks for a reply.

Thank you for considering Mpls.St.Paul Magazine for publication. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Brian Anderson

Editor