I’m the Guardian US features editor, and I’m looking for journalists to report on communities outside the coastal bubbles. Here’s how to send me your pitch

Beyond the bubble: write for Guardian US about the places that others ignore

You’re invited to write for Guardian US.

Last December, I set up a list of topics I’d like to use to guide my commissioning in 2017. Among them were a focus on the rural v urban divide and the enormous gap between America’s 1% and the 99%.

This election has highlighted why covering communities from the inside out, instead of from the outside in, matters. This year, I am keen to work with journalists who want to report on their own communities – places and people they already know well. You can read more about my thinking around it here. Also worth reading on this topic is Kathleen McLaughlin and Sarah Smarsh.

To start with, I’d like to work on two special projects focusing on under-covered communities in America, preferably outside of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

This is where you come in:

What you can offer

You are an experienced writer living in the community you propose to cover.

“Experienced writer” doesn’t have to mean “published in national outlets”. But you need to have solid reporting and writing experience. Skills in a variety of digital storytelling formats a plus.

You want to tell a story you don’t see reflected in the national media very often.

You have some idea as to why this story is of national, as well as local, relevance.

You are willing to work closely with us to make your story as great as it can be.

What I offer

Freelance payment for the story, plus expenses.

Editorial guidance.

The possibility to work with other journalists on the project if warranted.

How it works

You pitch me a story (follow those guidelines, and read this too, as well as this, which lists examples of features I liked) before 31 March. Keep in mind I want an idea that, while perhaps not fully formed, is solid enough to already have leads, characters and an arc. So tell me about them, and tell me why it would make for a good story. No more than three or four paragraphs.

In the subject line, title your email “beyond the bubble”.

Send me your best clips.

To your pitch, add a short paragraph about what resources you think you will need to do the job well, include a budget.

If you have other skills (photography, illustration, data work, audio or video work), let me know.

I will endeavor to reply by 10 April, even if it’s just a “no thanks”.