First off, some news: This feels crazy to write this but I'm heading back to Mexico in January (and, of course, I'll be on the look out for stories).
I'd probably describe the past two years as the most successful of my career – I'm defining success through my eyes of working in my dream job as an international reporter, and writing about subjects I care deeply about. I've reported from an animal rescue centre in Costa Rica and spoken to communities pushing through a climate resilience agenda on the slopes of settlements in Medellín through to interviewing former coca growers in eastern Colombia and hiking Mexico's only long-distance walking trail, which brings in money to Mayan communities. I've been made a finalist several times for my sustainability-focused travel writing.
However, I'll be the first to admit that all the above doesn't go hand in hand with financial success. Believe me when I say it is tough. Very often the stories I pursue in Latin America (or anywhere outside of the UK) can leave me out of pocket or equate to minimum wage or under when everything is considered. The journey from research to publication is a long-winded process: the hours of research, the back-and-forth over email, the meetings, the travel (I minimise my flights and so will often travel across borders to reach a story), the hours of interviews, the working your way through hours of interviews, the research into who to pitch it to and then the follow-ups and then tweaking the pitch for another editor, the writing, the kicking it into place, and then working on any final edits...it all means it’s fiscally a challenge.
Despite the financial drain, I will say that I’m really happy with how many stories I landed from my last trip, especially after my initial story – the story I flew out for - didn’t come off, which was absolutely gutting at the time.
There’s also more that have been commissioned but are yet to be published.
And there’s a number of stories I’m still fighting to get published. I say fighting, because it’s a battle. For one story, I have tried 25+ publications. I barely know who to try anymore but it’s such an important story, with interviewees giving up their time, and a story that took me hours to travel to.
I have spent hours interviewing environmental organisations and forensic executives for pieces that have yet to be picked up. It makes my heart wrench that it’s so difficult to land these stories. That many publications covering these kind of stories no longer exist. And that budgets have fallen so editors have less and less room for them.
BUT, frustrations aside, I will be in Mexico from January until May/June. I didn't plan to return as I wanted to have a year off from flying (for environmental reasons) and had dreamt up loose plans to work from Lisbon, Spain and Ireland (taking the train and ferry). But then I met a whipsmart Mexican professor in the last week of my trip who has come over to visit twice since then and has meant plans have changed. Still, the environmental cost of flying weighs deeply on my mind but I hope that my work outweighs any flights I'll be taking.
I am likely to be based in Mexico City but I will also be roaming around for stories and might potentially cross into neighbouring countries so feel free to pitch me even if the story is a 15-hour bus ride away. I am looking for sustainability, wildlife, environmental, human rights and travel stories. The above stories will give you an inkling as to what I’m looking for, as will my portfolio.
PRs in this space: I’d love to know which publications and editors might be open to stories such as climate resilience in Colombia and several environmental champions such as a turtle rescue, coral restoration and volunteer national park team in Costa Rica. Fill me in.