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The best travel writing brings together a fluent mix of information, insights, and experience or impressions. Add a sense of curiosity, of humor, and of humanism and we’ll follow you anywhere. This is true whether writing about sights, art, food, places, people, culture, history, a point of view, or one’s own travels.

We would love to open our pages to writers who share that view.

Who are our readers?

Generally speaking, France Revisited attracts savvy readers and seasoned travelers. Many of our readers have been to France before, a good number have traveled extensively in Europe or would like to someday to experience an extended stay on the continent, and others actually do live or have lived in France or elsewhere in Europe. Through most of our readers are North American we also have a significant number of readers in England as well as English-speaking and French-speaking readers in France.

Payment

We will gladly take you out for coffee in Paris and even for a very nice pastry, possibly more. Unfortunately other forms of payment are not available at this time. We’re working to change that and will let you know on this page as soon as that happens, hopefully by the end of 2010. We are also unable to pay expenses, though in some cases we can arrange for press access to special events. France Revisited promises no glory but does offer an educated readership of thousands of readers for your work. 

Types of work we publish

The work available on France Revisited runs the gamut of approaches to travel writing: journalism, review, analysis, experience, interview, opinion, essay, humor, vignette, review, video, blog. We also publish original photography.

As with all magazines, the best place to start is to read some of the articles that have already been posted in the various departments. Though many of the articles on the site are written by Gary Lee Kraut, we are not looking for contributors to endorse his style but rather to have their own voice, to be highly informed, and to think creatively when writing about travel, people, and place.

Our readers want to know that there’s an authoritative or curious or unique voice behind each piece. Subject matter is very open. Know your stuff, know where to get accurate information, and have fun with the article. There are no formulas, but please to avoid self-dramatization. Use first-person when your experience or interaction with people or place really matters, otherwise let your authority as observer or analyst or journalist do the work.

Though we prefer original material, we are willing to consider material that has been previously published provided that you hold all the rights to it and that you indicate wherever else it has been published in print or on the internet.

We are willing to consider material in French from native French-speaking writers/journalists and to translate their work into English for publication on France Revisited. We are more likely to do so for regular contributors rather than to someone submitting a single article.

Contributing to specific sections

Destinations & Sights. Write, don’t sell. Our goal is NOT to sell readers sights, destinations, restaurants, etc. but rather to present or explore them in a way that makes for a good read, perhaps good travels as well. The fact that something is brand new isn’t interesting in itself (at least not to us; there are plenty of other publications that want that information); there’s got to be something in the article that makes for an enjoyable read and that raises our readers’ curiosity. For a destination piece don’t feel that you need to throw in every sight and museum or come up with many hotels and restaurants if you know nothing about them. Be well informed yet think in terms of story or theme or experience rather than basic information or hype.

Food & Drink. We prefer to work with writers with restaurant or food writing experience or who otherwise have a unique take on a restaurant or chef, a vintner or cheese, etc. We are looking for food and wine writers to work with on a regular basis rather than a single article about a meal you enjoyed or a vineyard you visited.

Essays and Stories. We’re especially interested in creative essays, good storytelling, well-presented points of views, and significant commentary.

Blogs. All blogs with the exception of Gary's Blog are open to contributors. Guest Blog: We would welcome regular contributions from writers/blogger/vidoegraphers living anywhere in France as well as visitors able to contribute regularly over the duration of their stay, whether they're staying for one week or one year. Extracurricular Blogtivity: Students in France on junior year abroad or for post-graduate studies should contact us if interested in contributing. American Francophilia: Open to contributions from American Francophiles or French people living in the U.S. Contact us if you've got a new item, an interesting take on local French-related history, and especially if you'd like to cover your city or region regularly for France Revisited. Photography & Art Blog is open to professionals in those fields and to those capable of presenting professionals and exhibitions knowledgeably. Photographers and artists with upcoming exhibitions may also send us information about themselves.

Europe+. Try not to think in terms of strict destination pieces but rather in presenting people, places, sights, cuisine etc. from a particular angle. The + of Europe+ indicates that this section can include places just outside of Europe such as North Africa and the Middle East. The article need not be related to anything French. See the variety of work that appears in the Europe+ section.

Videos. We welcome videos related to any of the categories covered on this site and in keeping with the general guidelines presented here. Should have character. Can have humor. Must be as specific as an article. No “My trip to France” videos. You must hold all rights to the video and have permission to use the image of individuals featured in the video.

Rights and Responsibility

Acceptance of material for posting on FranceRevisited.com, even if no actual payment is made, is for our non-exclusive right to post the work on this site for at least 18 months. A contributor may then, with two-month notice, request removal of his or her work. We reserve the right to remove the article of our own accord at any time and for any reason.

In order for your work to be accepted for posting on FranceRevisited.com you must sign a declaration that you are fully responsible for the content you provide (i.e. no plagiarism, infringement, or slander).

How to submit

If interested in contributing content to FranceRevisited.com on an occasional or regular basis, begin by sending some information about yourself (name, where you live, writing experience, travel interests) and about the subject(s) that you might write about and/or approach(es) you might use. Also include links to any pertinent writing samples.

Those with a specific idea for a single article should send the complete article if possible, otherwise an extended query, along with a brief bio. For writers with whom we’ve never worked, our interest in a query does not mean that the piece will be published on France Revisited since such decisions can only be made based on a completed article.

In all cases, your first correspondence should contain no attachments. All text should be included in the body of the e-mail. File attachments will not be opened unless we have requested that they be sent.

For video submissions send an e-mail describing the video (if not yet filmed) or containing a link to the completed video.

Send all queries and completed submissions to francerevisited@aol.com. Please include “Submission” plus your full name in the subject line. Be sure to provide your full contact information, including telephone number, in the e-mail.

Endnote

We appreciate your interest in writing for France Revisited. We are unable to make extensive individual comments on all submissions. If it turns out that we don’t consider your work right for France Revisited please don’t take that to mean anything other than the fact that we have a very subjective approach to travel writing, that we in no way represent the mainstream press, and that we may have articles in the works or already published that are too closely related to your own idea.