Whitney Joiner is a senior features editor at Marie Claire magazine. She has written for The New York Times, ELLE, The Believer, The Rumpus, and TIME, among other outlets. She is also the co-founder and co-editor of The Recollectors, a storytelling site and community for people who have lost parents to AIDS.

Pitch Guidelines

Marie Claire, the smart women’s fashion magazine, frequently runs science-driven features involving the neurobiology of relationships, positive psychology, cutting-edge therapeutic breakthroughs or similar topics of interest to female readers ages 20-40. Our readers are highly educated and career-driven; our stories must all have a female focus (I.e., a female main character, or news hook or new study/science/research related to women). We’re looking for trend features for the well — pieces to run at 4-8 pages, around 1500-3500 words.

For example, in September, we ran a large feature on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for people suffering post-traumatic stress in the wake of childhood abuse or other crises. Other recent features have looked at the neuroscience of heartbreak, new science around female sexuality, and the controversies around "female Viagra." All of our stories are firmly grounded in real life (not just basic scientific research), revolving around the narratives, anecdotes, and experiences of real people -- whether a person undergoing psychotherapy, participating in a clinical trial, or surviving the aftermath of an ended relationship.

What we’re not interested in: parenting and parenting research, or trends around fertility, pregnancy, etc. — unless it’s something highly controversial or points to an issue around discrimination of women.