In my old life as an academic-in-training, conferences felt less collaborative and more like auditions in front of senior faculty—or worse, like speaking into the void. As a doctoral candidate, I wrote and religiously practiced my 15-to-20-minute paper, only to find five people in my session as tenured professors schmoozed in the hallways or ducked out to see the sights.

Luckily, journalism conferences work differently. First, they offer us independent journalists a chance to build community—something that’s so important when we work alone at cafés or from home. And for those of us who are queer, or journalists of color, stepping into spaces where we’re not the minority and don’t have to code-switch can be especially joyful.

We meet not only new friends but also future collaborators and potential employers; someone approached me about the managing editor job I now have in a buffet line at a conference last year. Even virtual conferences offer community-building opportunities, like last week’s held by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and—of course!—the IIJ conference back in March.

There’s also genuinely useful information. I’ve not yet been to NICAR, Investigative Reporters and Editors’ yearly in-person conference on data journalism, but colleagues have found it incredibly useful. I still use the tip sheets from IRE’s virtual conference AccessFest last October, including an excellent one on how to tighten your writing.

Best of all, many in-person conferences offer limited scholarships or stipends to help offset costs to attend, including the Association of Health Care Journalists conference and ASJA (they host theirs in person every other year). If you’ve never been to a conference, now’s the time to set your sights on some! And be sure to connect with us while you’re there! Check out the calendar section down below to see where we’ll be this summer.

We also want to hear from you: which conferences are your favorites and why?

~ Sara

Calling all IIJ members! Since we started in 2022, we’ve focused our programming on addressing two primary needs identified by freelancers at the time: access to gatekeepers and entrepreneurial education. However, in this shifting media landscape, we’re hearing that you all need something different—and we’re responding with new initiatives and new opportunities for you all to get involved!

Join us on Wednesday, May 6 at 12 p.m. ET for our first town hall! IIJ member Silvia Canelón will talk about our next research project focusing on funding for freelance journalism, and IIJ founder Katherine Reynolds Lewis will preview a new project: the Chicago Freelance Marketplace. Join us to share your feedback on what you most need as freelancers in this new media climate, and learn about ways you can get more involved!

The latest episode of the Freelance Journalism Podcast is out today! We’re sharing a highlight from the 2026 IIJ Freelance Conference: Kavitha Cardoza’s keynote conversation with Katherine Reynolds Lewis! Kavitha received the 2026 American Mosaic Prize for her independent coverage of children, education, health, and poverty. You don’t want to miss this deep dive into Kavitha’s career journey as she talks about how to avoid extractive reporting, deal with rejection, and make the jump into academia.

Watch the whole interview on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts! And please rate and review the Freelance Journalism Podcast so more listeners can discover these conversations.

Going to the Investigative Reporters and Editors Annual Conference in D.C. this June? So are we! Take advantage of our all-day Freelance Business Workshop on Friday, June 19. IIJ leaders Katherine Reynolds Lewis and Shernay Williams will guide you through a blueprint for sustainability that includes the 3 P’s modelⓒ, proven strategies to find anchor clients, and time and money management systems. Plus, D.C.-area editors will share what they’re looking for in freelance pitches! While the workshop is free with IRE registration, those who wish to join for the $30 networking lunch should register here. Area journalists not attending IRE can also attend just the workshop—but hurry, the early-bird rate of $59 ends on April 30!

Study Hall is a valuable resource for freelance writers that offers courses, community, and a weekly newsletter full of gigs from both journalism and marketing clients. IIJ members can get three free months of a Study Hall membership by clicking on this link.

Work Shift is an independent news site that covers the intersection of education, work, and economics, and they are launching the Future of Work Reporting Fellowship with New America. The focus will be on how AI is impacting education and economic opportunity. 💰$5,000, plus coaches and access to data and sources. Apply here by Friday, July 24.

Multiple editors at Business Insider are looking for first-person stories. Lifestyle and entertainment editor Lydia Wang wants pitches about saving money, minimalist living, and building a life for yourself after a big move or change. Frank Olito wants college and career stories: life as a student these days, landing a job in this tough market, or working in a family business. 💰Usually $250 for 500-600 words. Pitch Lydia using this form, and pitch Frank here.

After briefly shutting down at the beginning of the year, the Pittsburgh City Paper—founded in 1990—has roared back to life thanks to community support. The alt-weekly is looking for pitches, specifically arts, transit and infrastructure, social justice, and LGBTQ+ stories. 💰$250-750, with rates “on the lower end of that range as they get started back up.” Send pitches to managing editor Colin Williams at [email protected] or DM him on Bluesky.

The Pillars Bylines 2026-2027 fellowship will fund 10 early-career Muslim journalists who write about culture, news, or politics. They will prioritize digital-first storytellers. 💰$35,000, plus professional development and three in-person retreats. Learn more and apply here. Deadline: Friday, May 15.

Jacob Rosenberg recently moved from Mother Jones to New York Magazine, where he’s now editing features. His focus will be news and politics, though he may be open to other topics. 💰Per the IIJ pitch guide, rates usually range from $1 to $2 per word. Send ideas to [email protected]

📖 Long before I thought I would be a journalist, I purchased a copy of All the President’s Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s account of breaking the Watergate scandal. It’s still on my shelf, unread. I haven’t seen the movie, either, but its 50th anniversary this year has produced a number of retrospectives from its biggest fans: journalists. “To me, the Library of Congress scene is the perfect encapsulation of why this is one of the best journalism movies,” editor Sophie Downes says in the New York Times. “It manages to romanticize the drudgery of reporting.”

📖 IIJ 2026 Conference speaker Alicia Kennedy has published her new memoir, On Eating, which she talks about in an interview for Public Books. Much of the discussion understandably traces her journey through food—in particular how she came to food writing through opening a vegan micro-bakery—but I found it most useful for her perspective on how she broke into the freelancing business after starting out as a copy editor for New York Magazine: “I learned to write pitches because I read a book after college called The Anti 9 to 5 Guide,” she says. I might just take a look at that book myself.

📖 It appears the Onion has finally succeeded in its bid to take over InfoWars. Parker Molloy’s the Present Age has the breakdown on the best reactions to the new deal, which will see the Onion leases the InfoWars site rather than purchase it outright. Best of all, we have a sneak peek, and its mission statement is gloriously unhinged: “With this new InfoWars, we will democratize psychological torture, welcoming brutal and sadistic ideas from everyone, even the very stupidest among us. It will be like the Manhattan Project, only instead of a bomb, we will be building a website.” I can’t wait.

🗓️ NEXT WEEK Monday, May 4 - IIJ leader Katherine Reynolds Lewis will be one of the speakers at News Reimagined: The Creator Journalism Summit at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This one-day summit connects newsrooms with journalists and creators to discuss how to grow audiences, build trust in media, and develop sustainable careers. Register here!

🗓️ NEXT WEEK Wednesday, May 6 - Join us at noon ET for the first-ever IIJ Town Hall, a virtual event where members of our community will have the opportunity to hear about the latest industry trends affecting independent journalists of color, and to weigh in on future IIJ programming. RSVP here!

🗓️ May 18-20 - Attending the Lenfest News Philanthropy Summit in Philadelphia? So is IIJ leader Katherine Reynolds Lewis! Be sure to say hi. 👋

🗓️ Friday, June 5 - At the Education Writers Association National Seminar in Baltimore, MD, IIJ leaders Katherine Reynolds Lewis and Shernay Williams will be presenting from 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET on entrepreneurship! Learn more and register here.

🗓️ Friday, June 19 - The IIJ will host a full-day workshop on the business of freelancing at the 2026 Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference in Washington, D.C.! Join Katherine Reynolds Lewis and Shernay Williams from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. ET to learn sustainable business practices for all aspects of your career: balancing passion projects with profitable ones, negotiating with and recruiting clients, and top-notch organizational and time management systems. Free for IRE attendees, with $30 for lunch; register here. D.C.-area reporters not attending IRE can register here. Early bird rate ends this Thursday! 🐣

🗓️ June 24-26 - IIJ leader Katherine Reynolds Lewis will be speaking at the Asian American Journalists Association conference in Minneapolis! The IIJ will also host a freelancer meetup—stay tuned for more details.

🗓️ July 22-24 - Join the IIJ at this year’s Indigenous Media Conference in Portland, OR! IIJ leader Katherine Reynolds Lewis and independent journalists Taylar Stagner and Johnnie Jae will host a discussion on the reality of freelance journalism today. Learn how independent journalists are building sustainable careers in the face of mass media layoffs. Register here.

🗓️ Saturday, July 25 - The IIJ will present a panel on mastering the solo hustle at this year’s National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference and Expo in New Orleans. Speakers include IIJ editorial director Ann Marie Awad, Pizza Shark co-founder Carolina Murriel, Altavoz Lab founder Valeria Fernández, and independent journalist Silvia Canelón. We will also be hosting a freelance meetup! Stay tuned for details.

▶️ Podcast: Journalist Kavitha Cardoza on covering education and poverty

▶️ Podcast: How to pitch unique NYC immigration stories to Documented

▶️ Podcast: Freelance journalism FAQ with Katherine Lewis and Shernay Williams

⏪ Webinar: Mobile Reporting: Tools for Making Content on The Go

▶️ Podcast: For $1/word, Science Friday wants enterprise stories that spark curiosity

⏪ Webinar: How to Pitch High Profile, National Media