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The Ken publishes one story a day. We’re looking for original, analytical and skilfully-narrated pieces-we’re big on granularity, on data and on extensive reporting.

We welcome contributors from journalists, subject matter experts, and anyone who has a good story to tell.

We have over 15,000 paying subscribers—many of whom are CXOs, industry leaders/decision makers at major corporations, students and faculty at elite B-schools around the world. These are the sort of dedicated readers your story will reach.

In terms of subject matter, we’ve been sharply focussed on select sectors-technology (spanning fintech, Big Tech, SaaS, and telecom), startups (EVs, food tech, etc), science, healthcare, retail, and education across India and Southeast Asia. And how policy shapes these sectors.

We’re open to business stories from outside these areas, but the bar will be very high (meaning they cannot be ‘incremental’ stories).

While we will allow our writers, whether staff or contributors, to rely on their own style while telling stories, all The Ken stories share the following traits: fact-based, reported, analytical, with a sharp point of view. We require evidence for every claim made in the story. The idea is to also look beyond the past and present, and tell readers where things are headed.

Our stories are not limited to the written word. We welcome multimedia and data visualisations-led stories as well. Our preferred story length is 1500-2200 words.

Great. What’s the process?

Pitch your idea using the format below. You’ll get an acknowledgement email.

If the pitch is interesting, we’ll provide inputs/ask for a revised pitch.

Once your pitch is approved and your story line finalised, we’ll put an ETA on it.

You’ll be asked to sign a contribution agreement - an NDA to limit circulation of the idea.

“I’ve reported and filed my piece. Now, what’s the pay like?”

Good question. Here it is:

Regular Price

$0.25 per edited word

Data Stories

$50 per chart

We make all payments within 30 days of contracting. We accept invoices and make payments electronically.

“Brilliant. Anything else I need to know?”

In the unlikely event that we find the article to be unacceptable for publication, we will pay a 25% kill fee. The writer will warrant to us that she is the sole creator/author of the story; that it does not plagiarise the work of a third party or violate any proprietary or legal rights of a third party; and that nothing in the story is libellous or obscene.

Ready to pitch?

First, tell us how to reach you

Now, tell us about the story

Congratulations

We’ve got your pitch. We’ll get back to you within the week.

Got more questions?

No problem. Just write to us at [email protected]