The Washington Post's Joe Yonan Welcomes Story Pitches, with Caveats

Don't tell him what you wonder about, for example.

(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post. Used by permission.)

Joe Yonan, the dapper Food and Dining editor of The Washington Post since 2006, came back to his job last month after 4 months of parental leave. He’s the one who hires freelance writers, so read closely to learn how to get your pitches accepted at this major national newspaper.

The Food and Dining section has won prestigious awards under Joe’s leadership. The James Beard Foundation awarded The Washington Post the Best Newspaper Food section in 2009 and 2010. In 2017, The Association of Culinary Professionals named it the Publication of the Year.

Currently, non-staff writers generate about 20 percent of the section’s content. Below are examples of stories Joe’s liked or assigned, so you can get an idea of what and how to pitch. If you don’t have a subscription to the Post, I unlocked the articles Joe mentions below (except for the one about the beach, which doesn’t provide that option).

Here’s what to know about pitching Joe:

Q. First, let’s set the stage. What’s an average day at work like for you?

A. I could spend hours editing, although that’s fairly rare. There are lots of meetings with individual staffers, meetings with higher-ups, and planning meetings. I have to be at the ready for photo shoot check-ins, and dealing with other departments, such as the social media team for promotion. I answer emails and look at pitches. Also I write a recipe column every week, find recipes and feature other people’s recipe from books. I taste things, people ask for feedback, and we toss around ideas.

I do lots of second reads, where another editor asks me to advise them. I am sort of known as the cutter-in-chief. I can cut anything!

Q. How big is your staff?

A. 10 people, plus freelance regular columnists.

Q. What kinds of stories do you take from freelancers?

A. Good ones.

There’s the Voraciously section, where we aim recipes at less experienced cooks. It’s approachable food, exploring a variety of cultures for weeknight meals.

Trend coverage or restaurant coverage has to be of national interest. We might run a spotlight on a single restauranteur, someone who is making a name for themselves and about to be better known. It has to be fresh angle.

Kristen Hartke wrote a piece on a monk who wrote cookbooks. He was 80 years old and the book was from 1976. It wasn’t an obvious choice for a story, but lots of people were familiar with that book. It was kind of quirky, and no one else pitched it. There’s something to be said for nostalgia.

So a story doesn’t need to be about what’s new. We’ve seen a lot of interest in pieces with nostalgic appeal. People think of their parents. (Follow the link to an essay I wrote about my dad and food. DJ)

Sandra Gutierrez wrote about food trends, asking why certain dishes weren’t more popular. She updated the recipes. That story did very well for us.