Writer's Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in submitting a story idea to AARP The Magazine for review. The magazine rarely uses unsolicited ideas. Any material you submit will not be returned. That said, writers may submit pitches based on the following guidelines: 

Story idea letters should be no more than one page long and should provide links to recent writing samples. Your letter should present your idea, give details on how you would approach it, provide some sense of your writing style, and name the section of the magazine for which the piece is intended.

Do not submit the full text of the story you are proposing unless it’s a personal essay. Do not send us email attachments.

We cover stories of interest to people over 50 in these categories:

• Work and Money: investments, savings, retirement, and job issues
• Health and Fitness: tips, trends, studies
• Food and Nutrition: recipes, emphasis on healthy eating
• Travel: tips and trends on how and where to travel
• Consumerism: practical information and advice
• Relationships: family matters, caregiving, living arrangements, grandparenting
• Human Interest: dramatic, recent, inspiring narratives about people over 50
• Personal Essay: thoughtful, timely, new takes on matters of importance to our readers

Note: We do not consider pitches from writers based outside of North America. If you send us a pitch that is plagiarized or A.I.-generated, your email address will be blacklisted and blocked.

To submit your pitch, either e-mail it to pubspitches@aarp.org as plain text within the body of your message or mail it to the following address:

AARP The Magazine
c/o Editorial Submissions
601 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20049