What a twist on networking for creatives? Well this will be the place to be this January 2026..

More details will be posted by the end of October 2025.

First virtual workshop of the Fall hosted by Serena Castillo.

December 7th, 2025, during a virtual workshop, writers will be engaging in an interactive experience building a storyline from scratch, including all that comes with building a great story and how to keep the readers engaged.

Each month a grant round-up is presented for you: Here is a place for you to find resources to help you gain funding head-on. These grants are for small businesses, creators, and non-profits.

HELLO ALICE is a platform that helps you continuously find resources to fund your projects and business.

What are the goals of this residency?

In a time marked by overlapping global crises and a growing urgency to imagine more equitable futures, we recognize that BIPOC/PGM writers are often called upon to shoulder the additional labour of advocacy, cultural translation and education — a task that is often unacknowledged or uncompensated.

Amidst these pressures, we aim to offer material support and a space where underheard voices are resourced, uplifted, and given room to flourish. We seek to support the creation of a work of fiction or non-fiction that pushes boundaries in form or content, but is rooted first in the writer’s own voice and creative terms. 

What will the resident receive? 

The resident will receive a $4,000 honorarium to be delivered half upon commencement, half upon completion.

One month personal access to our writing studio during opening hours—a work-only, semi-private space in our upstairs loft on Granville Island.

Community engagement through two workshops or events in partnership with Upstart & Crow. 

Mother Jones is a nonprofit investigative news organization that delivers bold and original multiplatform reporting on the urgent issues of our time, from democracy protection and climate change to extremism and beyond. Much like our namesake, the 20th-century union organizer Mary Harris “Mother” Jones—who battled child labor and was once referred to as “the most dangerous woman in America”—we punch above our weight in service of fairness and justice: Our political scoops, deep-dive reportage, and narrative storytelling reach 8 million readers every month.

While most stories we publish come from staff reporters, we are always on the lookout for smart ideas from freelance writers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds and who report on underrepresented communities. You can pitch editors directly via email—take a look at our staff page to get a sense of their areas of interest.

Fees and payment

Our rates are based on a writer’s experience, our experience with the writer, article type, and the difficulty of the reporting and editing required. For print, rates start at $1.75 per word. For online, rates start at $0.75 a word. We pay 1/3 of the fee upon submission of a first draft, and the rest as soon as possible after publication.

*Accepting pitches on a rolling basis from storytellers of all experience levels.

Grassroots Thinking is an independent publication focused on the stories that matter to the Black working class. We explain the news, politics, and culture through reportage, analysis, commentary, interviews, and essays with an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist lens. Our contributors are organizers, experts, and cultural workers who see the world as it is and know the point is to change it.

Good stories for Grassroots Thinking explain social phenomena. Great stories for Grassroots Thinking have a historical and material analysis. The best stories are persuasive, well-written, and, above all, interesting.

How much do we pay

Pay is based on an estimated $.10/word, starting at $75 per story.

We work with writers of all experience levels—including first-time contributors. If you’ve got something to say and a story that needs telling, we want to hear from you.

If you're ready to send your pitch or if you'd like to be added to our contributors list, click the button below.

Weekly newsletter by Serena Castillo via LinkedIn on her journey being an author and expanding into starting her own publishing empire.

AAHKMBXX42 for 20% annual or monthly website plan.

This online platform helps to provide free resources and courses to help you advance your startup and current business to the next level with templates, courses, and other programs.

MONEY CLASS FOR WOMEN+ BY WOMEN+

LEARN THE TRICKS TO INVESTING!

FUD helps earn some extra cash while working on your writing. This app gives you the chance to do tasks in your free time and earn money in the process!

Kinnected is brought to you by HueCapital. Kinnected recently launched and it is a directory that can help you to advance your career whether you are looking to network within your current profession or looking to network outside of your profession. This new tool is here to help create an easy way to search between industries, services, and locations, with the help of filtering tools such as event type, career level, ethnicity, level of education, age group, member size, and more.

Here is another partnership through Hello Alice with Verizon. They are hosting a workshop to help pivot individuals into career paths of their choice while giving resources and tools to do so.

The Skill Forward program, in partnership with Verizon and edX, is 100% free and connects you with online training, resources, and career services to help you find your next big job opportunity. Through Skill Forward, you receive 12 months of access to over 250 online courses and certifications in a variety of in-demand areas, including AI, business, leadership, business, communication, and more.

New Resources Coming Soon