A Million Little Delights: Travel Stories & Essays Free Tip Jar Option

WORD COUNT: 500–1,000 words
PAYMENT: $0.08 per word, based on the final edited word count. Payment is issued upon publication.

A Million Little Delights is seeking thoughtful, transportive travel stories about what happens when we leave the familiar behind.

We're interested in travel writing with a story at its center—not itineraries, destination roundups, or lists of must-see attractions. Take us somewhere and let us experience it with you.

We want the missed trains, peculiar museums, conversations with strangers, meals you still think about, wrong turns that became the best part of the day, places that weren't what you expected, and journeys that changed because something didn't go according to plan.

You don't need to travel somewhere glamorous or far away to have a story worth telling. A tiny town two hours from home can be every bit as interesting as Paris if you give us a reason to care.

The spirit we're after:

A Solo Train Through Scotland — a narrative travel essay about conversations with strangers and traveling without an itinerary built around “must-sees.”

Please use this as an example of the specificity, voice, and spirit we love—not as a story to pitch. This piece is already in development for an upcoming issue.

What we're looking for

Pitch us a story that happens somewhere, rather than simply a story about somewhere.

Maybe you spent a week visiting every swimming hole in a region your grandmother loved. Maybe an overnight train introduced you to someone unforgettable. Maybe you deliberately traveled without consulting a “best of” list. Maybe you returned to the vacation town your family visited when you were eight and discovered your memory had gotten almost everything wrong.

We're interested in solo travel, local adventures, road trips, trains, cities, small towns, overlooked destinations, return journeys, unusual accommodations, food encountered along the way, and places with stories of their own.

Strong submissions should give us a sense of place. We want texture, atmosphere, people, observations, and details that couldn't simply be transferred to another destination.

We're especially drawn to travel writing that is curious rather than performative. You don't need to prove that a trip transformed you, conquered a fear, or taught you five important lessons.

Sometimes you went somewhere.

Something happened.

And you came home with a very good story.

Take us with you.