In this new interview series, Tyla Fergusson-Platt is shining a light on the exciting independent travel magazines that exist today. We will be interviewing their travel editors to get an insight into each magazine, including advice on travel writing and pitching. In this first article we’re talking to Kade Krichko, founder and editor of Ori Magazine.

‘I was always drawn to sports stories. I saw it as a passport to understanding other cultures – ways of life that were different to my own.’

Kade Krichko began his journalistic career in sport, which eventually led him further afield, to the mountains and ski journalism.

‘I worked with the (Olympic) US ski team and a multitude of publications including The New York Times, ESPN and Outside.‘

For Kade, sport wasn’t just a means to an end, it had deeper importance.

‘Sport lends itself to bigger stories – immigration, climate change, identity – sport is always just the vehicle.’

The inspiration for Ori Magazine

One of the inspirations for starting Ori magazine (short for original) was the poor working environments that Kade experienced working within the industry. This inspired Kade to try to help change the landscape of the field.

‘I got disillusioned by the bigger publications and was curious if there was a way to treat creatives like myself, that I worked with, a little better. Ori magazine was a culmination of all that.’

The journey of the magazine hasn’t been easy, with a considerable amount of extra work and personal finances to get the publication up and running.

‘I have four other jobs right now. We’re in full start-up mode. We have no investors and that’s by design. The other jobs are my investment into Ori.’

What makes Ori Magazine different from other publications?

‘For me travel is all about that human connection. Our magazine really reflects that. Its a way to build these bridges and to get a deeper understanding of a place instead of reading it on a plaque. Its the people. It’s what you remember long after any trip.’

At Ori magazine there are multiple entry points for readers. You can find beautiful pictures with colourful images or if you want a deeper meaning to an article, Ori has that too.

‘If you read our magazine you’ll see everything is connected to an issue. We have an article on food truck art in Mexico City, and it’s vibrant, colourful and fun. But if you read the article it’s about the erasure of an art form and gentrification.’

The exciting, diverse topics covered in Ori has an added benefit for the editor of the magazine. A chance to form a life-time of connections.

‘I’m in Portland now. In issue 2 we have a piece on the underground music scene in Portland, which has been unreal and cool. I visited one of the photographers at his bagel pop-up. We had never met him before, but now I can roll into a city and have these connections with people.’

Ori Magazine’s creative grant and pay for writers

‘We have a creative grant, essentially we take a portion of all the money from our subscribers and we put it into a separate bank account. We set that money aside and ask our subscribers what their favourite feature was from the issue. The top vote wins the creative grant.’

The grant that Ori magazine offers doesn’t necessarily have to be used within Ori. The idea is an act of compassion to those that work within a struggling industry.

‘The winner can use it to fund their next journalistic project, whether that’s with us or a bigger publication or even funding their own publication.’

Previous winners of the grant have used it in a surprising myriad of ways, not just for writing.

‘It has funded zines, a taco tourism company in Mexico City, helped a photographer fund their child’s student tuition. It doesn’t matter if it’s buying groceries, we know that it gives you enough space to be creative somewhere else.’

Ori magazine offers a great rate for all it’s writers. As mentioned earlier in the article, Kade is passionate about treating the creatives that work for him well and paid on time.

‘We pay $200 for columns and pay 50 cents – 1 dollar per word for our features, which is based on experience. Everything at the magazine is paid and everything is paid on time.’

What Ori are looking for in a pitch

Interested in pitching a story idea to Ori magazine? Kade gives us an insight into the types of pitches that are most likely to be accepted.

‘Pitching what you know is a big thing for us. We’re working with writers and photographers that are based in their area. We like local, we like to be surprised. We like to learn as much as you guys do.’

You shouldn’t be disheartened though if your first pitch is rejected, many experienced and first time writers alike usually take a few pitches before they land a piece.

‘It’s so important for people to realise, a lot of the writers we work with, their stories are a third generation of a pitch they sent us.’

Even if a story isn’t right for Ori, there’s a chance you may be contacted if you’re in an area the magazine want to cover.

‘As long as you introduce yourself in the pitch, where you’re based, what your expertise is in and you’re based in an area that we really want to do an article on and you’re the person who can get the information that we need, sometimes that’s how stories come about.’

Ori magazine reader trips

Ori is more than just a magazine. They also offer trips to chosen areas of the world that falls in line with the style of the publication.

‘A natural progression for us is to host these trips, you saw this in the magazine, now we’re going to do it and you should come with us. That was the idea behind the trips. Part of the deal with the trips is if you’re a subsciber you get a discount. You can save thousands of dollars just by purchasing a $60 magazine subscription.’

The trips are curated to ensure a valuable experience to trip-goers, and the local communities that are visited.

‘The one we’re really focusing on now is the Basque country in Spain. We work with local winemakers, chefs, local guides and we have this very intimate, 10 people max trip, deep into this culinary culture.’

How to pitch to Ori magazine

‘We have a contributor portal on our website that essentially gets you into our system, we send out calls for pitches on a regular basis. Following us on Instagram is a really good way of keeping up with things.’

If you would like to find out more about Ori Magazine please visit: https://ori-mag.com/