Write for NepalNOW: Contributor & Writer Guidelines

For commissioned writers, contributors, photographers and editorial partners

NepalNOW exists to tell stories about Nepal as it really is: complex, contemporary, ancient, changing, surprising and deeply human. We are not trying to produce another collection of travel blogs or promotional destination copy. We want stories that help readers understand Nepal through its people, places, traditions, landscapes, ideas and everyday life.

A NepalNOW story should leave the reader knowing something about Nepal they did not know before.

1. What makes a NepalNOW story?

Start small. You do not need to explain an entire destination, community or tradition. Start with:

• one person or conversation
• one street, meal or craft
• one ritual or landscape
• one building or journey
• one question or unexpected moment

Then use that small story to reveal something bigger about Nepal.

A potter can tell us about changing Kathmandu. A bowl of food can tell us about migration. A footpath can tell us about trade. A festival can reveal how different belief systems coexist. A young entrepreneur can tell us about a Nepal very different from the one portrayed in traditional travel media.

Find the small story. Then find the bigger meaning inside it.

2. Tell a story, not an advertisement

NepalNOW is not a tourism brochure. Show the reader what makes a place remarkable instead of telling them it is remarkable.

Instead of:

Pokhara is a breathtaking destination surrounded by majestic mountains and offers something for everyone.

Try:

At six in the morning, the tea shops along the edge of Phewa Lake are already awake. Boatmen drink their first tea while Machhapuchhre appears briefly between the clouds.

The second version allows the reader to discover the place. Show us. Do not sell to us.

3. People come first

Places become interesting through people. Whenever possible, introduce us to the people who live there, work there, protect something, make something, believe something or understand something.

• Use names and occupations.
• Include opinions, knowledge, humour, disagreements, histories and ambitions.
• Do not reduce people to ‘friendly locals’ or colourful background characters.
• Ask what has changed, what matters to them and what they want for the future.

4. Nepal is more than mountains

Mountains are an extraordinary part of Nepal. They are not the whole country. We actively welcome stories about:

• People & Society – communities, migration, identity, generations and everyday life.
• Food – ingredients, kitchens, farmers, cooks, markets and changing tastes.
• Culture & Heritage – architecture, crafts, music, dance, festivals and living heritage.
• Faith & Philosophy – Hinduism, Buddhism, indigenous belief systems, shamanism and the places where traditions overlap.
• Nature – forests, rivers, wildlife, wetlands, geology, conservation and relationships with nature.
• Contemporary Nepal – artists, designers, musicians, entrepreneurs, cyclists, scientists, chefs, architects and people changing Nepal.
• Journeys & Landscapes – walking, cycling, trekking, roads, rivers, pilgrimage routes and the communities encountered along them.
• Ideas – sustainability, climate, tourism, development, urbanisation and heritage protection.

5. Explain Nepal without simplifying it

Nepal is layered. A sacred site may be important to Hindus, Buddhists and practitioners of indigenous traditions at the same time. A festival may have different meanings to different communities. Do not remove this complexity because an international reader may not immediately understand it. Explain it simply.

Briefly explain unfamiliar Nepali words, festivals, deities, communities, historical events and traditions. Where several explanations exist, say so rather than presenting one version as absolute fact.

6. Voice & tone

NepalNOW writing should feel curious, human, intelligent, accessible and observant.

• Write as though explaining something fascinating to an interested friend who has never been to Nepal.
• Use simple language and clear sentences.
• Humour and personality are welcome.
• First-person writing is welcome when the writer genuinely belongs in the story.
• The writer does not always need to be the centre of the story.
• Avoid academic or bureaucratic language when simple language will do.

7. Words to use carefully

Travel writing has developed words that have almost stopped meaning anything. Be very careful with:

• breathtaking, majestic, mystical, magical
• exotic, authentic, untouched, pristine
• hidden gem, paradise, bucket list, must-see
• off the beaten path, land of contrasts, land that time forgot
• friendly locals, smiling people

If something is extraordinary, give us the detail that proves it and allow the reader to decide.

8. Observation matters

Good stories contain details that could only have come from being there. Notice sounds, smells, weather, food, clothing, objects, conversations, gestures, signs, buildings, animals, silence and changes in landscape.

Nepal does not exist in the past. Show old and new living beside each other.

9. Use local voices

Whenever possible, talk to people connected with the story. Quotes do not need to sound profound. Often the simplest sentence is strongest.

• Confirm the person’s name and spelling.
• Confirm their role or occupation.
• Make sure they are comfortable being quoted.
• Ask before photographing people where appropriate.
• Do not change someone’s meaning to make a quotation sound better.
• Translations may be lightly edited for clarity but must remain faithful.

10. Ethical storytelling

People are not content. Be particularly careful when covering disasters, poverty, children, marginalised communities, illness, death, religious ceremonies, indigenous practices, conflict, displacement and trauma.

• Does this person benefit from having their story told?
• Would you be comfortable showing them the finished story?
• Do they understand how their words or photograph may be used?
• Are you showing dignity, or simply creating drama?

Never manufacture vulnerability, pressure someone to recount trauma, photograph private grief simply because the image is powerful, or assume poverty makes someone interesting. Dignity comes before the story.

11. Photography

Images should help tell the story, not simply decorate it. We prefer photographs showing people doing things, everyday life, relationships between people and place, details, environments, crafts and processes, food, respectfully observed rituals and landscapes with context.

Ideally submit 6–12 strong photographs, including a possible lead image and a mixture of wider scenes, people and details. Original high-resolution files are preferred.

Captions

Captions should identify what we are looking at and add useful context. Include photographer credit and obtain permission where reasonably required, particularly for portraits, children, private spaces and sensitive situations.

12. Facts matter

Check names, dates, locations, altitudes, historical claims, community names, religious terminology, statistics and spellings.

For important historical, scientific or statistical claims, provide sources to the editor. Where competing versions exist, say so. Prefer primary sources, recognised researchers, government information, community knowledge and established institutions where possible.

13. Using AI

AI can help with grammar, organising notes, transcription, translation, checking clarity and brainstorming headlines. It cannot replace experience, observation, interviews or reporting.

Do not submit generic AI-generated destination articles. Writers remain responsible for every fact, quotation and claim submitted under their name.

Use technology to improve your storytelling, not replace your experience.

14. SEO – without writing for robots

We want NepalNOW stories to be discoverable through search engines and AI platforms, but humans come first. Use relevant place names, subjects and terms naturally. Do not repeat keywords unnaturally. The editorial team can optimise titles, descriptions, links and metadata later.

Write for humans. Structure for discovery.

15. Story length

Most NepalNOW features should be approximately 700–1,200 words. A strong shorter story is better than a longer story stretched to fill space. Longer features can be considered where the subject requires them.

16. A simple story structure

The hook

Start somewhere interesting: a person, action, sentence, question or moment. Avoid beginning with several paragraphs of history.

The discovery

What are we looking at? Who are we meeting? What is happening?

The context

Help the reader understand why it happens, where it came from and why it matters.

The people

Bring voices into the story and let people explain their own world.

The bigger story

What does this small story tell us about Nepal?

The end

Leave us with a thought, image, conversation or question rather than simply stopping.

17. Headlines

Headlines should create curiosity without becoming clickbait.

Avoid: 10 Amazing Things You Must Do in Kathmandu

Consider: The Kathmandu Street Where Buddha Statues Are Still Made by Hand

Or: Why This Village Still Grows a Nearly Forgotten Grain

18. Before & after

Generic:

Bandipur is a beautiful hidden gem located in the hills of Nepal. This charming town offers breathtaking Himalayan views, friendly locals and authentic Newari culture.

NepalNOW:

At seven in the morning, Bandipur’s main street belongs mostly to schoolchildren, shopkeepers and dogs. The old brick houses lining the bazaar tell another story: this small hill town once sat on an important trading route between India and Tibet.

Generic:

The local people have maintained their traditional lifestyle for centuries.

NepalNOW:

Pasang remembers when almost every house grew barley. Today, he says, most younger people buy rice brought up by truck. His daughter works in Kathmandu. His son is in Dubai. Pasang still plants barley.

Specific beats generic.

19. Submission format

Please submit the story as an editable document. At the top include:

• Working title
• Writer’s name
• Location
• Date researched/visited
• Approximate word count
• 50-word summary
• Suggested category
• Three to five suggested keywords

At the end include:

• Sources / references
• Names and contact details of key interviewees where appropriate for editorial verification
• Photography credits
• Photo captions
• Any permissions or sensitivities the editor should know about

20. Before you press send

1. What will someone understand about Nepal after reading this that they probably did not understand before?
2. Could this story be about almost any country if I changed the place names? If yes, dig deeper.
3. Did I talk to people – or merely write about them?
4. Have I checked the facts?
5. Would the people in this story feel fairly represented if they read it?

Finally

Nepal has enough spectacular mountain photographs and enough lists of ‘10 things to do’. What the world needs more of are the stories behind the things it sees.

Why is that shrine there? Who makes that mask? Why does this community celebrate differently from the village across the river? What happened to the old trading route? Why is this farmer changing crops? Why are young Nepalis returning home? Why do several religions consider the same place sacred? Who is changing Kathmandu today? What does a changing climate mean to someone living beneath a glacier?

Find one story. Get close to it. Talk to people. Understand it. Then tell it simply. That is a NepalNOW story.