Freelance Writing Program

The Groundcover News freelance writing program began in 2022 with a mini grant from First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor’s Jackson Social Welfare Fund. 

Our freelance writing program at Groundcover News is a program that compensates writers with lived experiences with homelessness and poverty to write for our local community newspaper. 

The participating writers in our freelance writing program pitch story ideas and work with the editor and publisher. Writers submit on the first submission deadline. The writers receive edits and feedback from the editor and publisher a few days later on a printed or shared Google document. The writers work one on one with the editor and can re-submit their articles with improvements. Upon publication, the writers receive compensation according to a rubric score and written feedback to apply to their next piece. 

They are also invited to do an oral recording of the article at the Ann Arbor Downtown Library on the day of publication, and are compensated to do so. 

Learn more about how the freelance writing program works here.