Our mission is to increase public understanding of human evolution. We want our blog readers to gain an understanding of the work we’re funding, and connect with the scientists we support. To do this, we ask our grantees to write two posts. Grantees who enjoy writing for the public are welcome to write more.

The first type of post is a “Grantee Spotlight” intended to introduce our readers to you and your work. This piece should tell the story of who you are, what your research project is, what inspired you to do the work you’re doing, and what human evolution questions you’re trying to answer. Aim for around 600 words, but more or less is fine. 

The second type of post is “From the Field,” which is an update on what you’ve been doing and how things are going with your project. You can tell a story about a particular day in the field or the lab, or anything that you’ve been experiencing as you work on your Leakey Foundation-supported project, even difficult challenges you’re facing. Try to tell a story that gives the reader a sense of what it’s like to be in the field or in the lab.

For both types of posts, please include several photos. All photos should include descriptive captions. (Caption examples can be found in the form below).

About our audience: Our target blog audience is a person who has an interest in human evolution, but not expertise. Think of your reader as someone who has taken an undergraduate class in biological anthropology at some point in their life. 

Writing for our audience:  The best way to engage and inform our audience is to tell an enticing story. Our readers enjoy descriptions of your work, projects, and experiences that are presented in a personal manner. Avoid technical language that reads more like an abstract filled with acronyms, instead show them what you’re doing and share anecdotes. Tell them what questions drive your work and why. By keeping a personal perspective and sharing information that may not be found in a journal article, the reader feels connected to your work, is transported to your field site, is hiking through the forest with you, or experiencing an unforeseen problem in the lab or the field as you work to uncover part of the story of human evolution or behavior. 

We don’t expect you to be an expert at writing articles for a general audience but we do believe the practice is important and hope this will be beneficial to you and to The Leakey Foundation. Please feel free to be creative, take risks, and reach out to us if you have questions or want some editorial input on your piece!  

If you want additional education on storytelling for a general audience, check out our “Science Through Story” workshop! Click here to download the accompanying worksheet.