This hybrid seminar/workshop on pitching to publications will operate in two parts: In the first hour, we will discuss what makes a strong pitch; how that varies depending on the type of story or outlet where you’re sending your work (newspaper, magazine, literary journal, etc.); and analyze a few (anonymized) examples of successful and unsuccessful pitches to different publications to get a clearer sense of what works vs. what doesn’t.
After a short break, the second hour will be workshop-based: A number of participants will submit a 2-3 paragraph pitch in advance of the meeting and indicate whether they are open to circulating their pitch to the group for discussion (with the caveat that we may not have time to get through everyone’s pitches during the session). Regardless of whether writers want their work discussed in the workshop, all participants will receive written feedback on their pitches.
**There are also a limited number of spots available to attend the session without submitting work beforehand—there’s an option to indicate that preference in the form below.
Tajja Isen is the author of Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service, named a Best Book of the Year by Electric Literature, The Globe and Mail, CBC Books, and Daily Hive. As an editor, she has worked at Catapult and The Walrus, and she is co-editor of the essay anthology The World as We Knew It: Dispatches from a Changing Climate. She has written for The Atlantic, Vulture, Time, and Longreads, among other outlets. Her next book is a memoir on mentorship and ambition. She is a Spring 2024 Shearing Fellow at Black Mountain Institute at UNLV.