Pitches wanted (books, publishing) | ~38 to 63 cents per word

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: BACKSTORY

Deadline: 12 February 2024

Backstory is an independent bookshop + bar in south London.

We publish a biannual magazine, also called Backstory. It is not a literary magazine, just a mag for people who love good books and great bookshops. Like the shop, we hope our magazine is approachable, lively, informative – and just a little bit snarky.

Our first issue featured new and exclusive writing from some of our favourite contemporary writers, including Jessica Andrews, Alice Winn, Colin Walsh and Tom Crewe.

We ran a photo essay on Croydon (a sometimes maligned London borough) and a reported feature on the rise of Black cookbook authors. A debut novelist spilled the beans on how much she actually earned. A book-to-TV scout shared his secret diary. And we imagined what would happen if Alan Bennett and Bram Stoker went on a blind date.

We are now commissioning original features and columns for our second issue, due to be published in April.

WHAT WE'RE COMMISSIONING FOR ISSUE 2

Columns

Typically 450-500 words.

Pay: £150 or double that in credit to spend on books in store or online.

We are looking for punchy columns driven by a single idea. They could be written by novelists, non-fiction writers, journalists or others in the book industry with an interesting story to tell.

Examples from issue 1 included a week in the life of a book-to-TV scout, an ode to re-reading a book, and an anatomy of the political hatchet job.

Features

Typically 1,000-1,500 words

Pay: £500 or double that in credit to spend on books in store or online.

We are looking for original reported features about emerging trends in books, the business of books (everything from multinational publishers to indie presses through distributors to authors and agents), profiles of the characters in book world and anything and everything about bookshops.

These could be written by established or debut novelists, non-fiction authors or journalists.

We are especially keen on pitches that are data-driven or pitches for photo essays.

Examples from issue 1 included debut author Colin Walsh on the Irish book boom, a food writer on the rise of Black and brown cookbook authors, and imagined blind dates between big-name authors.

We are not looking for pitches for interviews with authors or book reviews.

HOW TO PITCH

Please send a short summary of the column or feature you propose, together with a summary of your writing experience.

Email pitches to tom@backstory.london with "issue 2 pitch" in the subject line by Monday 12th February.

CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):

• Questions/submissions: tom@backstory.london
• Website: https://backstory.london/

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: Backstory is all about celebrating the story behind each story (the backstory). It is not a literary magazine, just a magazine for people who love good books and great bookshops. It is approachable, lively, informative, and a little bit snarky. More information here.
• Read through a selection of recent articles/stories on its website.
• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook and at SuccessfulPitches.com.
• Do not forget to end your pitch with (1) a short introduction about yourself; (2) a few lines highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits; and (3) links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.

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