Episodes is OPEN for freelance pitches!

When we relaunched the newsletter back in January, we mentioned that, if we were to get enough support for this new version of Episodes, our top priority would be bringing back the freelance essays that made the newsletter so vibrant in the early 2020s. Today, we're thrilled to say that we've hit that goal, and we are once again accepting pitches from freelancers!

I'm interested! Where should I send my freelance pitch to?

Thanks for asking, hypothetical freelancer! Send your pitch to episodes.pitches [at] gmail [dot] com. Your email's subject line should read "Freelance pitch: [headline or subject of pitch]."

What kind of work are you looking for?

Per our About page (did you know we have an About page??), Episodes publishes smart longform writing about the moments that make pop culture.

We're a cultural criticism and culture journalism website, and all pieces pitched should reflect that. Generally, we're looking for more thinkpiece-y or essayistic writing rather than straight reviews. Pieces in the 1,500–2,000 word range are ideal for our readership.

We're especially interested in pieces that, per that About page, focus on a specific moment from a piece of pop culture that reveals something fundamental about the whole — think Emily's piece on Blue Heron or Lily's on Widow's Bay for an example. If your idea doesn't fit that format, though, please pitch it anyway! It's a mandate we follow only sporadically ourselves. Other areas in which we'd like to publish more work include interviews and pieces about books, music, video games, and the theater.

While we will occasionally publish an "I saw myself in this piece of pop culture" article, the bar for accepting these is very high. Pitch them at your own risk. However, we love to write about more obscure corners of pop culture, so that piece you think is too esoteric for anywhere else? Pitch it to us!

Finally, back in 2020–2022, we had the privilege to publish some really great freelance work on the site. Give them a read to get an idea of the kind of work we like.

How should I pitch you?

Great question! Emily wrote up a whole guide for how to pitch freelance pieces back in 2021, and we'd both appreciate it if you gave it a look-over before sending us your pitch.

Do you pay?

Yes! We pay $200 for a piece, ideally between 1,500 and 2,000 words.

Anything else to know?

Just a couple more things!

• If you don't hear back from us within, let's say, a month, please send a reminder email.
• We don't publish work written, outlined, or ideated using an LLM. Our subscribers pay to read work by humans.
• Depending on our backlog, it may be a few months between accepting your pitch and running your piece. We'll keep you informed about this if you have a pitch accepted.

That's all we've got — happy pitching!