Writers' Guidelines

Broad Street Review (founded in 2005) is an online arts and culture journal serving the greater Philadelphia area. We welcome writers of all identities, and especially encourage disabled, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC writers to pitch us. Remember: if you’re new to BSR, the best way to get an idea of what we run is to read us! There’s no paywall. Subscribe here and check out our weekly newsletters. Writers should review these guidelines carefully before pitching.

Types of coverage

At BSR, we run six main types of coverage. Make sure you understand what they are and who is handling them, so you can tailor your pitches and cut down on unnecessary emails. We’ll break them down by editor. Contact info is at the bottom of this page.

Articles to pitch to Alaina Johns, BSR's editor-in-chief

REVIEWS:

These are your own independent and well-informed response to an arts event. They do not incorporate an interview with the artist or organization.

Reviews are assigned in advance. They should run 600-800 words and the fee is $50.

If you need a review refresher or are looking to start reviewing, we have recordings of two 90-minute classes from the editors available: Intro to Review-Writing and BAD REVIEWS: How to Write Them and Why We Need Them. Access is available for a donation of any size to BSR. Email Alaina to get that rolling. We highly recommend that new or aspiring writers, or writers who are new to journalism or the arts, view these sessions. We usually offer these sessions live annually as well, so subscribe to BSR for those announcements.

FEATURES:

These are stories that incorporate one or more interviews to tell an in-depth story on a particular timely topic. They typically look beyond a particular person or event to tell a bigger story like industry trends, notable anniversaries, behind-the-scenes narratives, or relevant histories with a timely hook. These are assigned in advance. They should run 800-1000 words and the fee is $100.

For that fee, we never expect you to do more than two interviews for a BSR feature. If you would like to do more and you have the capacity for it, that’s fine, as long as the story still fits the BSR length and scope.

ESSAYS and OP-EDs:

These are personal narratives, often mixed with relevant facts, research, or current events. We prefer that essays or op-eds have some kind of a Philly or regional connection, but it’s sometimes OK if they don’t, as long as they connect to the BSR mission (highlighting gender, racial, or disability justice, for example). They should be 800-1000 words and the fee is $100.

While we have always run essays, they typically take a back seat to more time-sensitive arts event coverage. We sometimes can consider drafted essays on spec, particularly if the topic is time-sensitive and you already have a relationship with us, but we typically prefer a pitch in advance to confirm and develop your idea before you write.

Articles to pitch to Kyle V. Hiller, BSR associate editor

PREVIEWS:

A preview is a short story, usually incorporating one interview, that focuses on highlighting a specific upcoming event, like an exhibition, festival, or production. They run 400-500 words and the fee is $50.

INTERVIEWS:

Interview stories, which primarily highlight your conversation with the subject, can be linked to an event, but they don’t have to be. Interviews can spotlight a person on the Philly scene who has a notable ongoing project or mission. Note that we prefer an integrated article using your quotes, not a straight Q&A format. They run about 500-600 words and the fee is $50.

PROFILES:

These have some overlap with interviews and previews. A profile story incorporates one interview to tell a specific, timely story about a person, organization, or initiative. These could include someone who won a notable award, the launch or awarding of a new grant, or a new community project. They run about 500-600 words and the fee is $50.

Policies for pitching

Review the article types above and consider which one best fits your pitch. Then email either Kyle or Alaina depending on who handles that kind of story. It’s ok if your idea isn’t fully developed or you don’t quite know what type of story it could be. We can help you pin it down.

To make a pitch, send an email to the appropriate editor with a subject line like this: "PITCH: Review of Rent at the Arden" or "PITCH: Essay about queer joy and showtunes" or "PITCH: Preview on the Philadelphia Film Festival".

Remember that we need about a month’s advance notice to assign coverage. That means that if you want to cover something in November, get that pitch in by mid-October at latest. We make our calendar monthly, which also means that we don’t consider pitches that are too far out: don’t send something that’s two or three months away.

If you follow these guidelines, you can quickly demonstrate to us that you've done your homework and can handle a BSR assignment!

Alaina typically sorts out pitches weekly on Wednesdays; Kyle handles his on Thursdays. Sometimes if there’s a big stack, that’ll spill over to the following week. Have patience with us; we’re handling a high volume of coverage requests from the whole region.

If you are new to cultural writing or writing in general, we recommend you start by pitching some preview and profile stories. High-quality opinion writing, like reviews and essays, typically takes a bit more of an expanded toolbox and depth of knowledge; but like any professional goal, you can work up to it! The webinars are there to help.

Policies for submitting

Send your finished draft as either a Word or Google doc; no PDFs.

Formatting is single space; one space between paragraphs, and no indent (like this guide). No bold or all caps text.

Make sure you append the information needed for a standard "what, when, where" blurb at the end of BSR articles. Check any published BSR review for examples of the "what, when, where" box at the bottom of the piece. You need the writer/director/artist/creator, ticket price(s), full run dates, venue, address, and a phone number (if available) and a link to get tickets.

Also append the accessibility info in a blurb at the end. Is the venue wheelchair accessible? Are there captions or Braille? A relaxed performance? Gender-neutral bathrooms? Etc. (Remember that it’s not enough for a wheelchair to get in the door; are the bathrooms wheelchair-accessible?) PR contacts or venue staff can confirm this info where needed; don't hesitate to make phone calls to the venue to get this info.

Your wordcount does not include the "what, when, where" and accessibility info.

Make sure to provide at least one image. Don’t wait til the last minute to request them. Be sure to send them to the editor with caption info (who is in the photo and what does it show?) and a photo credit.

We need jpg or png images; no PDFs, HEICs, TIFs, or images pasted into a Word doc. We prefer landscape (horizontal) images, not portrait (vertical). Attach your images to the email when you file, or give us a link to the images in an online folder. We do not need super high-res pics; for internet publishing, normal resolution is fine.

DO NOT SUBMIT MULTIPLE DRAFTS. Read that again.

A word on ethics

Be honest. Let readers know who you are and where you’re coming from. That means no pseudonyms—for you or your subjects—and full disclosure: If you’re writing about your son-in-law’s dance company, your partner’s theater troupe, or your friend’s paintings, disclose the relationship. Ditto if you’re employed by a place that you’re writing about, or if you have a financial interest in it, or sit on its board.

It’s bad journalistic form to send a review or commentary to the subject prior to its publication.

We encourage you to request press passes or tickets when reviewing a show. Previews occur before the event or performance, so you won’t need passes (but some organizations will appreciate your coverage and may be willing to offer you passes). Reputable writers do not abuse this tool of the job. Request passes only if you intend to do the work; otherwise, you’re painting BSR in a negative light, which impacts our community and our ability to represent and cover it. This will also impact your ability to work with us and other outlets. Repeated ticket requests that do not inform your coverage now or in the future (or unprofessional behavior to PR staffers) won’t be tolerated.

Interested?

If you’re interested in writing for us, please peruse the site for a sense of our coverage and style; follow us on Instagram and sign up for our weekly newsletters to our readers. If the BSR vision appeals to you and you’d like to make a pitch, let’s hear from you.

Thanks for visiting our guidelines.

Alaina Johns, Editor-in-chief
[email protected]

Kyle V. Hiller, Associate editor
[email protected]