Power Pitch 2017
D5) Power Pitch 2017
Advance signups for this session begin on September 6 and close on September 16. See details below.
Welcome to Power Pitch 2017, where you’ll have the opportunity to sit across the table from the editor of your dreams and pitch story ideas, one-on-one. Each slot lasts 7 minutes – plenty of time for several well-honed pitches. Each editor can meet with up to 8 writers, so space is limited.
Registered attendees will need to sign up, via a email, during the period from September 6-16, to meet with the editor of their choice. Details on how to sign up and tips for preparing a pitch are below. Please read the details carefully.
More than 20 editors will attend the session, from a mix of publications based in the U.S. and elsewhere. Confirmed attendees currently include:
- Ross Andersen, senior editor, The Atlantic
- Steven Bedard, bioGraphic
- Eric Betz, associate editor, Discover
- Estrella Burgos, editor in chief, ¿Cómo ves? Magazine
- Caty Enders, series editor, The Guardian
- Seth Fletcher, chief features editor, Scientific American (US)
- Chrissie Giles, Mosaic
- Laura Helmuth, health, science & environment editor, The Washington Post
- Jude Isabella, editor in chief, Hakai
- Elizabeth Lopatto, science editor, The Verge
- Luisa Massarani, Latin American coordinator, SciDev.Net
- Derek Mead, editor-in-chief, Motherboard
- Mike Mechanic, senior editor, Mother Jones
- Lauren Morello, bureau chief, Americas, Nature
- Katie Palmer, science editor, WIRED
- Noelle Swan, staff editor, The Christian Science Monitor (US)
- Mićo Tatalović, environment and life sciences editor, New Scientist
- John Travis, news managing editor, Science
- Jacob Ward, former editor in chief, Popular Science
- Pamela Weintraub, neuroscience & medical editor, Aeon
- Harry Wilson, senior editor, Canadian Geographic
- Tom Zeller, editor in chief, Undark (US)
STEP 1: REGISTER for the conference.
You must be fully registered for the meeting by the time PowerPitch signup closes on September 16. Anyone who is not registered for WCSJ2017 by September 16 will be excluded from the editor match ups.
This event is strictly intended for people to pitch stories as journalists – and not public relations. Press officers are welcome to register, but we ask that you please not pitch story ideas involving your own institution or employer.
STEP 2: SIGN UP for the Power Pitch
To sign up, EMAIL PowerPitch2017@gmail.com between September 6, 2017, 8:00 am Pacific Daylight Time (UTC -7 hours) and September 16, 8:00 am Pacific Daylight Time. Signups are NOT first-come first-served. Everyone who submits an email during the signup period will have an equal chance of being matched with an editor. PLEASE NOTE THAT EMAILS RECEIVED OUTSIDE THE SIGNUP PERIOD (either before it begins or after it ends) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
- Your email should have the following SUBJECT LINE: Power Pitch 2017, your Full Name, and the Country Where You Live. (For example: Power Pitch 2017, Harry Potter, England.)
- In the BODY of your email, please list as many as 20 editors in descending order of preference. For example: “1. Chrissie Giles, 2. Steven Bedard, 3. Elizabeth Lopatto,” etc., with #1 being the editor you would most like to meet with). We expect a lot of signups, and some editors will fill up very quickly. This is why we suggest that you list up to 20 editors. But please ONLY include a particular editor in your list if you are SURE you want to pitch them.
STEP 3: CHECK for your confirmation email
Once you send your email, you should receive a CONFIRMATION EMAIL from PowerPitch2017@gmail.com immediately. (Please check your spam folder if you did not receive it.) If you do not have access to email, you can also send the requested signup information as a series of SMS text message addressed to PowerPitch2017@gmail.com.
STEP 4: WAIT for an email with your match(es)
We will notify you of your editor assignments by September 30, giving you ample time to prepare your story ideas and pitches. Check your spam folder if you have not received an email from PowerPitch2017@gmail.com. Follow Twitter for updates: #Powerpitch2017, visit our Web Page to see our evolving roster of editors, and email PowerPitch2017@gmail.com with any questions.
We will do our best to ensure that everyone gets to meet at least one editor, and that it is one of their top several choices, but unfortunately we cannot make any guarantees. Anyone who does not get matched with an editor will be put on a waitlist and will be informed if any slots open up at a later date.
STEP 5: PREPARE your pitch
Once you are matched with an editor, PLEASE THOROUGHLY PREPARE YOUR PITCHES IN ADVANCE! Pitch slots are highly sought after, so we want both editors and writers to make the most of them. In addition, the short meeting time (only about 7 minutes) will require that you be prepared to discuss your ideas concisely.
(a) Read any pitch guidelines posted online by an editor. These will be listed on the editor’s speaker bio page.
(b) Examine the publication in print or online.
(c) Come up with some well-thought-out ideas.
(d) Remember that it’s best if you come in with more than one idea, since even the best idea can unexpectedly be dead on arrival if, for example, the editor already has a similar story in the works.
Links to additional pitch advice or pitch examples are listed below. We especially call your attention to the first resource, which offers advice for the brief, one-on-one PowerPitch format.
http://www.theopennotebook.com/2013/10/30/how-to-prepare-for-the-sciencewriters2013-power-pitch/
http://www.theopennotebook.com/2012/01/04/how-not-to-pitch/
https://medium.com/@annfriedman/how-and-where-to-pitch-your-writing-1c316fa37bda
