An editor does not remember your client. The editor remembers you. A publicist who has sent three irrelevant emails has already spent the fourth one before it was opened, and no wording gets it back.
This is a guide for people who do this every week, for different disciplines, with a list they have to rebuild each time. It is about the system: how a list gets built, what goes in the tracker, what a release has to contain, and what to tell a client who wants to approve the words.
A list is not an address book
The commonest failure is a mailing list assembled once and reused. Every project needs its own, and it gets built from three circles.
Titles that have already written about something comparable. This is the highest-value circle and the most skipped. Find it by searching a candidate's own site for the name of an artist, a venue or a company you consider a peer. If they wrote about the last show at that gallery, they will read about the next one. Five to eight titles, chosen this way, beat fifty gathered from a list of contacts.
Titles by geography. The town your client is in, and every town on the tour. Local arts pages and local radio have fewer stories and fewer writers, and they will use material a national title has already refused.
Titles by subject, outside art. If the project is about food waste, energy, housing or employment, the publication that covers that subject beats every art title, because your client is news to them. This is where the coverage you did not know to look for comes from.
Five to eight per circle. Not fifty.
City by city
The geography circle deserves its own routine. For every town on a tour, or every venue in a run of exhibitions, there are four doors: the local paper or news site, the local radio station, the venue's own list and the city's event listings. Each gets a separate short message with that town's date in the subject line, three to six weeks ahead.
Listings are the door publicists forget, because they do not look like press. They want the date, the venue with its address, a booking link and one image, and several take events at no charge. Leeds Inspired says adding an event is free. Londonist asks for details by email around two weeks before. Daily Info in Oxford has a page for listing an event. City societies in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester and Oxford take event details and say they pass a tour on to the other cities on the route: see, for example, Birmingham and Cambridge.
What the tracker holds
One row per contact, and these columns:
Publication | Section | Submission page URL | Date you last opened that page | What they take | What you sent and when | Reply | Date of next contact | What ran, with link
The date you last opened the page is the column people omit and the one that matters. Terms change, pages move, and a pitch sent to a URL that quietly became an advertising page is unrecoverable. The link column at the end is what turns a pitch into a result you can invoice.
Three invented rows:
| Publication | Section | Page opened | Sent | Reply | Next contact | What ran |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Regional evening paper] | Arts | 12 Aug 2026 | 2 Sep, exhibition review offer | 4 Sep, asked for dates and images | 20 Sep | 11 Oct, review with photograph |
| [Subject title, energy] | Features | 19 Aug 2026 | 28 Aug, press release | none | 11 Sep | nothing |
| [Venue mailing list] | not a publication | n/a | 5 Sep, guest list request | 6 Sep, two acceptances | n/a | n/a |
Exclusive and embargo in practice
The terms themselves are defined in How a pitch is read; do not reword them in a client email, because the meaning is in the wording.
An exclusive offer is one sentence: what is being offered, to whom first, and the date until which you will hold it. "I am offering this to you first and will hold it until 14 March." A date rather than a vague window is what makes it usable.
An embargo is worth using when there is a precise future fact: a result, an award, a merger, an opening date announced in advance. It is not worth using for an ordinary exhibition, because there is nothing to embargo and the language makes the invitation look ceremonial.
A release that can be used
Five parts, and the whole thing in the body of the email rather than only in an attachment.
- First line: a fact with a date and a place. Not "The celebrated artist XYZ presents", but "The new building opens to the public on 14 November at [place]."
- One quote, not three. A single sentence from someone with a name attached.
- A facts block. Dates, address, opening hours, and whether entry is free.
- A link to images, with captions and credits.
- A named contact who will answer today, including a telephone number.
Send it as text. A release that exists only as a PDF has already failed the editor who wanted to quote a line from the second paragraph.
Images are where it breaks
One link, opening without an account. Files named by a scheme a stranger can read: artist_title_year_credit.jpg. A separate sheet of captions, each with title, artist, year, medium, dimensions and credit. And an explicit sentence saying the publication may reproduce the images.
That last sentence is the one that gets left out, and it is the one that stops a review. If nobody has confirmed the rights, the piece is held for a rights check and often never runs.
What editors count as spam
Seven things, and all of them are ordinary rather than devious.
- Sending to the wrong section. A books editor receives the exhibition release.
- "Just checking in" with nothing new in it.
- A second and a third reminder. One follow-up is enough.
- A telephone call on the day the issue goes to press.
- A release about an event that has already happened.
- Marking something exclusive inside a general mailing, so nobody can take it up.
- Offering money to an editor inside a pitch. A paid placement is a separate conversation with the advertising or partnerships desk.
Money, in one paragraph
Media is a market, and most publications sell something: sponsored features, partner content, advertising, a place in a guide. For many clients this is the right purchase, because it buys a date, a length and an audience, none of which editorial ever promises. Your job is to know both doors and to tell the client which one each pound goes through. Ask the publication for its rate card and for the label the piece will carry, agree with the client how the result will be described afterwards, and put that in the client agreement at the start rather than in an argument in week three.
Copy approval, and how to raise it early
Clients ask to see the article before it appears. Publications do not send it, and the reason is worth understanding: a publication that lets the subject approve the words is no longer independent. Many say so on their submissions pages.
Tell the client this at the start of the project, in the proposal, not at the moment they ask. Then tell them what is available instead: a factual correction after publication, and a right of reply if something is wrong.
The press view
Invitations two to three weeks ahead, a reminder in the last week, a list of who has accepted, and on the night a pack containing the release, the caption sheet and the image link. Decide in advance who from your team answers questions.
Reporting to the client
The result is published pieces, with links. It is not the number of emails sent, which measures your effort rather than their coverage. Send a short list: what ran, where, the link, and what to do differently next time.
If nothing ran, say so and say which of the three circles failed. That is a more useful conversation than a figure with a decimal point.
Three mistakes particular to this job
One text for every discipline. The same release sent to an art magazine, a local paper and a business title is three different pitches sent wrong. Three circles means three texts.
Signing as the client without naming yourself. Write from the publicist, state who you are, and state who the client is. A message that appears to come from the artist, written by someone who is not the artist, is the fastest route to being ignored.
Promising a client a specific publication. Say you will approach them. Do not say you will get them in. The moment you promise a placement you have given away the only leverage you had, and you will be asked about it in week two.
A pitch you can adapt
The example below is invented. Nothing in it refers to a real client, venue, artist or publication.
Subject: Exclusive first look: [building name], opens 14 March, [town]
Dear [name],
I am the press contact for [client], a charity that runs [building] in [town]. We are opening it to the public on 14 March and I would like to offer you the first look, exclusive until 20 March.
Two things that may interest your readers: the building was converted rather than built, from a workshop that closed in 1989, and 91 of the 340 people who worked on the restoration live in the town.
Open to visitors from 10am on 14 March, entry free. Images and captions are here, and we can supply any view you need: [one link]. I am reachable on [number] today and tomorrow.
With thanks, [Name, publicist]
It runs to about a hundred and forty words. It names an exclusive and a holding date, gives two facts rather than adjectives, states the practical details, and makes the next step a single reply.
Where to pitch
The list gives what each publication says on its own page, and for this guide the entries are about news and press releases rather than article pitches. Terms change; open the page before you send.
Visual art
Colossal
What they take. Contemporary art, craft, design, photography and illustration.
What their page asks for. A brief email with high-resolution images or a link, and it says it cannot respond personally.
Colossal: submission guidelines
Creative Boom
What they take. Creative projects and stories, and press releases for its news section.
What their page asks for. Name, location, biography, a site link, a description, and six JPEGs or PNGs at 2,600px wide. Says it does not take pitches through social media.
Hyperallergic
What they take. News, reviews and opinion from writers.
What their page asks for. A working title, the argument in two or three sentences, why now, word count, images, a biography and writing samples. Says it replies within ten business days.
It's Nice That
What they take. Graphic design, illustration, photography, animation, visual art and short film.
What their page asks for. Email with a biography, information about the work, and links to images rather than attachments.
Visionary Art
What they take. Exhibition reviews, studio visits and news from outside London.
What their page asks for. A press release is welcome as a tip, and it says it writes its own text. Says it answers within about three weeks and never charges for coverage.
Books
ArtCulture UK
What they take. Reviews, features, interviews and essays across the arts.
What their page asks for. A pitch through the form, with the angle, why now and two or three links. Says it does not want press releases presented as articles.
ArtCulture UK: submissions guidelines
Litro
What they take. Fiction, flash, essays, nonfiction and poetry.
What their page asks for. Takes work from writers, not press releases. The piece, to the length stated for the category. Says simultaneous submissions are welcome.
London Review of Books
What they take. Poems, reviews, reportage, memoir, articles and blogposts.
What their page asks for. Takes work from writers, not press releases. Email or post to the editorial address. Says that if you have not heard within three weeks you should assume it does not intend to publish.
London Review of Books: submissions
Mslexia
What they take. A magazine for women's writing, with separate routes for fiction, poetry and nonfiction.
What their page asks for. Takes work from writers, not press releases. The route that fits the piece, then the piece.
Music
BBC Music Introducing
What they take. Music uploaded by the people who make it.
What their page asks for. Takes uploads from artists, not press releases. The uploader needs a BBC account.
BBC Music Introducing: bBC Introducing
DIY
What they take. New band coverage, album and live reviews.
What their page asks for. Email to the editorial team or the form. Says reviews are commissioned about eight weeks ahead.
Songlines
What they take. Albums for review.
What their page asks for. A streaming link with FOR REVIEW in the subject. Says it does not review singles.
The Line of Best Fit
What they take. Music from new and unsigned artists.
What their page asks for. A form with a link to the music, and a separate address for news.
Creativity's UK
What they take. Criticism and reviews across the arts, including music and theatre.
What their page asks for. The idea and a link to something you have written. Says it does not run press releases or paid placement.
Trade and business
ARTnews
What they take. Industry news, and a confidential tipline for information with impact.
What their page asks for. Says the tipline is not for story pitches, general requests or press releases, and those should go to the contact page. Says it cannot promise a reply.
Arts Professional
What they take. Articles for the arts sector, and information sent in confidence.
What their page asks for. Says you can submit a proposal to write an article through its site. Its contact page does not name an address for press releases.
Business of Fashion
What they take. Pitches from contributors, for a fashion and beauty business audience.
What their page asks for. Asks for targeted, relevant and concise pitches. Says it is unable to respond to all of them.
Business of Fashion: contact us
DIVO.TV
What they take. Market analysis, the business of culture, heritage and patronage, and interviews.
What their page asks for. Three things in a short message: the claim, the figure or source it rests on, and who you are. Says it does not take press releases presented as articles, or investment tips.
FashionUnited
What they take. Press releases, news tips and story pitches for the fashion trade.
What their page asks for. A press release to the news address on its contact page. Says its editorial team reviews it for publication.
Two notes on reading the list, and they matter more for a publicist than for anyone else. A press release is not a pitch: several publications on this list say in terms that they do not want one, and one says outright that a release offered as an article will be refused. And the trade titles are the hardest to reach, not the easiest: most name an address for news and say little else.
Questions publicists ask
How many publications should be on a list for one exhibition? Fifteen to twenty-five, built from the three circles rather than inherited. Below ten and a single busy editor can lose interest in the whole project. Above thirty and you are writing to people for whom the project is not relevant, which is the thing that gets a sender remembered badly.
When is an embargo worth using? When there is a precise future fact that would be spoiled: a result, an award, a closure, a merger. Not for an ordinary opening, where there is nothing to protect and the language reads as ceremony.
Should I follow up by phone? Rarely, and never on the day a publication closes for press. A short follow-up email two weeks later, in the same thread and with something new in it, is read more often. A phone call is worth it when you already have a relationship and the call is to deliver a date.
What do I tell a client who wants to approve the article? Tell them at the proposal stage that editorial copy is not submitted for approval, and offer them what is actually available: factual correction after publication and a right of reply. A client told this in week three feels ambushed; told it in the proposal, it is a line in a document.
If you look after a publication's submissions page and it belongs in this list, or an entry here is out of date, tell the Journal.
