Freelancers: How to pitch to the Spy
The kinds of stories we want, the rate we pay, and how to get in touch with us
In short: We want original journalism about London. Pieces between 1,000 to 2,000 words in length, with a rate of £0.30 per word.
Send your pitches to: londonspy@substack.com
Writing for London Spy
What we’re looking for: Original reporting about London. News exclusives and anything investigative, as well as in-depth features that explore a current issue. We want you to take time researching and writing your piece — we think existing local news is too quick, too shallow and not human enough. We want you to talk to the people involved and visit places in person. You need to help our readers understand the context too, whether that’s through interviews with experts, unpacking statistics or charting the wider history of the issue.
Topics: We’re open to most things, so long as it’s something most Londoners can get their teeth into. Housing, environment, politics, culture, transport, crime, business, history, education, health. Or just something really weird. Your story doesn’t have to be about London in its entirety — we’re keen to shine a light on specific parts of the city, especially when there are broader lessons to be learned. Our readers don’t just care about the borough they live in.
Our rates: We pay £0.30 per word, and we’re looking for pieces that are 1,000 to 2,000 words in length.
How to get in touch: Email your pitches to londonspy@substack.com. Include a brief explanation of your pitch and a suggested headline. Also, ideally include a rough sense of how long the story will take you to turn around.
Style advice: We’re keen to bring new voices to the Spy — you don’t have to pretend to be us. We include bylines on all our freelance contributions. As a rough rule of thumb though, we want pieces that could have just as easily appeared in the Guardian, Times or Economist. Vice News and Private Eye aren’t too far off either.
Examples of freelance pieces we’ve already published:
