Fall freelance workshop to offer tips on pitching, Nov. 8

Whether you’re new to freelancing or an old hand, selling yourself and your ideas to new publications is often the most challenging part of the job. This year’s Fall Freelance Workshop includes a panel of experienced freelancers and editors who will offer tips on pitching.

The workshop, co-sponsored by the National Press Club's Freelance Committee and the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Club.

The workshop is free for NPC and SPJ members and $10 for general admission. To register, click here.

Panelists Holley Simmons, Jenny Rough and Holly Morris have a range of experience in freelancing and editing for both newspapers and magazines.

• Simmons, dining and lifestyles editor at The Washington Post Express, has been on both sides and has developed a keen eye for how to get a gatekeeper’s attention. She will offer tips to ensure your e-mail not only gets read, but gets a response.




• Rough’s articles and essays have appeared in AARP The Magazine, Bethesda, The Los Angeles Times, More, Salon, USA Weekend, The Washington Post, and Yoga Journal. She’ll offer advice on how freelancers can use personal essays to get a foot in the door at new publications. Rough compiles Mediabistro’s guide to Personal Essay Markets, a list of 60 personal essay markets.




• Morris is managing editor of features at The Washington Post Express. She often works with young, first-time freelancers, and will offer tips useful to beginners as well as established writers. She teaches a free class on freelance pitching for Knowledge Commons DC and holds boot camps for potential Washington Express freelancers.

For more information, contact Tam Harbert at [email protected].