How to request BSR coverage

Are you hoping to get your work covered in BSR? Welcome! Here is some important info. If you follow these tips, you make it much easier for our team to review your pitches, and to say yes.

Start by familiarizing yourself with what we cover: arts and culture happenings (including books, exhibitions, performances of any genre, film and TV, public art and public spaces, protests, and festivals) in the greater Philadelphia area (including South Jersey and Delaware), or with a clear tie to the Philadelphia area.

How do you figure out who to email?

If you’re hoping for review or feature coverage, email editor-in-chief Alaina Johns. If you’re hoping for preview or profile coverage or a mention in our weekly event roundup, email associate editor Kyle V. Hiller. We do not accept materials by mail. Our email addresses are below.

Did you know we have a dedicated Contact BSR writers page which is frequently updated? Look there for individual writers who have made their contact info public, or click through to the writer's bio on individual articles to see if the writer has a website or social-media presence you can tune into. We suggest targeting your pitches as much as possible by sending your material to writers with an interest in your genre. You may have more luck contacting an individual writer with a good pitch, because the editors are inundated with requests.

What should your email look like?

Give your email a clear and specific subject line. Do not put something like "theater event" or "request for coverage" in the subject line. Tell us right up front in the body of the email what your event is, who is putting it on, when it is (including the full run dates), where it is, and how people can get tickets or access the event. And importantly, briefly tell us why this event is of interest to BSR readers.

Attach a press release with more comprehensive information if you’d like, or copy it into the body of your email below your introduction. You should also provide access to properly captioned and credited photos. We can’t tell your story without an image.

To plan coverage, we need some lead time. Send your materials four to six weeks in advance.

For more tips on effectively pitching BSR (or any arts outlet), here is a piece about PR pitfalls to avoid, and here is a piece to help independent artists pitch their shows to the press. We also teach webinars on PR for indie artists, and our next one is coming up on December 10, 2025. You can register here.

Thanks for your interest in BSR. See you in the inbox!

Alaina Johns, [email protected]
Kyle V. Hiller, [email protected]