What are Little White Lies looking for?
Since 2005 Little White Lies has been covering both mainstream and independent cinema from all around the world with top quality journalism and illustration. We aren’t afraid to speak our minds on the films we love (and sometimes hate), and want to offer our readers the chance to hear from a multitude of voices from all walks of life, regardless of writing experience. We’re invested in beautiful films and the people that make them, and want to create and curate writing and illustration that reflects this.
If that sounds good to you, please find a list of the types of pieces we’re looking for below, with some examples.
Get more Little White Lies
Online Commissions
We only commission a handful of pieces a month, so please don’t take it personally if we are unable to accept your pitch – you are more than welcome to pitch again. We pay 20ppw for online commissions and a flat rate of £85 for reviews.
Acting Up
This column focuses on a single actor, highlighting notable roles or common themes. These are tied to anniversaries, new releases and milestone birthdays. The aim of the column is to explore the connections in an actor’s career, so the films don’t necessarily have to be “good” – this is a chance to write about the connections we draw between past and future performances, and the journey of filmmaking more generally. Is talent always a given? Have some performers stopped taking dramatic risks? What makes a certain performer so compelling to watch? (Word Range 1000 – 1500)
https://lwlies.com/acting-up/lee-kang-sheng
https://lwlies.com/acting-up/matthew-macfadyen-mr-darcy
Reportage
Reported features essentially tell us a story from somewhere in cinema – maybe about a particular place or scene, a programming collective or DIY venue, a famous shooting location – this is a pretty flexible remit for interesting stories from around the world which might not have received much attention previously. (Word Range 1000 – 1500)
Opinion
Op-eds about a story in the headlines or a new film release that offer a strong, well-argued take. These pieces will offer an interesting opinion or insight on something that people are currently talking about, be it the Oscars, some casting news, or a new trend in horror films, to give you a few examples. They could pose a question or give a point of view. These should be timely, and have a short shelf life, so should be pitched and turned around quickly by the writer. (Word Range 800 – 1500)
https://lwlies.com/articles/air-michael-jordan-ben-affleck/
Deep Cuts (Club LWLies Essays)
Reflections on the legacies of genre and cult cinema, deep dives into film histories and subcultures, appraisals of soundtracks, costume and production design trends and other areas that celebrate craft, to more personal or polemic takes related to screen culture. These essays offer a relatively broad space for writing about cinema, and do not necessarily need a timely hook to be considered. They are originally published behind a paywall, accessible to readers that support Little White Lies with a membership, before eventually being unlocked for wider readership. (Word Range 1000 – 1500)
Not Movies
Pieces on exhibitions, theatre or video games with a strong, clear connection to cinema. There should be a timely hook to this. We might consider an anniversary pitch if it’s particularly original or strong. (Word Range 1000 – 1500)
https://lwlies.com/articles/pubic-information-films/
Big Shorts
Our monthly column focusing on short films. This could be an essay about a filmmaker’s short works, a round-up of an interesting shorts programme at a festival, or a deep-dive into a specific notable short film from history. This is not a review column or a place to promote your own filmmaking but a space to consider the short film as a medium and how it functions. (Word Range 1000 – 1500)
Small Screen
Our monthly column focussing on television. We’re open to anniversary pieces, season reviews of new shows, op-eds – but the shows should be in the spirit of what Little White Lies champions, meaning original storytelling, innovation and risk-taking creativity. We don’t want episode recaps or individual episode reviews, but we’re open to pieces about the shows in the public eye now and what people should catch up with both on traditional television and streaming. Interviews aren’t likely to be commissioned unless there is particularly exclusive or exciting access available. (Word Range 1000 – 1500)
The Long Read
A longer piece (2000−4000 words) about something interesting – could be a ‘How we made’ style interview, could be a deep dive on some element or issue impacting the movie landscape, could be an oral history or an especially involved personal essay. These are not opinion pieces. Well-researched, well-written and valuable are the key terms here and these pieces will possibly include interviews, as well as a more extensive writing and editing process. We only publish one of these pieces a month.
https://lwlies.com/articles/the-case-for-art/
Anniversary Pieces
Our anniversary essays are usually – but not always – linked to an anniversary (the year has to end in a five or a zero!). Other hooks could be a birthday/rerelease/new release/season/screening event, but if your idea is interesting enough, we will consider it without a timely element. These pieces always have a strong throughline. They could be personal essays, comparison pieces, a slice of film history or focus on a specific element of a film that should be reexplored or rediscovered. We are looking for unique angles and ideas with passionate writers behind them. We are not looking for general overviews or appreciations. Bring your personality and your unique insights!
Please check if we have covered the title before, include the date of the anniversary in your email and do not pitch them more than two months in advance unless there is a heavy research aspect involved. (Word Range 1000 – 2000)
Reviews
Film reviews are extremely coveted assignments and at LWLies they are largely conducted by our editorial team or by freelancers we’ve worked with before on features. We ask that writers do not pitch reviews as we assign these ourselves. We only have a small budget every month, and we have far more requests to review films than we can reasonably fulfil, so we tend to focus on films receiving a cinema release across the UK and major streaming titles. We also are not likely to commission a review more than a week after a film’s release unless there is a very good reason to do so.
We work to the UK cinema/streaming calendar so please keep this in mind when pitching. If you’re looking for information on the LWLies scoring system, check here. (500 words each unless agreed with editor)
Interviews
Major interviews with filmmakers and actors are conducted by our staff and regular contributors, usually for the print edition. However, we love hearing about below the line talent and other people making interesting films or doing cool things in cinema, and are open to pitches, particularly with a strong angle/approach or unique access. (1000 – 2000 words)
Festival First-Look Reviews
Major film festivals (Cannes, Venice, London, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, SXSW, Locarno, NYFF) are covered with first-look reviews and LWLies usually has an editor or a regular freelancer on the ground. We do not tend to commission interviews or features at festivals unless there is an amazing opportunity. We are generally not able to provide accreditation letters for film festivals.
General Pitching Information
Please put ‘PITCH’ at the start of your email subject line so we can tell what the email is about easily, along with a short summary. You can put your actual pitch in the email body – no need to attach it as a separate document. Please avoid sending more than 1 – 3 pitches in a single email, as this makes it quite long for editors to read. Your pitch should be around 200 – 300 words, outlining your idea clearly, your sources (if necessary) and when the piece can be filed. You should be specific and include examples/links if appropriate.
If you are pitching a piece linked to an upcoming release, birthday, event or anniversary please include the date of this too. If you do not receive a reply from an editor within four business days, feel free to follow up (or sooner, if it’s a particularly time-sensitive pitch) but please don’t chase us every day. We work on a print issue 2 – 3 months in advance. Online we work 1 – 2 months in advance.
All commissions are paid, so please do not offer your services for free. Please do not submit unsolicited drafts for editorial consideration – we don’t have time to read them. We do not accept previously published work unless there are exceptional circumstances, and we don’t really ‘assign’ pieces, so there’s no need to email us with a general offer of your writing services.
Finally, please remember that LWLies is run by a dedicated but very small team, and while we do try to reply to every single pitch we get, we do sometimes miss things, and we are not able to offer detailed feedback on all the pitches we receive. If you are not successful the first time please don’t let this deter you!
Contact
Send your pitch to the relevant person below.
Magazine Editor
David Jenkins
david@tcolondon.com
(Long Lead & Print: Reviews, Interviews, Profiles)
Digital Editor
Hannah Strong
hannah@tcolondon.com
(Short Lead & Online: Reviews, Interviews, Features, Festivals, Podcast)
Community Editor
Marina Ashoti
marina@tcolondon.com
(Deep Cuts – Club LWLies Essays)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be based in the UK to write for LWLies?
No, we publish writers from all around the world. You need only good ideas, a strong grasp of written English, and a bank account/PayPal that can accept international payments.
How do I get published in the print edition of LWLies?
The best way to become a print contributor is to start by working with us online! Most of our print contributors started out as online contributors. We don’t really take pitches for the print edition as the film we feature every issue informs our editorial decisions.
I’m an artist – how can I work with LWLies?
LWLies is powered by original illustration and we’re always looking for new collaborators. We are not able to offer feedback to all submissions, but if you’d like to be considered, send your portfolio and a short note to our artistic director, Laurène Boglio: laurene@tcolondon.com. Laurene looks at all the portfolios she receives and frequently contacts artists long after receiving their email, so it’s always worth getting in touch!
What are your terms and how do I invoice?
Please refer to our contributor’s terms before undertaking a commission for LWLies. Please refer to our Style Guide for formatting advice. Contact your editor if you have any questions. All contributions to LWL are paid so please don’t offer your services for free. We pay 30 days from invoice date, and you can invoice as soon as your piece is live unless otherwise agreed. All invoices need to go to accounts@tcolondon.com and include the title and date of your piece, plus your editor, the URL of the piece and the fee agreed, plus your personal and payment details. You can use this template if you like (download/copy and fill in). We pay via bank transfer or PayPal. If there is any problem with your invoice or payment, please contact your commissioning editor.
Is there anything you’re not looking for?
At LWLies we try to publish irreverent and unique writing, so we’re not looking for takes we’ve seen before or for pieces that are direct responses to articles published in other outlets. We’re not big on lists unless there’s a great angle, and we don’t publish heavily academic pieces. We want to be a welcoming but smart space for film lovers sick of AI, influencer culture and “content” masquerading as critique.
Are you commissioning video essays?
We are not currently commissioning video essays at Little White Lies but this might be revisited in the future.
What is LWLies’ stance on AI?
We are firmly anti-generative AI and will never use AI in our editorial or illustration. If you are someone who uses generative AI in your pitches, writing or art, we are not the publication for you. We are also not interested in reviewing or spotlighting films that are created predominantly using generative AI – creativity is at the heart of Little White Lies and we firmly believe there is no place in our publication for that.
Can you review or feature my film?
We’re a very small team, and we have a lot of films to review each week, so we cannot commit to reviewing every film that is sent for review consideration.
Can I intern at LWLies?
As stated we are a very small team, so we very rarely have opportunities for internships. You can express your interest to david@tcolondon.
Are you looking for new staff at LWLies?
When we have roles available, job postings for LWLies are posted on our company website. Please do not send your CV on spec as we do not keep them on file. We do not have regular critic or reviewer roles at LWLies.
I have a question not listed here…
Email us and we’ll do our best to answer!
