WHAT I DO

I am an associate editor at Pitchfork. Before this, I used to work at NME, where I was assistant reviews editor. I have also written about music for The Guardian, Uncut, The Quietus, Under The Radar and eMusic, and written all sorts of advertorial-shaped things.

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

Speak on your panel! In the past, I have spoken at Leeds Festival, Swn, and the Norwich Sound & Vision Conference. I enjoy doing these things very much.

Administer learns to your students! I am plenty happy to come and talk to university/school groups about how to put your words in the kind of order that might make people pay you for them one day. I have previously done this for London’s City University post-graduate journalism course.

Write for you! Although I am full-time at Pitchfork, occasionally I can write for other places too, so if you have an idea that you think I would be good for, please just ask.

Speak on your podcast/radio show! I have previously talked on BBC Radio 1 and the Financial Times’ music podcast among others. I love radio because no-one can see quite how much I blush on a day-to-day basis.

WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR ME

If you have found my mobile phone number or Facebook account, please do not contact me that way – I am all yours via email [laura at pitchfork dot com] and Twitter.

My last.fm should give you an idea of the kind of music I like. Maybe look there before sending me a “hot” “new” “cut” from “the next Mumford & Sons” that I will “totally love”.

Students, if you would like me to answer questions for your dissertation &c, I am normally happy to do so if I have time – but please ask before you fill my (or any other journalist’s) inbox with unsolicited questions. It’s only polite.

WHAT I CANNOT DO FOR YOU

Answer questions about “women in music”/”women in music journalism”.

Get you a job. However, I have written some advice which you can read below, and if you have questions about how to get into music journalism beyond that, then feel free to email me:

I get quite a lot of emails asking for tips on how to get into music journalism – I’d advise blogging, knowing your subject back to front and inside out, reading heaps of other amazing writers and figuring out what makes them so good, prostrating your services for free, working on student press, getting into a strong music-oriented community on Twitter, and generally being a tolerable pest. There is no single right way to do it – I got here through a combination of making fanzines, work experience, writing for my student paper and being a general nag. Learning how to pitch is a tough thing, but never underestimate the occasional power of firing an editor a super bon idea on Twitter.

I can do all other things. All of them, honest.