Perfect Pitch: Journalism pitching panel

Join us in person for Perfect Pitch, a fun and informal session where journalism pros Sarah Cox, Kerry Slavens and Zoë Yunker share their top tips on how to craft the perfect pitch. Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned writer, you'll get great insights on pitching stories that editors can't resist! Don't miss this chance to learn, ask questions, and network face-to-face with experts in the field.

About the panelists:

Sarah Cox is an award-winning author and journalist based in Victoria, BC, the territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples. Sarah’s latest book, Signs of Life: Field Notes from the Frontlines of Extinction, was published in 2024. It won a Book Award for BC Authors from the Sunshine Coast Editors & Writers Society and was a finalist for the Lane Anderson Award for science writing and a City of Victoria Book Prize. Her previous book, Breaching the Peace: The Site C Dam and a Valley’s Stand Against Big Hydro, won a BC Book Prize and was a finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing (Writers’ Trust of Canada). Sarah works for The Narwhal, where she writes about Canada’s natural world.

As former editor-in-chief of Douglas magazine and YAM magazine, Kerry Slavens has played a key role in telling South Vancouver Island’s stories of culture, innovation and entrepreneurship and shaping the vibrant narrative of Greater Victoria. Kerry was also editor-in-chief of Spruce, a home and renovation media brand. Kerry has focused her career on developing clear and compelling communications across multiple mediums. After graduating from UVic’s Department of Writing, she worked at newspapers and magazines throughout B.C. before co-founding Artemis PR + Design, an award-winning creative communications agency. Today, Kerry is the Director of Communications & Marketing for South Island Prosperity Partnership, Greater Victoria’s economic alliance.

Zoë Yunker is a freelance journalist living in Victoria on Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ Territories, where she writes about B.C. energy politics and ecosystems. Her work is featured in publications such as The Tyee, The Narwhal, The Walrus, Jacobin, and CBC. Her two-part series, the Coming Indigenous Power Play, won the Webster Award for Excellence in Business, Industry, Labour and Economics, and she won silver for the Digital Publishing Awards’ Best Service Feature for her article, “The People’s Filter.” Zoë has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of British Columbia and a master’s in sociology from the University of Victoria.

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