The original (and still the best) pitching clinic.

Since 2018, The Freelance Sessions have hosted pitching masterclasses and one-to-one sessions for writers who are at the start of their journalism journey and for seasoned journalists & editors who have been in the industry for decades.

The founder, Jessica-Hope Evans, a writer from Liverpool with a working class background, understands just how tough it can be breaking into such a field, where publications still offer unpaid or ‘all-expenses paid' internships, meaning the wealthy or those with a London postcode, are often able to do the journalism gigs over working class writers.
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As a journalist in London, Jessica's classist treatment by the industry prompted her to think about fellow working class northerners, many of who are just beginning their own struggles in the elitist field of journalism. The journalist wanted to create something that meant hopeful journalists wouldn't be held back by their class, background, accent or whether they had a family friend working as editor at a national newspaper. She set up inclusive, stripped back and uncomplicated sessions where she helped clients become successful freelance journalists - focusing on their article ideas and turning them into paid pieces in their favourite publications. ⁣
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Since starting the business, clients have seen success in national and global news outlets, which has been a win for anyone not in the elitist clique of journalism. Clients from working class backgrounds have gone onto experience press trips, high profile industry events and write for some of the biggest publications in the UK, without having to do ‘all expenses’ internships in London or go through the ordeal of being discriminated against in the office.

The Freelance Sessions have now helped break in more than 1000 working class writers into journalism and have helped more than 500 staff journalists & editors become successful freelance journalists.