Claudia Canavan was the Health & Wellness Director at Hearst UK when this episode was recorded. She oversaw the content and editorial strategy across several of the publisher’s flagship magazines, including Women's Health and Men's Health. In this interview she mainly focused on Women’s Health, but if you’re keen to pitch a wellness story to another health title, the advice is very transferable. Especially as she now actually works at New Scientist magazine, as Head of Features. We spoke last year, so expect some 2024 references, but all Claudia’s advice is still worth heeding. She’s a strong advocate for inclusive storytelling and speaks movingly about how the best part of her job is helping readers with little known health conditions feel less alone. After this interview you’ll feel less alone too, because she tells you how to catch her eye in her bin fire of an inbox and what franchise to pitch into if you don’t have much experience or many bylines to your name. You’ll also learn everything you need to know about the Women’s Health annual content calendar and how it influences what they commission, how to take dry data and make it into a human story that people want to read, and what skills to develop for a media career with longevity.  KEY TOPICS: How to become a journalist at Women's Health How to become a trusted PR at Women's Health How to pitch an article to Women's Health Article pitch examples for Women's Health How to write an article for Women's Health magazine How to get free press coverage at Women's Health How to become a regular freelancer at Women's Health How to future-proof your writing or PR career ABOUT THE GUEST: Claudia Canavan, Former Health & Wellness Director at Hearst UK, Women’s Health Claudia is a journalist and editor, specialising in health. She currently serves as Head of Features at New Scientist, leading a team of seven. Previously, she worked in various roles at Women's and Men's Health magazines, ultimately becoming Health + Wellness Director across both brands.   She commissions, edits and writes about topics like the new science of advanced meditation, what the psychedelic renaissance means for women, the happiness potential of less conventional relationships and why the ketamine therapy bubble burst.   While working at HuffPost UK she founded the sustainable living microsite HuffPost Sourced. This was after being selected via a company-wide pitch process to launch a new sub-brand. Prior to this, she was Digital Living Editor at Red, and on the online team at Esquire, before that.   She’s well-versed in hosting. Recent work includes hosting a debate between ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ author and psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, neurobiologist Gina Rippon and physician-scientist John Ioannidis on the current medical paradigm at 2024's How The Light Gets In festival, as well as a conversation with legendary psychotherapist Susie Orbach. She moderated a panel on psychedelic clinical practice at 2024's Breaking Convention and another on therapy for eating disorders at the 2023 PSYCH Symposium conference. She’s been invited to speak about female health issues on the radio, including on Jane Garvey and Fi Glover's Times Radio show, and is regularly asked to appear on panels as an expert on women's health, including at branding agency Pearlfisher's 'Deconstructing Wellness event'. Find them on: Claudia Canavan’s Linkedin  (where the above bio is sourced from) Claudia Canavan’s Instagram Claudia Canavan’s content archive   LIST OF RESOURCES MENTIONED: Franchise examples that were referenced: Well opinionated Deep dives Does it work in real life / I Tried It… Example articles: Why climate change is a global women’s health issue How the ketamine wellness bubble burst Could lucid dreaming be a trauma therapy? Women’s pain is readily dismissed. It’s no wonder so many of us are exploring alternative health The health case for going out to dance in your 40s and beyo