It’s been five years since sisters Hannah and Faith Russell launched Mags Creative, a company named after one of the most extraordinary women in their life: their grandmother, Mags.

In the years since, uplifting women’s voices has been one of the company’s foremost aims and now, to mark our 5th anniversary, we will be developing a brand new limited series that showcases an important, untold story of a woman or group of women.  

We’re looking to work with the best in the business to create this show – and that’s where you come in. Please send us your pitches and tell us what you think this limited series could look like.

If we see potential in your concept, our team of expert podcast creators will work with you to try and bring it to life.

Editorial guidelines

• Season length: 6-12 episodes. Limited run. 
• Editorial focus: For this content callout, we are specifically looking to tell the stories of women. This could be a narrative that centres on a woman/women, a story told from the perspective of a woman/women, a story that feels particularly relevant for women, or something else. These women do not have to be heroes and they certainly do not have to be perfect. We are looking to tell multifaceted, authentic stories.
• A story: We’re inviting pitches for a story or a narrative, not a topic. The podcast needs to take us on a journey that involves twists and turns and introduces us to some key characters that we can root for (or against!). Please be aware that we are not able to work with you on a live investigation. The story will also need to have some sort of conclusion when you pitch it to us.
• Audience: This series idea should attract a large, international audience of podcast listeners who are on the hunt for their next non-fiction, binge-worthy series. 
• Originality: This series idea needs to break new ground. It can’t have already been told in the media (ie. TV or film) or, if it has, you’ll need to provide an angle that feels totally new. It cannot have been told in podcast format and it cannot have been pitched to a podcast platform previously.

The process 

Our creative development team will assess the stories submitted and be in touch regarding conversations we wish to pursue. 

All submissions will receive a response, even if we do not wish to pursue the conversation any further. 

Stories that move into a development phase will be shaped by the storyteller and our development team, with a view to pitching to key commissioners across leading UK and US platforms. This might also involve the creation of a pilot that will be produced in-house by our award-winning production team. 

We may contact you to chat more about your idea, but your contact details won’t be used for anything else. The details you submit will be deleted after 6 months, or once our content call out process is over – whichever is first.

Timeline 

Mags invites submissions	Tuesday 30th May, 2023
Submission form closes	Friday 30th June, 2023
Mags to be in touch on a rolling basis	Tuesday 30th May, 2023 – Friday 30th June, 2023
Development phase with stories selected	From July 2023

How to apply 

• Please submit your idea through our Google pitch form and fill in as much detail as you can for each field. 
• You’ll always hear back from us. Our team will review every pitch with the above criteria in mind and respond to every submission, regardless of the outcome. 

Way of working 

This is an open call for stories that deserve to be told in a podcast format. We invite you to submit stories you have been working on that will be particularly well-suited to this medium, and should we move into a development phase, we will outline any terms of engagement in a straightforward contractual agreement. 

Any storytellers would of course be paid for their involvement with any project that moved into a production phase. We’d work closely with the storyteller to understand what role they’d play in the development and production, should it be picked up by a platform. 

Terms and Conditions 

• If you have any questions about the terms of this opportunity, please email charlotte@magscreative. 
• This initiative is organised by Mags Creative Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales (company number 09589756) and whose registered office is 2B Crofton Road, London, SE5 8NB
• You must be over the age of 18 to submit
• You will be asked to provide your name and any relevant information about you relating to your pitch.
• All material should be submitted in English. Please do not submit confidential information. We will not keep your idea confidential as your idea may be copied and distributed to the relevant people at our company for evaluation. We do not wish to make your idea public, but a number of our specialists may review the idea and it may be discussed with individuals outside of Mags Creative.
• Submissions can only be accepted online via this form; postal or email pitch submissions will not be considered.
• You must own the idea you are submitting and you cannot submit the idea of another person or party. Ideas and pitches must be original and can feature well known public figures from present day or from history and you can use real-life experiences as a creative springboard so long as your submission is original.
• Entrants retain ownership of all rights that may subsist in their submissions so you can continue to use the material you contribute in any way until such time as we enter into a development agreement (if applicable).
• In submitting your pitch, you confirm that your contribution is your own original work, is not defamatory or unlawful and does not infringe anyone else’s rights (including privacy rights). You also confirm that your contribution does not unfairly promote or further any business activities and that there is no claim pending or threatened which involves your submission.
• We reserve the right to cancel this pitching opportunity at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of our control.
• We, our subcontractors, subsidiaries, agencies and/or any other organisation associated with your submission cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any server, Internet access, system or otherwise which may result in any submission being lost or not properly registered or recorded.
• We may receive other submissions which resemble your pitch and that in some cases similar or identical ideas may be generated independently, we accept no responsibility or liability for this.
• There is no guarantee that we will be interested in developing your pitch further with you, but it will be considered equally alongside other submissions. We commit to responding to every pitch. 
• We will not be liable, in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), pre-contract or other representations otherwise out of or in connection with this pitching opportunity for (i) any economic losses (ii) any loss of goodwill or reputation or (iii) any special or indirect or consequential losses, provided that nothing in these Terms & Conditions shall exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or that of our servants, agents or employees or other liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.We agree to review your pitch when properly submitted. Following the preliminary evaluation, if we are interested in pursuing your pitch, you will be notified per our process. Should we decide to proceed with your pitch, we will sign a development agreement and further materials will be requested. We will ask you to provide some personal information as part of the submission process which we will hold on our Google Drive. All personal information held by us will be held in accordance with the terms of applicable data protection laws including GDPR.

About Mags Creative 

Mags Creative is a multi-award winning UK podcast production and promotion agency. Founded by sisters Hannah and Faith Russell in 2018, we were awarded the Best Network at the British Podcast Awards 2022. 

Reaching millions of ears, Mags Creative works with brands such as Puffin, Meta, Google, Carolina Herrera, Duke of Edinburgh and Red Bull to produce and promote podcasts globally. Talent partnerships include the likes of Jonny Wilkinson (I AM…), Kate Ferdinand (Blended) and Laura Whitmore (Castaway). Platform partners include Spotify, Amazon Music, the BBC and Podimo.

Shows produced by Mags Creative frequently top the Apple charts, and are featured by Spotify, Apple and Amazon. They also achieve high profile media coverage in titles such as the London Evening Standard, Stylist and The Guardian.