We Want YOU

It's a new year, and it's time for us to get some fresh blood. If you're passionate about Philadelphia and you want to share that passion with others, we want to hear from you. Strong writers interested in contributing to Phillyist can check out the application instructions below.

Currently, we're seeking writers in all of the following areas:

• Sports: Philly is a huge sports town, and it's not always possible for us to keep abreast of everything going on with all of our hometown teams. If you never miss a Flyers game or if you bleed Green for the Birds, we might just have a use for you.
• Theatre: Every day, we're forced to turn down requests for coverage from many of the Greater Philadelphia area's best theatre companies because we can't possibly catch all of their productions. So if you go balls-out for Beckett or if you're ga-ga for gobos, we'd love to hook you up with a seat or two, in exchange for a few hundred words of thoughtful criticism.
• News: We hope that Phillyist is your go-to source for the morning news, but we want to be your go-to source for the news all day—especially when there's no time to comb through philly.com. We could use a few more newsheads to help us keep up with goings-on around town. Perhaps your passion for reading the news on Phillyist could become a passion for writing the news for Phillyist?
• Local Music: Bill Haley. John Legend. Hall and Oates. Patti LaBelle. Gamble and Huff. Boyz II Men. Jon Bon Jovi (kind of). The Roots. These are the recognizable names in Philadelphia music. But what about Good Old War, Liam and Me, Fooling April, Matt Duke? We've gotten to know these bands here on Phillyist, and there are plenty more lesser-known-but-still-friggin-awesome local or locally connected bands out there—so many that we can't keep track! If you want to write up a few live sets or conduct a few interviews with Philly's most talented musicians, well, we'd love to help facilitate that.
• Graphic Design: Hand turkeys and cookie cutters are all well and good, but sometimes we need a graphic that's a little less... loving hands at home. If you've got strong design skills—and you're really quick on turning your designs around when we need them—we'd definitely like to see what you've got. Not a writer? No problem. When you get to the application information below, substitute "writing samples" for "work samples" and send us three or four examples of your best stuff.
• Blogged Around Philly and the Craigslist Round-Up: Once in a while, certain recurring posts that we really like disappear from the site because as much as we like them, we haven't been able to keep up. These are two features we definitely want to bring back to Phillyist in the new year, so if you can't get enough of Dan McQuade or missed connections—or maybe you saw a posting about Dan McQuade on the missed connections page—it sounds like you're the kind of person we want contributing to the site.
• Other Old Features: Don't know what to tell your TiVo to catch without TelePhillyist? Too lazy to check out Ticketmaster yourself and desperately longing for the days of our twice-weekly Ticket Updates? Still upset over the demise of This Week in Celebrity, even more than a year after it last appeared on Phillyist? There are other people out there who feel your pain! Help us bring those features back. Do it for yourself. Do it for the other people like you. You know you want to.
• Your Best Ideas: Just when we think we have our bases covered, somebody comes along with a great idea for a new recurring post. If there's something you think Phillyist is really lacking, and you think you're just the person to fill that gap, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you're interested in writing about any of the above and you think you can commit to a regular posting schedule without getting paid* send us a writing sample of up to 1,000 words in a PDF or DOC formatted attachment, along with answers to the following questions in the body of your email, to HireMe@phillyist.com.

So You Wanna Write for Phillyist...

1. What's your name?
2. How did you find yourself in the City of Brotherly Love, and how long have you been here?
3. Where's your favorite place to go in Philadelphia? What's your favorite thing to do?
4. Take a position and defend it: cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, or water ice?
5. What would you like to write for Phillyist and why?
6. Is there anything else you'd like us to know about you?

We'll be accepting applications through the end of the month, but the sooner we hear from you, the sooner you'll hear from us. Please note that due to the volume of applications we receive during each recruitment effort, we cannot send detailed responses to all applicants—but everyone will get an answer from us.

*Phillyist operates on a small monthly stipend that covers operational expenses. However, all Phillyist contributors are eligible for free tickets to events in and around the Philadelphia area. And believe us—members of the press get the good seats.

Image created by the author from the classic poster and Flickr user Conspiracy of Happiness's shot of "Keys to the Community," the bust of Ben Franklin sculpted by friend-of-Phillyist James Peniston.