Chrissie Giles studied biochemistry at the University of Leeds in England. Concluding that clumsiness and practical science do not mix, she completed a master’s in science communication in 2003 and has been working as a writer and editor in London ever since. Her editorial career began in a medical communications agency and, via a brief stint in the heady world of motor caravan journalism, she now writes and edits stories on biology and medicine for the Wellcome Trust. She is a commissioning editor at Mosaic, the trust's longform publication.

Pitch Guidelines

Subject matter
A Mosaic story needs to be on a topic or issue that will resonate with a general readership. A scientific or research angle is important too. Our remit is fairly broad, spanning any aspect of biology, medicine, public health, history or ethics that in some way touches on human health, or the human condition more widely.

Narrative
The most important thing for Mosaic is the story. We’re not after reviews, profiles or essays. What we want is a strong compelling narrative that will engage our readers over 3000+ words. We have many ‘topic, no story’ pitches, and we won’t commission until we have some idea of what the potential narrative might be. What’s the transformation at the heart of your piece? Where do we start, and where might it end? What’s the journey we want to take the reader on? Can you sell me the story in a single sentence?

Reporting
Reporting is very important: we’re not interested in a piece that could be written without you leaving your desk. We cover expenses for any travel that is essential to the piece, so tell me how you plan to report the story. Where would you go? Who would you see? What scenes would you be painting in your piece?

What’s new?
‘Why now?’ is another question we ask when considering pitches. We’re not looking for news or investigative journalism, but there has to be a sense of why our readers would want to read about this topic at this moment in time. Of the pieces we’ve commissioned so far, many draw on new discoveries or new approaches that are transforming a particular field and then explore and explain the science and social/cultural context around it. Others are on timeless topics that have always fascinated, such as ageing or consciousness. But they are all new in some way. So, what’s been published on this topic before? How is your angle different and what makes your story unique?