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WRITERS’ GUIDELINES Thanks for your interest in writing for enRoute. We look forward to receiving your queries, but before you send them please read this information carefully; it answers many frequently asked questions and will help you understand our magazine. Background In 2001, enRoute relaunched as a lifestyle magazine. In May 2005, we underwent another transformation to become a publication that celebrates the travel lifestyle of our readers. enRoute stories are infused with the idea of mobility, with travel-related stories occurring throughout the magazine. We speak to an international readership that is on the go, cultured and educated. Who are we? enRoute is Air Canada’s award-winning bilingual (English/French) inflight magazine, judged the best inflight magazine in the world in 2001 and 2002 and winner of more than 350 other editorial and design awards. It is published out of Montreal by Spafax Canada, a London, U.K.-based company that produces inflight entertainment (including print, audio and video) for more than 60 airlines worldwide. What are we about? enRoute is the place where Canada and the world intersect. We are an upscale travel lifestyle magazine interested in everything from wine to design, popular science to pop music. We are a trusted and consistent source of entertainment and information about the world and the mobile lifestyle of our readers. The magazine is smart and fun and seeks to celebrate the excitement and glamour of air travel. As many travellers’ first introduction to Canada, we are proudly Canadian but never parochial about Canadian content. Who are our readers? enRoute readers are highly mobile people who live, work and play on a global scale. The magazine is read by nearly 1 million passengers a month and can be found in the seat pockets of Air Canada aircraft and in Maple Leaf™ Lounges and select Star Alliance™ lounges around the world. It is also distributed at more than 100 upscale outlets across Canada (hotels, boutiques, health clubs, restaurants and lounges). Air Canada passengers (64 percent male/36 percent female) are affluent business travellers from major Canadian cities and highly educated frequent flyers with disposable incomes far above the national average. What makes an enRoute story? A subject that will remain fresh during our four-to-six month lead time and has a unique, unexpected angle. A tone that is personal, highly narrative and opinionated. Stories that are about or that illustrate a sense of mobility (not only dealing with travel but all on-the-go lifestyles) and that have a broad, international perspective (which may or may not include a Canadian angle). Topics that relate to our key lifestyle areas (food, wine, spirits, wellness, beauty, design, architecture, style, technology, consumerism, new and traditional media, social trends and the arts (including books, music and visual art). Fresh formats that go a step beyond traditional reportage and essays. A forward-looking approach instead of a rehashing of the past. enRoute makes our readers feel more tuned in to the world than they did before picking it up. It’s like a hip, trusted friend who always gives you the inside scoop. How do you pitch to us?
Editorial formats and departments All enRoute stories strive to tell our readers why they should be interested in a particular subject or trend – and why now. Our stories are worldly, inspirational, informative and a little bit fabulous. Jet Set Our front-of-book section is a roundup of short pieces on global travel/lifestyle trends, which may or may not be international but will always be made to feel “local” to our readers. Subject areas include food, wine and drinks; design and architecture; fashion and style; wellness and personal best; books and music; and other aspects of travel lifestyle. In every issue; 75–200 words. Icon A tribute that provides fresh insight on an archetypal place, thing or concept. It may or may not have Canadian significance. Less than 250 words; examples include Red Rose figurines, the Bloody Caesar, the tuque, Yves of Yves Veggie Cuisine. Short profiles A quick introduction to people (not necessarily Canadians) on the cusp of ascending to cultural currency. 200–400 words; examples include fashion designer Paul Hardy and musician Liam Titcomb. Feature profiles Unique portraits of people who have entered the world of our readers in some significant way. Often they will be an entry point to a look at a cultural movement or trend. Not necessarily Canadians, unless we are considering them as a cover subject. 1,000–1,500 words; recent examples include Tom Green as an unrecognized pioneer of reality comedy, Debbie Travis and Lynda Reeves as shapers of our obsession with home. Service Roundup service features provide original, authentic perspectives on lifestyle topics that inform readers and help them make choices. Less than 2,000 words; examples include Canada’s Coolest Neighbourhoods, Canada’s Best New Restaurants, enRoute’s Favourite Boutique Hotels in Canada. Essays These think pieces express a writer’s particular slant on a topic, giving readers a fresh and highly personal point of view on a current lifestyle issue. 500–1,000 words; examples include Timothy Taylor on the end of cool and Curtis Gillespie on the state of literacy in modern society. Cultural trend stories Broad cultural trends that resonate as more than fads. Often they will be built into a feature package that includes several different components, such as sidebars, quizzes or listings. Less than 1,800 words; recent examples include the new grease monkeys or “tuner culture,” the North American invasion of Asian art toys, the growing discipline of landscape architecture. Short travel features A personal essay about a unique experience in a specific place in the world. The piece gives a glimpse of everyday life (but not from a tourist or outsider perspective) in that city, region or country and creates a strongly evocative sense of place. In every issue; 800–1,200 words; recent examples include smelt fishing in Chicago and cargo cults on Tanna Island. Long travel features A broader-based look at a city or region, with a fresh lifestyle focus or angle beyond typical local colour and attractions; we are not a travel guide or brochure. These pieces strive for a sense of place and the ring of authenticity and should be focused around a theme, not merely presented as a straight chronological journey or travelogue. Gives readers the why and why now on visiting a place, which need not be an Air Canada destination. In every issue; 1,200–1,800 words; examples include youth culture in Seoul, the revitalization of downtown L.A., the emerging culinary scene in Lima. [ Note: All enRoute long travel features are the result of itineraries custom-planned by the magazine; if you have completed or are completing personal travel, please pitch your idea as a short travel feature. ] We want you enRoute is one of the country’s leading and most established (40-plus years) magazines. Our high editorial standards reflect this, and so does our willingness to go to new places. Come and join us… Better yet, help take us there. enRoute |
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