Sam Parker is the Site Director at GQ. He’s been there since 2022, but has worked in content for over 15 years for brands you’ll know: Esquire, Buzzfeed, Huffpost and Penguin Random House. He’s a fascinating person to listen to, he’s both intellectually and emotionally intelligent, analytical and imaginative, tactical and strategic. This year, Sam wrote his first book Good Anger. It’s about the power of healthy rage and was named Non‑Fiction Book of the Month by The Independent. We actually spoke last year though, so expect some 2024 references in this interview, but as Sam is very wise, his insights are still applicable today. Listen to this episode to hear him talk about a notable change to the GQ audience over the last few years, how they approach features (spoiler alert: basically in opposition to how a newspaper would do it), and why they no longer care about being first to a story. Sam also reveals what the one emotion is that they want in every piece they commission, a problem they have all the time at GQ that you could help solve, and his pitch wish list. 

Sam Parker, Website Director, GQ 

'Good Anger', Sam’s first book on psychology and learning to love a taboo emotion, is out with Bloomsbury. It was named Book of the Month for June 2025 in The Independent.

In Sam’s current role as Site Director of British GQ he leads a team of editors and writers working across digital editorial strategy, events and commercial deals.

Sam has been a writer, editor and digital strategist for the past 15 years for brands like Penguin Books, Esquire, BuzzFeed and more.

He occasionally contributes to the Observer, Telegraph and other publications in the UK.

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Kelly Bowerbank is a digital journalist, editor and content strategist with 16 years’ experience in the lifestyle sector. She has worked for multiple high-profile media brands, including woman&home, Marie Claire, The Stylist Group, and The Guardian. She has over eight years' experience crafting editorial strategies and leading teams, and has spent more than a decade commissioning, editing and creating content in various formats across a diverse range of subject verticals. In 2013 she was nominated for New Section Editor of the year at the PPA awards, and in 2020 she was nominated for Digital Editor of the year at the AOP awards. She’s mentored experienced print journalists and trained graduates into award-winning digital writers. In 2022 she stepped down from her role of Global Editor at womanandhome.com to go freelance and write more. She’s represented by Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. 

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