Charlotte Gunn is the Director of Digital Content at Wallpaper*. She’s also the founder and editorial director of indie music title The Forty Five, an online publication dedicated to amplifying female and non-binary artists and talent. In this interview we mainly focus on Wallpaper*, but we touch on the similarities and differences between these two brands and over how to pitch to both towards the end if you’re interested.

Charlotte started in the industry over two decades ago, and has worked for lots of titles you’ll have heard of, including: Red, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire, The Face, and NME. She began as a writer and has interviewed some of the biggest names in music and culture, and has spent countless hours on the front lines of live events, festivals and media launches around the world.  But these days, she can be mainly found strategising. She’s brilliant at audience development, setting out an editorial vision and storytelling. And it shows in the chunky 40% YOY growth they’ve had at Wallpaper* this year under her leadership. 

In this episode, as well as all the usual stuff about what’s on her pitch wish list, and what makes her say yes to a commission, we’ll dig into the 12 themes Wallpaper* commission most of their content around every year (tip: the chronological list is below), the one weakness a lot of writers have, and which event is Wallpaper’s equivalent of Glastonbury! She’ll also share the strings you need to add to your bow to get more work from them, and what editors are grumbling about to each other in their private whatsapp groups… But she starts the chat by talking about the remarkable success of Wallpaper*’s print magazines.

Charlotte Gunn, Wallpaper*

Charlotte’s specialisms are Content, Strategy, Partnership, Innovation, and leading creative and editorial teams to deliver storytelling that resonates with the consumer, is authentic to all brands and forwards the business goals. She’s passionate about the intersection of Creative and Business strategy for Gen Z to Millennial to mature audiences. The fast paced world of managing and growing audience engagement is where she thrives. She has a track record of driving growth in established and burgeoning brands, using lean startup methodology and a data-driven approach to rapidly develop and test new ideas.

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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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