I am Professor of Medieval European Literature with a strong interest in Old Norse mythology, folklore and medievalism. I pitched successfully in 2015 and made a radio series for BBC Radio 4, ‘The Lore of the Land’, still available on BBC Sounds, based on a trade book I’d just written, The Land of the Green Man. This was so much fun and so interesting that I was very keen to pitch again.
Pitching is relatively straightforward and not too time-consuming. I went along to the initial workshop where, after some introductory discussion about the current media landscape, we got into small groups and workshopped our ideas. Then we briefly pitched them to Samir Shah (CEO of Juniper TV), Abigail Williams, Tasha Patel and the other participants. Key questions – beyond the actual content – were: why this, now? what are we going to hear and / or see? And, critically, so what? Why is this research or this story interesting at all? After the workshop, we were invited to write up proposals in 200 words and send them in.
My first idea was to return to the pitch I’d been working on in the previous round, but Samir felt that the topic wasn’t gripping. So I rethought, and worked up material once again based on a trade book that I had just finished: an investigation of how Old Norse myth recurs in modern and contemporary high and popular culture, ranging from Wagner to Thor: Ragnarok to the Capitol shaman guy. Since I had a proposal and some marketing material written for the book already, it was very easy to adapt for an accessible 200-word pitch. My last radio series was for the 1.45pm slot, so I had an idea of how much can be done in 13 minutes, and I pitched a 5 x 15 minute format again: one programme for five out of the book’s ten chapters.
Invited to talk to Samir and Abigail in person about the project, I sketched each programme, finding a contemporary and topical hook for each one. Old Norse myth allows us to talk about hot-button themes such as: masculinities, queer and non-binary identities, women’s empowerment and the climate emergency, alongside the weaponization of Norse myth in alt-right, White supremacist discourse. We scoped possibilities for music, poetry, storytelling and interviews within the programmes, and I wrote up an expanded draft based on our discussion. With Samir’s input and editing, it has gone forward in the current pitching round. The process is a slow one, but the BBC wants to see a more fully worked-up version: decisions are finalized in July.
The media landscape has changed a great deal since 2015 and it was helpful to get an up-to-date overview of what broadcasters are looking for now. Publishing trade books involves podcasting, along with online and live lectures and talks, so it’s helpful to have the pitch to hand for that kind of activity. Even if my show doesn’t get made, the experience has been really useful – and quite a lot of fun too. And if it does, all to the good!
Carolyne Larrington is a Professor of Medieval European Literature with research interests in medieval English literature, along with Old Norse literature, and general European medieval texts and cultural history.
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