Get featured in SF Weekly
San Francisco culture and city stories
We write a custom feature about you and manage the placement. You approve every word before it goes live.
- You approve every word
- Unlimited revisions
- Reply within 24 hours
How do I get featured in SF Weekly?
We develop your story, write the feature to editorial standard, and manage the placement. You approve every word before anything goes live.
About SF Weekly
SF Weekly is San Francisco's long-running alternative weekly, known for its arts, music, food and nightlife coverage alongside city news.
Why a feature here matters
SF Weekly is a long-standing guide to what is happening in San Francisco, so a feature there reaches people who go out, eat out and follow the city's culture.
Best for: San Francisco restaurants and bars, venues, promoters, artists, galleries, cultural organisations and local founders with a city story.
How coverage happens at SF Weekly
There are two ways in. You can approach SF Weekly yourself: pitch the writer who covers music, food, arts or news with a short note that puts the San Francisco angle first, and send events through the listings route on its site. This approach is free, but it is slow, and the editors decide what runs and when. The second way is to work with DNA. We develop the angle with you, write the feature to the SF Weekly standard and manage the placement. You approve every word before it goes live, and nothing is published without your sign-off.
The kind of story that lands
SF Weekly writes about San Francisco culture and city life, so a story needs a real local stake and some personality. Its food coverage suits a restaurant or bar with a genuine story behind the opening or the menu. Its music and arts coverage fits venues, promoters, artists and galleries with something new to show the city. Its news and features suit founders and organisations with a clear view on how San Francisco and its neighbourhoods are changing. Strong pieces name people and places, come with good photographs and give readers a reason to go and see for themselves. National campaigns with a San Francisco address added on top rarely fit, and nor does corporate language.
How to Get Featured in SF Weekly
To get featured in SF Weekly, you need a story that San Francisco readers will want to read: something happening in the city's neighbourhoods, music venues, galleries, kitchens or politics. You can pitch the writer who covers your subject, submit your event to the listings, or have a feature developed and placed with professional help. Whichever you choose, the city angle comes first.
Pitching the editorial team yourself is free, but the editors decide what runs. DNA offers another way in: we develop the story with you, write it to the SF Weekly standard, manage the placement, and you approve every word before it goes live. If you only want an event listed, that is a separate process, covered below.
What SF Weekly is
SF Weekly is San Francisco's long-running alternative weekly. Like other alt-weeklies, it built its name on arts and culture writing, nightlife and food coverage, and city news written with a distinct local voice. It has long been a guide to what is on in the city as well as a place for reporting and commentary on San Francisco life.
What SF Weekly covers
Its coverage centres on culture and the city: music, from club nights to touring acts; theatre, film, art and books; restaurants, bars and food trends; nightlife; and news and politics affecting San Francisco and its neighbourhoods, from the Mission and SoMa to the Castro and the Richmond. Things to do and event listings are a core part of the offer, alongside features on the people and places that give the city its character.
How to get featured in SF Weekly
For a feature or review, find the writer who covers your area, whether that is music, food, arts or news, and read what they have written recently. Send a short, specific pitch: what is happening, who is involved, where in the city, and why it is new or interesting now. Good photographs help, especially for venues, food and performance. The site lists ways to reach its editorial team.
Be realistic about the bar. Writers receive far more pitches than they can use, and they choose what fits their readers.
How to submit an event to SF Weekly
Event listings are separate from editorial coverage. If you want a gig, exhibition, screening, festival or community event listed, use the events calendar or listings route the site provides rather than emailing individual writers. Check the site for the current route before you start, because listing tools change. To give your listing the best chance:
- Give the full event name, venue, date, start time and neighbourhood.
- Write a short, plain description of what people will see or do.
- Include a good image and a link for tickets or details.
- Submit well ahead of the date.
If the event deserves a story in its own right, send a separate, short pitch to the writer who covers that subject.
What makes a strong piece for SF Weekly
The best pieces feel unmistakably San Francisco. A chef opening a restaurant with a story behind the menu, an independent venue bringing back a club night, a gallery showing local artists, or a founder with a view on how the city is changing would all fit. Strong pieces have personality, named people and real places. A national campaign with a San Francisco address added on top rarely works. For entertainment stories aimed at a national industry audience, compare the guide to The Hollywood Reporter.
How the process works
With DNA, the work runs in four steps. We check whether your story has a real San Francisco angle and tell you plainly if it does not. You share the substance: what you do, what is new and why it matters to the city. We draft the feature to the SF Weekly standard and revise it with you. Once you approve every word, we manage the placement and send you the live link.
How long it takes
Expect weeks rather than days. Developing the angle, drafting, your review and the placement all take time, so plan around your launch or event date.
How we get you in SF Weekly
Questions about SF Weekly
Is the SF Weekly coverage a real, published feature?
Yes. It is a genuine article published on the outlet, written about you and your work — not an ad you design yourself.
How long does it take?
Most placements take weeks rather than days. We give you a realistic timeline for SF Weekly before we start, and never promise a date we cannot control.
What if I am not happy with the draft?
You review and revise until it is right. Nothing publishes without your approval.
How do I submit an event to SF Weekly?
Use the events calendar or listings route on the SF Weekly site, and check it for the current process first. Include the venue, date, time, a short description and an image, and submit well ahead of the date.
Is an event listing the same as a feature in SF Weekly?
No. A listing tells readers an event is happening. A feature or review is written by the editorial team, so pitch the writer who covers that subject separately if your event has a story behind it.
Can a business be featured in SF Weekly?
Yes, when there is a story with real interest for San Francisco readers. You can pitch the relevant writer yourself, or work with DNA: we develop the angle, write the feature to the publication's standard and manage the placement, and you approve every word first.