How To Pitch: Sister 2 Sister

Lifestyle tips and trends are in demand at this African-American women's mag

By Donya Blaze - June 20, 2013

The information in this article is current and accurate.

Circulation: 185,000
Frequency: Monthly
Special issues: Holiday Gift Guide (December)

Background: Initially launched as a newsletter for women in entertainment by industry veteran Jamie Foster Brown, Sister 2 Sister has been breaking stories in black Hollywood since 1988. And, unlike the gossip and innuendo rampant in the blogosphere, S2S routinely gets its information from the stars themselves. Whether Halle Berry's ex-husband Eric Benet was denying a reported sex addiction or Tamar Braxton and hubby Vince Herbert were dishing about their reality show, it was S2S that often got stars to open up when other publications couldn't. The mag's trademark Q&A's -- often including every "uh," "er," or "you know?" an interviewee uttered -- enable entertainers to tell their stories freely without fear of being misinterpreted. (Rapper DMX's "ease" in disclosing that a lover had raped him while he was asleep even landed him in legal trouble in 2006.)

"Our stories, they're longer than what you'll find in other publications, but they're really more like conversations than interviews," explained senior editor Ericka Boston. "Our mission is to try to teach. So, we'll talk to the entertainers about the lessons that they've learned from whatever experiences they've gone through, and it's more so about achieving an understanding, as opposed to just fishing for a headline."

In fact, the magazine prides itself on educating African-American women 18-49 in all aspects of their lives. Recent articles included a fitness story on the benefit of working out in pairs (along with a quiz to identify what type of exercise partner you are), a guide to achieving perfect spring curls and steps for preparing Afro-French cuisine....