About Run Riot
Run Riot is an online Zine and weekly Dispatches Bulletin, delivered straight to your inbox – your insider guide to what’s on in London, Guest Edited by creators, visionaries and provocateurs.
Each edition brings sharp cultural picks, trusted recommendations, and curated stories from people shaping the city’s creative life.
What subscribers get (you can subscribe here)
The Dispatches Bulletin
Our weekly newsletter is the heartbeat of Run Riot. It blends handpicked events, standout launches, and editorial insight – helping you discover art, theatre, music, film, dance, club culture, talks, and experiences across London.
Offers & priority access
Subscribers regularly receive exclusive ticket offers, priority booking links, and partner-led promotions – shared selectively, never indiscriminately.
Curated stories from insiders
Run Riot works with artists, producers, programmers, curators, and cultural leaders to bring you interviews, essays, and guest-edited editions. We’re bringing you lived perspectives from inside the cultural ecosystem.
Working with partners & sponsors
Run Riot collaborates with arts organisations, venues, festivals, producers, and cultural brands to help great work find its audience.
We offer thoughtful, editorially aligned promotion – from sponsored features and takeovers to bespoke campaigns and long-term partnerships. Everything we publish is curated and designed to respect both the reader and the work being promoted.
Our role is simple: to help Londoners discover the best culture the city has to offer – and to help cultural organisations reach people who genuinely care.
Who we are
Run Riot is led by Jamie McLaren, founder and editor.
From its early days through to 2019, Run Riot collaborated with more than 90 freelance writers, critics, thinkers, players, doers, and contributors – building a wide-ranging editorial voice rooted in collaboration and community.
Today, the platform is intentionally lean. But the ambition hasn’t shrunk. Our aim is to return to working closely with writers and content producers – both familiar voices and new ones – as soon as the conditions allow.
Our story
Run Riot began as an independent digital magazine in 2007, born from a simple frustration: great cultural work was happening all around London, but discovering it felt fragmented, noisy, and inaccessible.
What started as a blog grew into a trusted editorial platform and weekly bulletin – one that prioritised lived experience over listings, and people over platforms. Over time, Run Riot became known for its guest editors, long-form interviews, and ability to connect dots across art forms and communities. Along the way we produced live events, a print Zine and dabbled with podcasts and film.
Through shifting media landscapes, funding pressures, and cultural upheaval, the core idea has remained the same: help people find culture that moves them – and help culture find its people.
What’s next
Run Riot is evolving.
In the near term, that means refining what we already do best: sharper editorial, deeper partnerships, better experiences for readers and supporters.
Longer term, we’re building toward a broader vision – one that brings together discovery, community, and participation in new ways. We’re taking this step by step, staying true to our editorial roots while quietly laying foundations for what comes next.
For now, the invitation is simple: subscribe, stay curious, and keep going out.
Contact
Get in touch with Jamie McLaren, jamie [@] run-riot.com.