Contributor's Guidelines

Writer's Guidelines

We're looking for anything that can be described as "feminist response to pop culture." Our definition of pop culture is broad, encompassing cultural attitudes and myths, phenomena of the popular imagination, and social trends as well as movies, TV, magazines, books, advertising, and the like. Interviews with feminist culture-makers are welcome, as are book and music reviews and nuanced analyses of particularly horrifying and/or inspiring examples of pop culture. Nonfiction essays only. We do not publish fiction or poetry. Ever. Seriously. Finished work and query letters are both welcome. If sending only a query, please include clips and/or writing samples. And hey, everyone likes a nice cover letter. We prefer e-mail submissions.

More details:

Features are 2,000 to 4,000 words of meaty critiques, essays, and articles on pop culture from a feminist perspective. We're looking for sharp-eyed perspectives on pop culture and the media, brimming with personal insight and wit. Features vary in format: interviews, reported pieces, and critical essays are welcome, as are roundups and graphically driven formats like timelines, charts, and comics. (Features from the recent past include interviews with Janeane Garofalo, Alison Bechdel, and Coco Fusco; a roundup of female visual artists and their takes on the domestic realm; an analysis of woman’s political humor; and an exploration of how guilty pleasures are marketed to women.) We are not looking for personal essays.

In addition to features, we’re in search of shorter pieces for the front of the magazine. Our front-of-book section features 1000-1500-word columns on film, television, language, activism, advertising, publishing, and more, with pieces taking the form of reviews, critical essays, Q&As, and activist profiles. Past columns have featured a look at how "liberal" became a bad word, an examination of cultural stereotypes about women and hoarding, and a look at the practice of "unschooling."

We also have a back page to fill, generally with a brief history of a pop-culture phenomenon, in our "Annals of..." column.

We're always on the lookout for Love It/Shove It items. Love/Shoves are short (under 500 words) but sharp-eyed and cogent analyses of the latest things that either pleased you or enraged you. We're looking for pieces that are timely, and, more important, go beyond the sentiment of "wow, this sucks!" in search of deeper meaning. Love/Shoves are accepted on a rolling basis, and are often printed on our website as well as in the magazine, so send things along whenever the mood strikes.

Payment is $100 for features, $50 for front-of-book pieces and back-page pieces, and $10-$20 for Love/Shoves. Please send all materials to info@b-word.org, or attn: Submissions, 4930 NE 29th Ave., Portland, OR 97211. (Don’t forget your SASE when sending by mail!)

Illustrator's Guidelines

We're always looking for new illustrators to work with. We commission people with various styles appropriate for each individual article.

Payment is $100 for features (one full page and one spot), $50 for front-of-book (half page) and $20 for Love/Shove (one spot).

If interested, please send your portfolio link to Briar Levit

or send mail (no originals, please!) to:
Bitch: Feminist Respose to Pop Culture
4930 NE 29th Avenue
Portland, OR 97211

Themes for the Future Issues

Our themes are intended to be nonexclusive jumping-off points rather than limiting factors, and below we've included a few key words that may help along your fabulous brainstorms. We encourage you not to interpret the themes too literally, and in fact to go ahead and interpret them as loosely as you wish. Furthermore, if you have an idea you think is right for us but that fits no theme, go ahead and pitch it anyway.