Zine Seeks Staff/Submissions

[jacqueline]

Women's Village Homes and Communities is seeking contributors and editors for a new print magazine. We require a reliable volunteer staff with a clear anti-discriminatory feminist perspective.

This magazine will be in the style of cosmo, but without the mysogyny. Some fiction and poetry will be considered, but the bulk of our articles will be non-fiction and humour, and related to women's issues, social justice issues, environmental issues, consumer culture and popular culture.

The following positions are currently unfilled:

Managing Editor: You have at least 6 months experience with print magazine production. You are responsible for coordinating the section editors. You will write some features for the magazine, as well as a regular editorial column. You will relay information to and take direction from the editor-in chief. (Hiring 1)

Art Director: You have at least 6 months experience with print magazine production. You are responsible for coordinating managing and photography editors, and designing the layout of the magazine. You will relay information to and take direction from the editor-in chief. (1)

Section Editors: You have 2-6 months experience with print magazine production. You are responsible for overseeing the production and submission of articles for your section. Sections may include feminist perspectives on: fashion, art + culture, comsumer culture, social justice, fiction + poetry, lifestyles. You will contribute articles for other sections and write a short, regular editorial for your section. (up to 5 other editing staff)

Photo/Art Editors: You have 2-6 months experience with print magazine production. You are responsible for overseeing the production of photos and art for each section.

Copy Editors: You have at least 6 months experience with print magazine production. You are responsible for proofreading, fact-checking and source-checking articles and features from all sections. You will contribute your own photos as well.

Staff Writers: You have 1-2 months experience with print or online magazine or blog production. You are responsible for contributing features for your section within the assigned deadlines. (up to 10)

Staff Phtographers/Artists: You have 1-2 months experience with print or online magazine or blog production. You are responsible for contributing photos/pictures for your section within the assigned deadlines. (up to 5)

Contributing Writers: You have 0-1 months experience with print or online magazine or blog production, but you are interested. You may submit ideas or articles, or ask for ideas or articles to contribute. We will review and edit them, if they are suitable, and print them when we have space. (unlimited)

Contributing Photographers/Artists: You have 0-1 months experience with print or online magazine or blog production, but you are interested. You may submit unsolicited photo or art projects or ask for photo or art assignments. We will review and edit them, if they are suitable, and print them when we have space. (unlimited)

Please note that these are volunteer positions. We are a not-for-profit charitable organization, and all proceeds will go towards providing housing and resouces for at-risk, abused and low-income-earning women. You will receive credit for your work, a letter of reference detailing your contributions and 2 copies of each magazine you contribute to.

Please find us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4136199903

Or visit us on the web at: http://www.geocities.com/womens_village

Or email us at: womens_village@hotmail.com

for more information.

Journalism students or recent grads are welcome. All academic or volunteer experience will be considered.

[jacqueline]

This is a copy of the email i sent to everyone who emailed Women's Village about writing. Anyone else interested in writing can submit, too!

***

Hello everyone, and thank you for your interest in writing for the Women's Village magazine!

This e-mail is long overdue, and I apologize for making you wait so long after such enthusiastic replies.

Now that we're on track, let's get right into it. I'd like to print the first issue within the first week of December [or shortly thereafter], so it's ready for distribution at Erin's silent auction fundraiser.

The zine will be named "Rosie," after Rosie Hofbauer, whose recent passing was felt deeply by her family, several of whom have been integral in the creation of Women's Village. Mrs. Hofbauer had a "kiss first, ask questions later" way-of-living that made her very special in an environment where love is sorely needed. I felt that this philosophy would make a good addition to our zine.

The tagline for the zine is "a blend of pop culture, politics, life and art that is likely to be a disaster." That's pretty open-ended, but I think it'll be interesting, even if themes will be hard come by.

Speaking of themes, I was thinking of "winter equinox" for our first issue. This is also very open-ended, and it is also debatable, so if you really hate it, there's no need to keep it.

Since almost everyone volunteered to write, and few people were interested in the less-glamourous editing positions, we will work with a slightly different structure. You can e-mail submissions here. If you think it needs editing, please say so. If you think you have time to edit someone else's work, please say that, too. We will work together to make the best-quality zine we can.

I don't have much in mind by way of assignments, since the decision to print a submission will be based on how the piece moves the author, and not on how it reflects my particular vision for the magazine, but we can certainly arrange an MSN "meeting," conference call or real-life meeting to brainstorm if anyone has trouble coming up with something.

To make it a little easier, here's a general guideline:

We will print: anything that is interesting to our authors, which reflects their skills and passions and isn't terribly boring. So poems, (short) fiction, opinion/humour pieces, household hints, health information, book reviews, investigative pieces, debates, photos, drawings..... etc. are all very welcome. Bonus if the things that move you somehow relate to the lives and situations of women. If you want a regular column, just ask.

We won't print: hate material, academic pieces (unless there is very good reason to change my mind, which there probably will be, but I have a big grudge against academic jerks, including myself, who write jerky academic papers that are completely inaccessible to the people they're writing about, so I'm not guaranteeing this one), "beauty" tips (again, we can debate this one), celebrity gossip (unless there's a good reason for it) or information pieces that haven't been thoroughly researched (but my definition of research can be pretty loose at times).

Submitting pieces that absolutely require colour might result in disappointment, but I'll do my best to make colour a possibility.

Once again, thank you so much for your interest, and please let me know if I've forgotten anything.

Let me know as soon as you can what you plan to submit. We'll try to avoid duplicates.

[jacqueline]

Any takers?