Braaaains!! You’ve got something to say? Good. We’re ready to hear it.

She Zine Mag isn’t just a place to read about change — it’s a place to make it – and we’re looking to publish work that refuses to sit quietly. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or a first-time ranter, this is your chance to get loud and be part of the #NewGirlArmy.

So this is your call to pitch something. Anything. As long as it’s real, thoughtful, and a little bit rebellious.

Where We Started: She Zine 1.0

She Zine Mag was first published online in 2016 — a year that felt like a cultural avalanche. The world was unraveling in new and familiar ways, and launching an independent feminist magazine during that time was equal parts exhilarating and soul-crushing.

I’d been blogging since 2005, mostly on niche topics, but I was craving something broader — something that reflected the full, messy spectrum of creative, political, and personal life. I wanted to build a space that was fresh, fiercely independent, and wildly interdisciplinary. With the help of some like-minded contributors, that space took shape.

At first, readership was modest. But it grew — not because of SEO hacks or ad spend, but because the content mattered. Contributors wrote about politics, music, art, sex, wellness, craft, and culture with honesty and fire. The work resonated. She Zine built momentum.

But while our audience grew, our income didn’t. Like so many indie publications, we were rich in ideas but broke in every other way. We hadn’t yet figured out how to monetize meaningfully without compromising values — and burnout came quickly. Still, we kept at it for three solid years. In a digital landscape where many blogs flame out in six months, that’s not nothing.

Why We Paused

By the end of 2018, everything felt heavier. The constant churn of news, the emotional toll of cultural commentary, the pressure to “produce” — it wore us down. We were ambitious, but that ambition was tangled in an era that felt unrelenting. We were watching the world fall apart in real time, and it was hard to hold onto creative joy while trying to report from the wreckage.

And so, we paused. Not forever, but long enough to catch our breath, live our lives, and figure out how to do it better next time.

What We Built Along the Way

Even during the quiet years, She Zine’s influence didn’t disappear. Every contributor who wrote for us went on to do more. Many published in other mags, spoke at events, collaborated on larger projects. I was invited to judge Canadian Music Week three times and spoke on national television panels about women in business, disability and entrepreneurship, and the evolving landscape of independent media.

She Zine 1.0 wasn’t just a passion project — it was a launchpad.

What’s Different This Time (And Why We’re Built to Last)

Now we’re back — not as a blog, but as a full-blown platform. And we’ve made some big changes to make sure we’re not just surviving this time — we’re thriving:

• Sustainable Publishing Model

  We’re no longer relying on hope, vibes, and caffeine. We’ve built a business infrastructure that includes diversified revenue: product sales, affiliate programs, courses, branded partnerships, and a digital membership layer that supports writers and contributors directly.

• Feminist Capitalism, With Teeth

  We’re done pretending you can build a feminist brand without money. We’ve created monetization strategies that respect labour, centre equity, and fund creative freedom. No fluff. No exploitation.

• Shared Power & Visibility

  Contributors aren’t just bylines — they’re collaborators. We offer fair rates, visibility, and tools to help our writers and artists grow their own platforms. This isn’t a gig economy hustle. It’s a creative coalition.

• Operational Backbone

  We’ve implemented streamlined backend systems, editorial planning, and publishing workflows using Notion, Asana, and custom templates — which means less burnout, more output, and room to actually breathe.

• Product + Platform Integration

  She Zine Mag isn’t just an editorial site. It’s linked to a physical product line, pop-up experiences, DIY kits, distro partnerships, and creative courses that make revenue while reflecting our values.

• Creative Joy Is a Priority

  This time around, we’re not sacrificing our souls for social media reach. We’re here to make beautiful, subversive, satisfying work — and to remind ourselves that creativity is a form of resistance and a source of pleasure.

The Future Is Handmade

The new She Zine Mag is still radical, still experimental, and still unapologetically feminist — and we’ve got a plan. We’re building a sustainable ecosystem that can support creativity for the long haul. Not just a magazine, but a movement.

This time, we’re not burning out. We’re burning brighter.

What We’re Looking For

We publish work that punches up, speaks truth, and looks damn good doing it. We’re especially into:

• Personal essays that crack something open
  
• DIY or how-to guides with edge and intention
  
• Conversations with artists, activists, and makers
  
• Cultural critiques that question the norm
  
• Art features, photo stories, playlists, and visual rants
  
• Manifestos that don’t ask for permission

   

We’ll publish based on editorial themes (you can see what’s coming up on our pitch page), but we’re always open to something wild and unexpected. Send us your sharp takes, your weird ideas, your tender obsessions. If it makes you want to scream or sob or stitch it into a patch — it probably belongs here.

Got Politics? Good.

We’re not neutral — and we’re not pretending to be. She Zine Mag was built for people who give a fuck. We publish political pieces that speak truth to power, stir shit up, and challenge the systems that deserve to be dismantled.

That might look like:

• Personal takes on identity, protest, burnout, or survival
  

• Investigations into local policy or global injustice
  

• First-person dispatches from the margins
  

• Commentary that refuses to flatten complex realities
  

• Essays that connect the personal and political with clarity and fire
  

If you’re writing about reproductive rights, climate collapse, queer joy, labour organizing, gendered violence, racism, ableism, state control, AI ethics, or anything else that matters — we want to read it. Loud, smart, urgent, vulnerable, funny — bring it how you bring it.

This includes conflict reporting and global justice submissions.
We do not take a neutral stance on war, apartheid, or genocide.
We stand in solidarity with oppressed communities worldwide and will not publish work that justifies settler colonial violence, erases occupation, or cloaks harm in the language of civility or debate.

That said, we will consider complex pieces that sit with grief, identity, inherited narratives, and even uncomfortable emotional tension — as long as they are rooted in lived experience and aligned with our values of liberation, dignity, and creative resistance.

If you’re here to question, unpack, or burn it all down with care — this is the place.
If you’re here to uphold the status quo — it’s not.

Who Should Pitch

You don’t need a journalism degree, a huge following, or a polished portfolio. We welcome contributors of all experience levels, backgrounds, and identities. In fact, we actively prioritize pitches from folks who are queer, trans, racialized, disabled, working class, and otherwise underrepresented in media over everything else.

We love voices that sound like real people. We love work that’s clever, unfiltered, and a little bit messy. If you’ve never pitched before, we’ll help you through it.

What to Include in Your Pitch

No pressure to send us the whole finished piece — just give us a taste of what you’re working on. Here’s what we need:

• A working title or hook
  
• A short paragraph (what’s your piece about, and why does it matter?)
  
• Format or section idea (e.g. essay, listicle, photo series, etc.)
  
• Any time-sensitive notes (are you responding to a current event?)
  
• A sentence or two about you (include pronouns, location, and any links if you’d like)

   

We accept pitches through our site form or by email. You can find all the details on the Contribute page.

Yes, We Pay

We believe in paying for creative work. Our contributor rate ranges from $50–$200 CAD depending on length, format, and whether it’s assigned or unsolicited.
If you’re in a place where you’d prefer to donate your piece to support other contributors, we respect that too. Just let us know. No judgment either way.

What Happens Next

We review pitches on a rolling basis, with most responses coming in within 1–2 weeks. If your pitch is a fit, we’ll be in touch with an acceptance, suggested edits or questions, and a timeline. If it’s not quite right, or not inline with our current theme,  we may keep it on file or encourage you to submit again.

Because we’re a super small team of two, we may not be able to respond personally to every pitch — but know this: we see you, and we’re grateful you reached out. Keep pitching. Keep making. Keep going.

Before We Go

This magazine is a collaborative experiment. A stitched-together riot of voices. And you might just be the next one we feature.

So if you’ve got an idea that won’t let go of you — pitch it. If you’ve got a story that feels too raw or weird or wild — pitch it. If you want to teach us something, challenge us, or just remind someone out there that they’re not alone — pitch it.

The future is handmade. And it needs your voice.

Got something to say? Say it here.
→ Pitch us a piece that stings, sings, or breaks something open.
→ Submit Your Work