Bossy is always sourcing written and visual content for our online platforms; if you would like to contribute please get in touch with us at anubossymag@gmail.com to discuss your ideas. If you are interested in contributing to our tenth print edition, keep an eye out for updates from us!
All ANU students, staff members, and alumni who are women-identifying, femme-aligned, non-binary, and/or genderqueer* are invited to contribute and get involved with Bossy.
Visual Contributions
We are interested in all kinds of visuals: artwork, illustrations, photography, cartoons, digital galleries (photographs, in other words) which showcase your latest sculpture, napkin scribbles, et cetera.
Visual contributions do not have to directly link to feminism, gender, or sexuality.
If you have an idea for a standalone illustration, then contact anubossymag@gmail.com.
If you are unsure what you want to contribute, then join our visual contributor’s group on Facebook. Our design editors will be posting briefs for illustrations in this group on a regular basis (about three times a week). If one takes your fancy, then comment on the post, make sure you are aware of the deadline, and when you have created the illustration, send it to anubossymag@gmail.com.
Images should be 300 dpi in CMYK.
If there are size requirements, we will tell you.
If you need access to a scanner or a camera, then let us know.
If you are an artist or photographer whose work aligns with our ethos, then we would love to interview you and feature your work and on our website or in our annual magazine. If this sounds like you, then contact us at anubossymag@gmail.com.
Written Contributions
Before you make the decision to submit any written work to Bossy, please remember that you will be edited. Please do not send us anything if you are unwilling to subject your piece to structural and grammatical edits. You are, however, welcome to challenge any edits if you believe that they lessen or take away from the impact of your piece – but be prepared to explain why.
We’re not just looking for analytical articles and personal essays (though these are great). We are interested in all styles of writing: memoir, interview, opinion, poems (prose, haiku, free verse, sonnets, epic poetry), flash fiction, satire, a collection of random thoughts from bus trips to Sydney, et cetera …
We have no hard specifications as to word length, but typically suggest that written contributions (with the exception of creative pieces) are over 600 words or else risk leaving readers unsatisfied. Occasionally, we will also be seeking smaller 100 – 250-word contributions, where multiple responses to a prompt or thoughts on a topic will be published collectively.
While we are interested in content that relates to feminism, gender, and sexuality, we also just want to help magnify your voice. This means that no content, subject matter, or style is off the table, unless it perpetuates any number of harmful values. This includes – but is not limited to – racism, anti-Blackness, homophobia, transphobia, religious intolerance, sexism, and ableism. Bossy also firmly stands with the #OwnVoices movement.
If you already know what you want to write about, then get in touch with us at anubossymag@gmail.com.
If you are unsure what you want to write about, then join our contributor’s group on Facebook. This is a space where our content editors and sub-editors will be posting article inspiration and ideas on a regular basis. If something takes your fancy, then simply comment on the post and let us know.
The Editing Process
When you get in touch, a sub-editor will be assigned to your contribution; they are who you will liaise with.
When you send in your first (or second) draft, they will use the Track Changes function in Word to make suggestions about the length, structure, beginning, ending, and clarity of your piece. This stage of the editing process is all about what you are trying to say, how you are saying it, and how this can evolve into the best piece that it can possibly be.
It is not until you send in your final draft that your sub-editor will adjust for spelling and grammar accuracy. They will then pass the piece over to a senior editor, who will then run through a few more edits with you as needed before sending the final copy back to you for approval. After this, it will be uploaded to our website and shared on our Facebook page.