Write for Sass
Welcome to Sass: Spirituality. Audacity. Solidarity. Storytelling
We are a writers’ room of BIPOC women and femmes of color and we’re here to say: you don’t have to arrive perfect to be worthy of being read. So, whether you are writing for the first time or returning to your creative space, Sass was created with you in mind.
Sass is not your typical publication — it carries that willful, outrageous, audacious womanist energy that says we are not here to whisper or behave. We are here to speak, feel, play, and transform.
Who We’re Looking For
We welcome submissions from BIPOC women and femmes, including those who identify as queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive, as well those who consider themselves sacred witnesses of those who embody Sass. If you write from the body, from the ancestors, from grief or joy, from protest or prayer — this is your space.
Writing Themes
- Spirituality, ritual, and the sacred
- Pleasure & body wisdom
- Grief, rage, and ancestral memory
- Love, queerness, kinship
- Imagination & futurism
- The mundane and the miraculous
What We Publish
- Personal essays, blogs, and commentary
- Letters, journal entries, recipes, spells and rituals
- Screenplays or scripts
- Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and prose
- Reflections, reviews and interviews
- Visual stories, mixed art with text, interactive art or any form of art that integrates written elements.
- Got Something Else? Let us know and we’ll let you know!
Our Editing Process
When you submit to Sass, one of the editors will review your work. Quality is a priority for us, but since many of our editors are out creating and sharing our womanist energy in the world, we kindly ask that you review all submission, writing, and structure guidelines below to ensure your piece is as close to “ready to publish” as possible.
After submitting, one of the following will happen:
Ready to publish: There are few to no errors or edits needed ( missing a header or title, a few grammatical errors, a few style/flow edits, etc). We’ll make those edits and get your piece published.
Almost There: We’ll tell you how to improve your writing by sending suggestions and encouraging you to resubmit for a second review.
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Needs extensive re-working: AI written; not original, structurally unclear, many grammatical errors, or out of compliance with Medium rules. This piece will not be accepted for publishing on Sass.
Writing for Sass: What You Need to Know
Submissions Guidelines
- If you are new to Medium, be sure to review Medium’s rules before submitting to ensure your work complies.
- Submit your drafts directly to Sass Publications.
- Only original work will be accepted and published.
- AI-written stories will not be accepted. For more rules about AI-written stories on Medium, go here.
- Drafts that have already been published on another publication in Medium will not be accepted. Medium does not allow duplication of content on its platform.
Writing Guidelines
- Word Count Max: 1200 Words
- Average Read time: 4–10 minutes
- Turn Around Time is 3–5 business days.
- We allow images from Wikipedia, Wikimedia, Wikicommons, and other Creative Commons, UpSplash and other stock photos.
- Do not screenshot images (that includes Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok)
- We only allow embeds (at the moment, Medium doesn’t have embed capacity for Instagram).
- Be sure that all photos are credited, including your own.
Style and Structure Tips
Proofread your draft and be sure to use a spell checker such as Grammarly.
- Include a Title and a subtitle.
- We ask that titles are formatted with a big T format, and subheadings should be in lowercase with a big T format. To add a subtitle on Medium, write your article title, then press Enter to create a new line below it. Type your subtitle on that line, highlight it, and click the small “T” icon in the formatting toolbar
- Be sure to break up your ideas within a paragraph. Estimate about 2–4 lines per paragraph, depending on the sentence.
- When writing/reviewing your work, you’ll want varying lengths of sentences so it’s not text-heavy. Think long, short, short, long, etc.
- Post your sources as links within your writing, not at the bottom of the submission. When linking, highlight no more than four words.
- Here is a resource on essay format: Medium Formatting Guide
Tags/Topics
- One of the tags should be “Sass” so it’s easy to find articles published here.
- Suggestions: Solidarity, Audacity, Spiritual, Storytelling, Womanist, Womanism, Bell Hooks, Feminism, Women, Equality, Identity, Culture, Gender, Society, Men, LGBTQ+, Politics, Parenting, Motherhood, Patriarchy, Sexism, Racism
Become a Writer for Sass
- Write your Medium URL in the comment section here to be added as a writer.
- Please read the submission guidelines thoroughly before you send in your draft link. If you ask a question that is answered on this page, we will kindly refer you back to this page.
- As always, please follow us on Medium and tell your writer and reader friends about us.
