jGirls+ Magazine accepts submissions on an ongoing basis from self-identifying Jewish girls, young women, and nonbinary teens ages 13-19. You can submit articles, essays, fiction, poetry, cultural reviews, humor, photographs, music, videos, artwork and other creative materials. You can submit as often as you’d like.
We pay $25 for the featured/main pieces we publish, and $10 for photos or artwork we publish to accompany a featured/main piece.
Submission Guidelines
Please note: You must read all four sections below (Who Can Submit?, What Should I Write About?, What Can I Submit?, and What Happens Next?) before submitting.
Anyone who self identifies as a Jewish girl, woman, or nonbinary person and is between the ages of 13-19 is eligible to submit material.
jGirls+ is committed to the visibility and representation of the different voices, perspectives and experiences that comprise our diverse Jewish community.
- We actively encourage submissions from participants who are diverse in their Jewish identification, sexual orientation, gender expression, race, ethnicity and abilities.
- We accept submissions from all over the world. There are no geographic restrictions.
Unfortunately, jGirls+ cannot publish all submissions and cannot accept submissions from people under the age of 13.
Publishing Anonymously
- We will permit some work to be published anonymously—please contact us to discuss.
- You must submit all content under your own name, but you may request to have that content published anonymously. If you wish to do this, mark on the piece itself “PUBLISH ANONYMOUSLY” and also indicate it on the submission form (there is a space for this).
- We will contact you if we have any concerns about publishing the piece anonymously.
- We don’t share personal information (email address, etc.) with third parties.
jGirls+ accepts two different content streams, with two different deadline guidelines.
1. Submit on any topic of interest to you (no deadline).
Content does not have to be about being Jewish and/or your gender identity. See our list of suggestions below to help get your ideas flowing.
Topic suggestions include (but are not limited to):
- Body image
- Current events
- Family
- Food
- Identity (including including identities related to Judaism, race, gender, sexuality, and disability)
- Israel
- Jewish learning
- Mental Health
- Opinion
- Personal experiences
- Politics
- Pop culture & cultural reviews
- Relationships
- Social justice
2. Submit on a theme, by a deadline.
In addition to regularly publishing works on the variety of topics previously described, we also periodically publish works around specific themes.
Check out our upcoming themes and deadlines.
Unsure what to write about? Not ready to submit your work just yet? Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear about new themes and be inspired by new original content.
Types of Content
- We accept content in any digital media, including: articles, essays, fiction, poetry, cultural reviews, humor, photographs, music, videos, artwork and other creative materials.
- At the moment, we can accept written submissions and video pieces with spoken elements in English only.
Unpublished Works
- We accept both: materials you created for other purposes, and original material. If it’s something you want to share, we want to see it.
Previously Published Works
- We accept works that have already been published elsewhere. However, the original publisher must permit re-publishing/re-posting. It is your responsibility to check that publisher’s terms or obtain written permission to republish the material.
File Names and Sizes
The file name must include a shortened version of the title of your piece and your first and last names. For example, EndWorld_MillieStern. Please note that jGirls+ Magazine reserves the right to change the title of your piece. We will always attempt to contact you before doing so to discuss.
Formats
Written Materials Specifications
Written materials must be submitted in an editable format such as Word or Google Docs (not pdf). Please include at the top of the document:
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- The piece’s title and your name
- Whether it is fiction, nonfiction, poetry or other (indicate what)
- If the piece has been published elsewhere, a link, if available
- Anything else it is crucial for us to know about the piece (such as if you wish it to be published anonymously)
- Please note: we tend not to accept for publication written work longer than about three pages/about 1500 words. Additionally, we tend not to publish school research papers or similar works. This work will be reviewed by our editors, but it is unlikely it will be accepted for publication.
Visual Arts and Music Specifications
- Photos and Digital Art must be a minimum of 1920×1080 (approximately 2 megapixels) in either JPG or PNG formats.
- You can find this information on your computer. On a PC, open in a photo viewer such as Photo, right click, and look at File Info under Dimensions. On a Mac, click on the photo in Finder in List view, and look at Dimensions. There are also many online resources to walk you through this process.
- Please note that photos and artwork can be published as stand-alone pieces, or to accompany a written submission (with photo credit attached).
- Art Scans Non-digital artwork must be scanned at a high resolution or well-photographed with a camera and meet the same resolution requirements.
- Videos must be high-quality, HD (1920×1080) MP4, and filmed horizontally with good sound and lighting. Submit the original video file, NOT a link to YouTube or similar service.
- Music must be in MP3 format, at 198kb/s or higher bit-rate. Submit file itself, rather than a link to a hosting platform. If you’re submitting a song, please consider uploading the lyrics to the song as well.
Materials up to 100MB can be uploaded directly via the submission form. You may only use SoundCloud, Flickr, Dropbox, etc., if appropriate/necessary to your submission (i.e., a photo portfolio or piece of recorded music).
Please email info@jgirlsmagazine.org if you would like to discuss any of this.
All materials will be reviewed by our teen Editorial Board. Everyone who submits will receive a response once a decision has been made.
After our editors have reviewed your piece, you will receive an email indicating one of the following:
- The Board has decided to publish your piece. Congratulations! See our FAQs to learn more about receiving payment for your work.
- The Board is requesting changes. If you wish to make the changes, your piece will be reviewed and considered again. You’re off to a good start!
- The Board is declining to publish this particular piece. There are many reasons your piece might be declined, but none of them are a reflection of your worth or your importance to the jGirls+ community. We encourage you to continue submitting to us!
Please note that we consider each submission carefully, and that our editorial staff members are high school students with very busy schedules. If your piece is not time sensitive (for instance, if it is not about an upcoming holiday or theme), it can take a long time (sometimes many months) before we review it — and, if accepted, an additional length of time before we publish it. It can sometimes be as long as a year from the time you submit until the time we publish. Please note that this timeline is not unusual for professional literary publications.
Please be sure to add jgirlsmagazine.org to your address book to ensure you receive our emails and they don’t go to Junk or Spam.
jGirls+ Magazine reserves the right to edit all accepted material for style, clarity, usage, etc.
We also encourage everyone who submits to take advantage of the other opportunities to participate in jGirls+, including reading the site, participating in online dialogue in comments, joining us on social media, and sharing the site with friends.
Have questions? Check our FAQ page for answers!
To discuss any concerns or additional questions, please contact us at info@jgirlsmagazine.org.
