We're glad you're here. POLISH welcomes submissions from those who want to share their stories: the wins, the reckonings, the things you've been carrying that deserve a wider audience. Please read through the guidelines below before you send anything our way.

Who can submit

Submissions are open to anyone 18 or older. While our stories center Black and brown trans and queer people, we consider and accept work that reflects the full breadth of intersectionality: the many identities, experiences, and lives that overlap with and expand our community.

Here's what we're looking for:

• Personal essays (written or visual) — narratives that move through your journey: the challenges, the triumphs, the reflections that stay with you.

• Opinion pieces — take a position. Make a call to action. Tell us where you stand on the issues shaping our lives right now.

Format

Essays and opinion pieces should come in as a Word or Google Doc, 800 – 1,500 words. Every submission needs at least one headshot of the author, and you can include up to four additional photos.

For visual-forward submissions, include at least one headshot and up to twenty additional photos.

A few image specifics:

• Headshots should be a minimum of 800px wide by any height. All other images should be a minimum of 1,500px wide by any height. Please crop and finish your own images.

• File names should include the title of the work and the image credit.

• We prefer a link to an organized folder via Google Drive, Dropbox, or WeTransfer. If that doesn't work for you, we'll figure out the file transfer together.

A few more things

• Submissions must be original work that's yours and doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights. If your piece has been published or shared somewhere before, let us know up front.

• While we accept pieces that may use AI to refine written work, we do not accept 100% AI-generated submissions.

• You keep the rights to your work. By submitting, you grant POLISH Media a non-exclusive license to showcase and distribute your piece as part of POLISH Magazine.

• Contributions are voluntary and, for now, uncompensated. We're an independent platform building infrastructure from the ground up, and we're honest about where we are.

• Publication date and time, unless we've agreed otherwise, sits with POLISH editors.

How to submit

Send your inquiry to hello@enterpolishmag.com with your submission and a brief bio (4-5 sentences). Our editorial team reviews every submission for authenticity, craft, and fit with what POLISH is building. If we'd like to move forward, we'll reach out with next steps, including collaboration and deadlines.

We can't wait to read you. Thank you for trusting us with your story, and for helping us build a platform where Trans and queer voices own the narrative.