I’ve made a big, weird decision that I’m still getting used to, but the cogs are in motion and it is happening. Effective with the spring issue and the start of $pread’s fourth year in print, I’ve decided that I will no longer be the executive editor of the magazine, nor will I be directly involved in the writing, editing and production of the magazine.
It’s taken me several months to let go, to really make the clear decision that my time at $pread has come to a close. But it has, and it’s time for me to move on.
Amber has written recently about activism and burn out and feeling like great things can’t be accomplished. This is kinda-sorta-notreally what I’m going through. I firmly and solidly believe that great things can be accomplished – and I believe that $pread can accomplish great things, and so can I. I am, however, feeling burnt out from three years of being an executive editor. Oh, I forgot one very important word: VOLUNTEER. Yes, it’s true – $pread is run entirely by a staff of devoted, passionate volunteers. And that takes a lot out of a person, especially after three years – three years in which I’ve started to make it as a writer and an editor in my own (paid) right.
In the future -which is to say, like, tomorrow- I will continue to work on sex work issues. I’m definitely not abandoning that part of my work, it just has to take different forms. Instead of working very specifically and separately within the sex worker communities on these issues, I want to fold them into the grander work I’m doing – like what I did with my book, writing about sexuality and sex work issues side-by-side. I have some stuff brewing that I don’t want to write about publicly and get it all jinxed, but we’ll see how everything develops over the next few months.
In the meantime, I’ll also be figuring out other ways of supporting $pread and the folks involved with the magazine, through other kinds of advocacy and hell-raising. We’ll see how it all pans out, and I’ll certainly be writing about it all as I figure it out.
And folks, this also means that $pread is looking for new contributors and people to work on editorial projects. We (they? – wow, that’s going to take some getting used to) aren’t ready to hire a full-on editor, but there is that need and opportunity once you prove your salt. Here’s the call, feel free to pass it on to anyone who might be interested:
$pread Magazine – an award-winning independent publication by and for people in the sex industry, is seeking past and current porn actors, phone sex operators, escorts, prostitutes, streetworkers, dommes, webcam workers, strippers / dancers, massage parlor workers, etc to submit work to our magazine.
We accept submissions from female, male and trans people who have done sex work in the past, as well as those who are currently still in the industry. We maintain an extremely inclusive editorial policy, as our
broadest aim is to be an informative and shameless voice of people who’ve worked in the sex industry.
STAFF-TRACK POSITIONS
We are currently looking for qualified people to become columnists / section editors, and prefer to work with people on a single writing piece first, before consideration for a longer-term assignment.
WRITING
We are seeking writers [editorial experience a bonus] to submit creative writing, pitch articles and write reviews and contribute to our various sections.
SECTIONS: We are always looking for writing for include:
Cunning Linguist – definitions of industry terminology
Scene Report – short articles about what a specific industry is like in a region [eg, dancing in Atlanta]
News – articles on news items relating to the sex industry
Creative Nonfiction, Fiction and Poetry – memoir and stories from the perspectives and experiences of people in the sex industry
Reviews – of recent books, movies, performances, websites, media etc. related to the sex industry
-We also are always looking for panelists to review products or argue
a position in some of our regular columns.
-STYLE: As well, we are looking for sexworkers who design clothes to submit information for consideration for review in our style section, and people to submit photographs of themselves in work and non-work clothes for a personal
-ARTICLES: We also welcome pitches for longer articles or interviews with people who work in or around the sex industry.
-ART: We welcome submissions of illustrations and photographs for individual usage and photo essays.
We do not offer payment for articles or art at this time, but you will receive a publishing credit and a copy of the magazine in which your work appears.
Find out more about us at www.spreadmagazine.org. Email us at contribute[at]spreadmagazine[dot]org if you’re interested in working with us – we look forward to hearing from you.
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