HOW TO PITCH US & EDITORIALS GUIDELINES
AYO Magazine is looking for curious, talented, reliable, Black women writers to contribute original content (articles and features) to its online platform. Past AYO articles can be found here.
When pitching a story idea, please keep in mind the following:
-Your pitch should be only a few sentences long explaining the main points of your piece and why AYO readers would be interested in reading your story. Keep in mind that the “why now” of your article is just as important as the “who”: What makes your article timely? Why is it important to write your piece now?
-AYO’s tone is approachable, informative, honest and must be readable to a wide, international audience. We love regional stories; please be sure to provide additional context that will ensure that readers from another part of the world can understand the significance of your piece.
-AYO coverage is broad and encompasses a wide array of topics to accommodate Black women lived experiences from all around the world. As such, we’re happy to receive stories by women who live anywhere!
-Please note that we tend to not cover celebrity stories unless there’s a tie-in to a larger theme.
-Pieces should be 800-1200 words and be accompanied by at least two images that you have permission to use (see Submissions section for more info).
-Please note that we only post unpublished works.
-Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Currently, AYO contributors are not paid but we hope to change this soon! If you’d still like to join the AYO family, please pitch us at pitch@ayomag.com
Submissions
Your submission should be comprised of the following parts:
-A headline
-A subhead
-A one sentence description of what your piece is about
-At least two photos (see below for more info)
-Please send your piece in either an editable Google Doc or Word document to pitch@ayomag.com and a member of our editorial team will respond within 48 hours.
-All pieces must be accompanied by at least two photos. When choosing photos, please ensure that each image is:
- In landscape orientation
- At least 1,500 pixels wide
- Contains no filters, watermarks or logos
- Midrange (e.g. no selfies or tightly cropped headshots)
- Must include photo credit
-Please also include a short (1-2) sentence bio.
Want to partner with us? Have a suggestion, question, or comment? Just want to say “Hey girl hey?” Contact us at hello@ayomag.com.
