The Magazine
A quarterly magazine of women writing from inside a life in transition.
Fiction and personal essays under one editorial lens: midlife women writing from inside a life in transition. Both forms welcome.
It’s for writers and readers alike. For the women in this room who want a place serious enough to put the work down on the table, and for the women who want to read those pieces and think about them out loud.
What’s in it for you
Four issues a year of fiction and personal essays you’ll actually want to discuss
The full quarterly issue is free, published on The Heroine Society, readable by everyone
A clean PDF download for paid subscribers. Yours to keep, print, and mark up.
A combined Reading, Annotations & Conversation video with each Prize Winner
The reading material for each quarterly Salon
The Three Layers
The Magazine (free) — the full quarterly issue is free and published on The Heroine Society. Anyone can read it.
The PDF download (paid) — paid subscribers get a digital version to download and keep.
The Reading, Annotations & Conversation video (paid) — me reading each Prize-winning piece aloud with my notes in the margins, followed by a recorded conversation with the writer about the work. One video per Prize Winner.
How it works
Drops Aug 1, Nov 1, Feb 1, May 1
All submissions read by me (Lisa-Marie)
Quarterly cycle: submissions open for three to six weeks, selections published at the next issue, prizes awarded at issue release
Selected writers from each issue also speak at the quarterly Salon
What’s in an issue
Prize Winners (1 fiction + 1 essay) — full pieces, byline, bio, links
Runners-up (2 per category) — full pieces, byline, bio, links
Featured Pieces (variable, opt-in) — full pieces, byline, bio, links
Honorable Mentions — every submission that meets the guidelines, named with a link to the author’s Substack
What You Get When You Submit:
Prize Winners (1 fiction + 1 essay per quarter)
$150 if you’re a paid subscriber, or an annual Heroine Society subscription, gifted, if you’re a free subscriber
Publication to [5,000+] readers, with your byline, bio, and links to your Substack and website
A combined Reading, Annotations & Conversation video — me reading your piece aloud with my notes, followed by a one-hour recorded conversation with you
Featured speaker seat at that quarter’s Salon — the 30-minute YouTube panel + the 60-minute private conversation
Year-end anthology consideration
Runners-up (2 per category)
$50 if you’re a paid subscriber, or a 3-month Heroine Society subscription, gifted, if you’re a free subscriber
Publication in the Magazine with byline, bio, and links
Featured speaker seat at that quarter’s Salon
Featured Pieces (variable, opt-in)
Publication in the Magazine with byline, bio, and links
Access to all paid features of that issue — the PDF download and the Reading, Annotations & Conversation videos
Featured pieces are unpaid in year one; this changes as the Magazine grows
Honorable Mentions (every submission that meets the guidelines)
Your name and a link to your Substack listed in the issue
Submitting is brave. We read everything.
If your piece isn’t selected (paid or free subscriber)
A free pass to that quarter’s Salon — including the full 60-minute private conversation. This is a thank you and a congratulations. It’s freakin’ brave to submit, so you rock.
The experience of writing your story, which is transformational in itself.
Next → Want to submit against this quarter’s theme?
Or: Want to see how the live conversation works? → The Salon