Thank you for your interest in On Our Backs. On Our Backs is a national, erotic magazine for lesbians. Our mission is to provide the best of lesbian sex. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with our magazine to get a sense of what kind of content we're in search of.

Writers
Fiction submissions should include the entire proposed story and a short bio that includes your fiction publishing history. We do not read queries for fiction. Before sending nonfiction, we encourage writers to query the staff with clips of your work. We use the Chicago Manual of Style when considering editorial clarity.

Manuscripts should be submitted in the body of an e-mail with "Fiction Submission" or "Nonfiction Submission" in the subject line. All manuscripts must include a bio, and must be labeled with the contributor's name, address, and phone number. Replies will be by email within 8 weeks of receipt.

We accept freelance submissions in the following areas only:
Erotic Fiction: 1000-2000 words. All styles considered. Stories that include men, "first time," and coming out stories, are discouraged. We see too many stories set in a generic club or bar. We love stories with plots and characters we're interested in. Payment: $100

Features: 1500 words; 300 word sidebar. Our features document cutting-edge lesbian sexual practices, trends, and developments. We encourage you to email us a query rather than sending unsolicited nonfiction work. Queries should be brief (no longer than one page), and should be accompanied by clips of your published work. Payment: negotiable

True Confession: Readers are encouraged to submit stories for the True Confession feature. Submit your own true confession in the body of an email to editor@onourbacksmag.com. All submissions should be between 800 to 1000 words and deal with a true adventure in lesbian sex. Payment $100

Editorial contact is:
Suzanne Corson
editor@onourbacksmag.com

Illustrators
We use black-and-white illustrations to accompany the two fiction stories in every issue and at times commission art for the feature. An illustrator interested in submitting their work for consideration should provide us with some samples and a business card (if possible). As this is a lesbian porn magazine we prefer the fiction illustrations to be as explicit as possible. Our motto is "the dirtier the better". As for the feature story, the illustration will be determined by the tone of the story. Payment will be discussed once an illustrative assignment arises.

Illustrators contact is:
editor@girlfriendsmag.com

Photographers
Each photograph should be labeled with the artist's name, address, and phone number. Photographers are responsible for acquiring and submitting a model release for each woman in a photograph. If you don't have model releases we can provide you with our company one. We can only use photos in which the models are 18 or over. We are committed to having models diverse in size, age, ability, and ethnicity.

Note: Should we decide to use your photos, we will send a contract with payment information. The photographer shall retain all rights to the photo until On Our Backs issues a contract.

We accept photography submissions in the following areas:

Pictorials:
You can always send us contact sheets from an unsolicited shoot, but we strongly encourage you to query us before doing any shoot. For best results, send us samples of your erotic photography, a description of the shoot you propose (location, storyline, costumes), photos of the model(s) who have agreed to appear in the shoot, and information about the format in which you work (e.g. 35 mm, 4 X 5, etc.) All first time work is done on spec.

There are three different pictorials in On Our Backs:

Pictorial #1: A four-page spread that is an erotic portrait of a single woman.

Pictorial #2: A six-page pictorial that shows two women engaged in vanilla sex.

Pictorial #3: A four-page pictorial that shows two women engaged in a fringe sexual behavior (e.g. SM, fetish play, etc.).

General notes about pictorials:

• All pictorials need to be well-lit, in focus, and clear.
  
• Black and white is best, though centerfolds for pictorial two are now in color.
  
• It's best if contact sheets from pictorials include both explicit and non-explicit shots.
  
• We prefer to see contact sheets. From there we will select images and ask the photographer to supply us with 8x10 prints.
  
• For digital submissions please make sure images are formatted for a Macintosh and sent via CD or Zip disk. All files should be at least 300 dpi, at least 8x10, and saved as a TIFF.
  
• We will take submissions via e-mail, but please contact us first before sending images.
  
• More information about pictorials will be sent to you if you are assigned a shoot.

Covers:
The cover shoot is connected to one of the three pictorials. If you are interested in shooting a cover for On Our Backs, please contact us via email with a jpeg of the models and your idea. All work must be in color, and in medium [2 1/4 x 2 1/4] or large format. We do not accept 35 mm or slides for the cover. Digital photography is also recommended as long as the final image is at least 9x12 and 300 dpi.

Photographer contact is:
editor@girlfriendsmag.com

Models:
You must be 18 or over to appear in On Our Backs. Please email a digital photo of yourself to editor@onourbacksmag.com. Include your name, address and phone number. Please indicate which pictorial you are interested in. If you are interested in Pictorial #2 or #3, please submit a photo of a woman who has agreed to be in the shoot with you. For all three shoots, you may indicate your ideas for the shoot (location, costuming, story line) if you wish. Also, tell us if you have a professional photographer to work with in your area.

Please allow eight weeks for a response. We do not return unsolicited material unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.