Be a JoySauce Contributor

What is JoySauce?

Here at JoySauce, we make space for vibrant, unforgettable stories full of nuance and contradictions, to celebrate the tapestry of narratives that make up Asian America, which is not a monolith but a mosaic, an archipelago, a teeming forest.

We are curious, inquisitive, irreverent, mischievous, stylish, and that concentrated shot of fun you didn’t know you needed.

We publish scripted and documentary-style video content, original writing, photography, illustration, and podcasts, as well as syndicated content.

Pitch us!

Please email us at pitches@joysauce.com with a well written 2-3 paragraph pitch that tells us about the unique story you want to tell, the format in which you’d like to tell it, and why you are the right person for the job. Be specific, please! Generally, we encourage you to send a pitch rather than submit a finished piece, unless you’re interested in syndication opportunities. We do not accept email attachments, so please paste your pitch into the body of your email; in the subject line, please use PITCH: followed by the topic. (Please write TIMELY PITCH for scoops and other timely items.) 

Below, you’ll find specifics for our writing guidelines and payment. But if you’ve got an idea for a story that’s better told in photos, on video, or through podcast, please specify in your pitch, and we’ll connect with you on details of those types of collaborative projects. 

Narrative journalism

These should be focused on an idea, a new angle, a story that will blow us away.
Your story should offer dialogue, complexity, and nuance, backed up by reporting and research. Don’t confine yourself to reactions, but show us the big picture, the implications for the world, and for the future. Find that balance between telling a small story and connecting it to the bigger world around us.

Humor

We welcome razor-sharp satire, dad joke listicles, and everything in between. Please note that while we welcome fearless jokesters to take their best shot, maliciousness has no place here.

Opinion pieces and personal essays

Opinion pieces, beyond having a point of view, should be persuasive, and grip your
readers and advance your views, and show us your vision for how things ought to be.

Timely reported news

We are looking for punchy, quick turnaround, short pieces. We want to keep up with what’s happening in the world, but with a JoySauce twist. These have a single POV rather than the impersonal newswire style content. You should show us your particular vantage point, a unique angle that sets you apart from the mainstream POV.

Interviews/profiles

Help us get to know well-known figures or key members of the community, their work, their worldview, and hopefully something we didn’t already know about them.
*Please note that you should only pitch us if you have access to the subject.

Reviews

We are interested in reviews of TV, movies, books, podcasts, exhibits, sports events, recipes… basically anything that can be reviewed! What we want is a strong point of view, rather than a synopsis, summary, or description. Note that reviews should not only be limited to Asian subjects, as we are also extremely interested in reviews from a distinctly Asian perspective.

Columns

Like any magazine, we have a few recurring features, tied together by topic while showcasing different writers’ stories and points of view. Please familiarize yourself with what we’ve already published prior to pitching.

  • The 442

    Shorter historical pieces that look at extraordinary Asian Americans and their accomplishments from a bygone time

  • Mixed Love

    Personal essays that examine interracial/intercultural romances, friendships, family, partnerships, and more. Inspired by The New York Times’ popular Modern Love column, we’re looking at all the ways our lives are enriched (and complicated!) by the coming together of people from different racial and cultural backgrounds.

    For example: planning the wedding for a Catholic Indian from Kerala and a second-generation Korean American; an Asian American working as lab partners with a new immigrant; a Black American meeting their Chinese in-laws for the first time; a mixed-race child bonding with grandparents who speak a different language etc.

Payment

We pay writers a flat rate per story, dependent on experience and required research/interviewing/etc. Rate will be negotiated at time of assignment.

We ask that you invoice us for your work. In the event that we can no longer publish your work, we’ll pay a kill fee of 25 percent.