Bitch Media, for almost 20 years an independent, nonprofit feminist media organization, is pleased to announce the Bitch Media Fellowships for Writers, a series of three-month intensive writing fellowships whose goal is to develop, support, and amplify emerging, diverse voices in feminist, activist, and pop-culture media. The program will be directed by Bitch cofounder Andi Zeisler. 

Bitch Media’s mission is to provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful response to mainstream media and pop culture. We strive to be a fresh, revitalizing voice in contemporary feminism, one that welcomes complex arguments and refuses to ignore the contradictory and often uncomfortable realities of life in an unequivocally gendered world. We publish the award-winning magazine Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, daily online articles and opinions, weekly podcasts, and offer lectures and workshops around the world through Bitch on Campus.

Today, we are pleased to add four three-month fellowships to our offerings, each of which pay a stipend of $1,500 for the three-month period. We seek fellows who are passionate, engaged, and interested in developing their unique voices. 

Fellowships will be selected bi-annually, and will work with Bitch Media during one of the following four quarters in 2016:

• January 1 – March 30
• April 1 – June 30
• July 1 – September 30
• October 1 – December 31

Fellows will work in one of four subject areas during the fellowship period:

• Reproductive rights & justice
• Pop-culture criticism
• Technology
• Global feminism 

During the 3-month fellowships, our fellows will:

• Produce a minimum of six online articles for Bitch Media in the topic area of their fellowship. These pieces can take a variety of forms: reported, analytical, advocacy-focused, even infographic, and are least 600 words in length.
• Produce at least one longform article to be published in the quarterly magazine Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. 
• Participate in biweekly discussions (by phone or Skype if fellows cannot meet in person) with the fellowship director and other members of the Bitch Media staff.
• Receive mentorship and support in creating, shaping, and editing articles and blog posts.
• Receive follow-up support with placing future articles and essays, and make great connections within the feminist-media community.
• Have access to the Bitch Media library, which houses more than 2,000 books on feminist theory and activism; gender, race, and queer studies; pop-culture criticism, and social-justice history.
• Receive a $1,500 stipend for the three-month fellowship.

Who should apply?

This fellowship was created in order to cultivate and amplify new voices. If you are a writer who is just getting started and have little publication experience, we strongly encourage you to apply. If you are passionate about one of the above subject areas but do not have a history of writing or blogging about them, we strongly encourage you to apply. (Writers who have contributed to Bitch before will be considered on a case- by-case basis, but again, this fellowship is focused on emerging writers.) Fellows may be based globally, and U.S. citizenship or residence is not required to be a fellow. 

Bitch Media is an independent 501(c)3 organization and an equal-opportunity employer. We seek a variety of perspectives and encourage applications from qualified writers of any age, race, color, gender, religion, ancestry, disability, marital status, and sexual orientation. We hope that our fellows will be able to find a community among their co-fellows and the staff of Bitch Media.

To Apply:

Submit a single PDF file with all required materials (listed below) to fellowships@b-word.org. Your email subject line should note the subject area to which you are applying. Make sure to include a cover letter that describes your interest in the fellowship area of your choice:

• What are the topics you’re passionate about?
• What are the facets and angles of this subject that you think are underreported and under-discussed elsewhere in the media?
• What unique experiences and perspectives will you bring to the topic?

Along with your cover letter, please include: 

• A CV and/or résumé that lists previous publications.
• Three (3) relevant writing samples. The samples can be sent as email attachments or, if they are online, as links.

Applicants must apply for one of four categories (reproductive rights and justice, pop-culture criticism, technology, and global feminism). Applicants may apply for more than one category, but must send separate applications for each one. If you are unavailable to accept a fellowship during a specific quarter next year, please make sure to include that information in your application.

Please, no phone calls or office visits regarding the Fellowship Program or application process. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Deadline for Application: November 1, 2015
2016 Fellows Announced: December 15, 2015