The editorial concept for Sad Mag can best be summed up as “be surprising.” We wanted young writers and visual artists to draw on their own personal interests and experiences to produce content for the magazine, so the concept hasn’t been difficult to achieve.

Want to know about a gypsy musician / vintage store owner and her role in the development of Main Street in the last 15 years? We’ve got that. How about, what a Chinese immigrant thinks about life and perserverence? Yup. Got that, too.

Nobody is asking Chinese immigrants what they think of life. The piece that opens the magazine, “A Good Life,” was written and photographed by Justin Mah and Jimmy Hsu (respectively). The friends and roommates frequent the laundromat of their interview subject, Jessie Li, a few blocks from their basement apartment in Burnaby.

It’s an exquisite piece. The first of the submissions we received, “A Good Life” was the first affirmation that our vision of publishing uncommon writing could be achieved.

I’ve said it before, but the kinds of writing young people are going to produce is necessarily different from that of more established folks. Young people eek it out at minimum wage, share apartments with friends, and rent in the dodgy areas that allow for paying rent and having enough left over for beer. We use laundromats.

Jessie Li shares that she’s seen some hard times.

“I was once at the peak of my life, then suddenly lost everything one day. It’s determination, I think, determination that kept me going—just thinking on the bright side. When problems come up, just face it and don’t give up. One should be hardworking, kind and honest; this is my personal philosophy.”

Keep your head up. Work hard. Don’t give up.

The difference between this article and something you might read on economic hard times elsewhere is simple, and it’s this: established writers, skilled and connected as they may be, don’t hang out in laundromats. And I think we’re missing out on something really important as a society by relying exclusively on politicians and talking heads to give us moral guidance in times like these.

I’d rather speak to Jessie Li.

So, that’s our deal. We want unexpected, uncommon writing from young people—experienced or not. If you’re thinking of developing a pitch for Sad Mag, follow these three simple steps first:

1. Grab onto an issue or a topic that interests, even obsesses you. I’m super interested in the prevalence of burlesque among hipsters. What’s the deal with the sudden popularity of faux-suppressed sexuality?
2. Consider how this issue or topic affects you personally. What about your position in life makes your take on the issue particularly interesting? My roommate started taking burlesque classes last month, and now it’s all nipple tassels and feather boas. She says she feels more confident, but I’m not so sure. As a feminist, can I endorse boobie shaking as a confidence-booster?
3. Do some research. How can you feed your interest, teaching yourself and others through some quality time in the library, and out on the streets talking to people? I’m going to do some research on the history of burlesque dancing, interview my roommate and her dancing friends, and what the hell, take a class myself. It’ll give my writing some spice, or good jokes, at least.

Then bombs away to info@sadmag.ca and we’ll chat about making it a fit for the magazine.

Keep writing,
Deanne