Hi, I’m the new editor of Human Parts

And I want to read your writing

Photo credit: Flickr ilovenaples

You know those late night conversations with friends when you end up telling your best stories? Those are the ones I want.

I want to collect your beautiful gems in the little eggplant-colored suede pouch that I got from Museum Village when I was 12. I bought it to hold my childhood collection of hand-blown glass marbles, the existence of which is one of the least queer things about me — if you’re wondering. I’ve lost all my marbles since then. Take any of that however you want.

Human Parts backstory you can skip: My name is Jay (it used to be Laura but that’s MY story) and I want to hear your story. Steph (who created Human Parts) and Harris (a little gay man boy who edited the collection for a long time) wrote a good post about what fits well here. I am not as experimental (smart) as them and have a slightly different taste (salty), so I edited and updated the submission guidelines to reflect those changes.

Human Parts is Medium’s home for personal essays and perspectives — from the mundane to the extraordinary to everything in between. More than anything, we strive to inspire our readers to close their browsers and start writing themselves.

We’re most interested in stories that make us want to write: nonfiction with creative form and voice, like Adeline Dimond’s I’m Afraid to Move and Savala Nolan’s On Having Friends Who Still Diet; brave, intimate storytelling that illuminates the broader human condition like Mindy Stern’s Adoption is Trauma; and imaginative writing that doesn’t take itself too seriously like Kate Stone Lombardi’s Separation Anxiety: It’s Not Just for Toddlers and Dan Kadlec’s Ripples in the Sand.

Stories about the following topics are desired:

• Creativity: Making things, breaking things, and finding your voice.
• Family: Perspectives on parenting, childhood, and everything in between.
• Identity: On the art of self-definition.
• Love + Sex: Stories about who we connect with, and why.
• Mental Health: Dealing with the mess inside our minds.
• Spirituality: Brief encounters with the divine.

What isn’t for Human Parts? Things that aren’t first-person essays probably won’t work. Human Parts is not looking for reported features or for you to tell someone else’s story.

Also: Please don’t submit general advice, self-help, or a post that is meant to market anything. Tell us how you live your life, rather than telling us how we should live ours.

Submit through Medium or by emailing: heyhumanparts@gmail.com

Thanks for your interest in contributing. I looking forward to reading your work!