How to contribute

Willing to share your story in The Positive Side? Have a story idea you think we should know about? The Positive Side is for and by people with HIV. That means we need you! Here are the different ways that you can contribute:

Chatty CATIE

In this regular column, we ask people with HIV to answer a specific question. Sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s lighthearted. It’s always powerful.

If you’re interested in appearing in Chatty CATIE, please read our Contributions Policy and then get in touch. In your submission, provide:

  • your name, age and the province you live in; and
  • a brief description (150 words maximum) of what you think you’ll say. (Don’t worry—we will work with you to craft the final text.)

Have an idea for a story?

We welcome story ideas. Keep in mind that there are as many poignant stories about HIV as there are people living with the virus and we are limited in what we can publish in the magazine. Please appreciate that we may not be able to use yours.

To submit an idea, write it down in 150 words or less. There’s no need to write out the whole story, just a brief summary will suffice.

How to get in touch with us

Read the Contributions Policy, and if you can agree to all of the terms, contact us at contribute@positiveside.ca, or by mail at:

CATIE
555 Richmond St. W.
Suite 505, box 1104
Toronto ON  M5V 3B1
Attn: The Positive Side

Please do not phone in your story idea. Finally, include your name and contact information so that we can get in touch with you. All information submitted will be protected under CATIE’s privacy policy.

CATIE Contributions Policy

Please note that we do not guarantee publication. We thank you for all contributions but only contact those people who we are considering for inclusion. The Positive Side reflects the many faces of HIV from across the country and seeks to showcase unique perspectives and stories of people living with the virus.

All contributions chosen to appear in The Positive Side will undergo further development and editing at the discretion of the editorial team. We will help you sound great!

Sorry folks, The Positive Side does not accept contributions of poetry.

We prefer to receive contributions by email. If you are making a paper submission, please do not send originals. Send only copies. We cannot be responsible for lost or stolen items. We will not return items sent to us.

Contributions are accepted in English and French.

Contributions must be relevant to a Canadian audience and written by people in Canada or Canadians abroad.

The Positive Side does NOT promote or profile commercial companies or their services or products. Story ideas should not be linked to commercial products or services.

You must be willing to have your story published in print and online. We understand that confidentiality is an important issue for people with HIV; if you prefer, we can change personal details in the story to protect your identity.

Photo Guidelines

If you are providing us with a photograph, we require a large, high-resolution image—the bigger the better. We cannot enlarge photos that are too small, as they will appear blocky and blurry, and will lose detail. What may look fine on your computer or phone screen may not be suitable for print.

Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind before sending us a photograph:

  • Although we prefer colour photos, you may also submit a photo in black and white.
  • If you are using a flash, please try to stand at least one metre (three feet) away from any wall to avoid ugly shadows.
  • Please do not submit a photo taken with a webcam or a still from a video camera. The quality will not be high enough.
  • If you are using a camera phone or a digital camera, please check your settings to make sure that they are set to the highest resolution possible. Please avoid resolution settings of 800 x 600 pixels or lower.
  • We prefer receiving uncompressed photos in TIFF or Camera RAW formats, but we realize that many cameras and phones shoot only in compressed JPG format. If this is the case and if your phone or camera has a control for its JPG setting, please set it for minimal compression (largest file size).
  • If you are using a film camera, congratulations on keeping it old school! We are happy to receive film prints of five-by-seven inches or larger. We will scan your photo and then return it to you once the magazine goes to press.
  • Please do not send prints made from digital photos. Always send in the original digital photo file.
  • Please make sure that you appear prominently in the photo and that you are not just a small part of a larger picture. We need to have a nice, close view of your face.
  • Please zoom in on your digital photo to make sure that your face is in focus.
  • If your photo file is too large to email, let us know and we can set up an alternative way to submit your photo.

If your photo does not meet our requirements, we will do our best to let you know what is wrong so that you can send us something better. However, we reserve the right not to publish any photos that are not suitable for print.