Hey hey. Really glad you’re here, and I hope I get to make this as informative and entertaining for my readers.
Before launching this, a few people asked why the name has no Arabic in it or any nod to the region. Which, fair question. But the answer is that cultural journalism (especially in a metropolitan city like Dubai) borrows from so many different communities and contexts that assuming an Arabic-first identity felt like it would do more narrowing than opening up. The region isn’t only Arab-speaking, and I didn’t want SluggMail™ to perform an identity. There’s a time and place to sit with the roots of something, and there’s a time when that becomes costume. And I wanted to sidestep that entirely.
As for the name itself — this industry is often glamorised from the outside. Being surrounded by GQ, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Architectural Digest, I cannot deny that those publications are what they are and have their weight — I’ll admit, I rarely write for publications that don’t have that somewhat lux-adjacent persona. However, working within this industry isn’t always the fanciest, and it takes slow, deliberate work to get somewhere. I also want this to be somewhat a digital form of a Snail Mail…and, in full transparency, I’m also fascinated by sea slugs. So here we are.
SluggMail™ is for anyone who wants to build a life in writing regardless of where they’re from, what language they think in, or whether they’ve ever filed a story in their life. And while the intention comes from this region, the invitation is wider than that.
This welcome issue is just a walkthrough of what to expect, how this works, and what’s coming.
And if all goes well, you’ll be seeing me in your inbox every Sunday.
🐌 The (Long) Slug 🐌
In future emails, the introduction will be far shorter, and this section will be much longer. But for the welcome issue, I’d like to walk you through my mind on why I view cultural journalism to be an integral part of writing that must be further explored within the region.
Many times, we discuss social and sociopolitical topics solely through a Western lens. I’ve also noticed that cultural journalism in the Middle East often relies on heavy praise that cuts out any necessary nuance that balances admiration with criticism, and defaults instead to umbrella statements and generalised language. When criticism is offered as a point of view, it is often feared to automatically become slander. That is not a trap anyone should fall into.
Cultural journalism in its highest form is a semi-objective analysis of a subject well-interacted with — either by the journalist or the protagonist of the story. It is a weaving of different thoughts and ideas through curiosity and the questioning of society and our own taste.
Good cultural journalism is autonomous, not authoritative.
Often, the young writers and interns I’ve worked with assume that writing is the first step to getting published. It isn’t. Writing is only a tool. Critical thinking, curiosity, social observation, and even the most random conversations over lunch can be the fuel to the engine of your work. The ways you communicate and interact with what you read, with the people you speak to, are what will dictate how you shape your written language. So you must create a healthy, well-balanced linguistic diet.
This industry can also get emotional. At the end of the day, this is your work, and it is only fair to feel protective of it. But we must learn to control our impulses as observers and writers, and communicate our ideas with the world as clearly and honestly as we can.
And so I hope this newsletter serves as some form of guidance through that.
Oh, and there’s also AI — but I’ll get to that separately at one point.
👩🏻💻 Current Reads 👩🏻💻
Here, I will be sharing three articles I’ve been enjoying lately that relate to each newsletter’s topic. For this welcome note, I will suggest the following:
🗂️ Publications Open to Pitches 🗂️
Worry less about who’s open to pitches in the Middle East (or even abroad), as I will share three magazines each week that are looking for stories to commission.
Rates and emails included when possible!
🛎️ SluggDesk™ 🛎️
Ever wondered how to write a solid celebrity profile, conduct an economic and cultural analysis, create a fun yet informative Q&A, approach magazines, write a pitch, price yourself, or what a day in a lifestyle magazine actually looks like?
Send your questions to desk@sluggmail.com
I read all of them, so don’t be shy. Your question might help you and a lot of other readers too. :)
The distinction between having access to information and truly understanding something is very important. Real curiosity requires us to engage, question our assumptions and sometimes step outside what we naturally like. Very thoughtful and beautifully written.
one man’s intro is another man’s magnum opus u are magic with ur words