Submit your story

Anyone can share a story for Harmony Express by emailing hex@singbarbershop.com. A few things to bear in mind:

You don't have to write the whole article as we do the writing ourselves; a few bullet points about the story, along with some relevant quotes, are all we need to get started.

Photography

You must include at least one high-resolution photograph with your submission.

  • Photos should be clear, in focus, and well-lit — we don't need a professional-quality shot, but blurry, dark, or poorly-framed photos won't work well on the site
  • Photos must depict a moment that really happened — no AI-generated images, and no edits that substantially alter what was actually captured
  • If you share more than one photo, please tell us which is the "primary" photo (i.e. the one to display at the top of the article)
  • The primary photo must be in landscape orientation
  • You're welcome to also include non-photographic images (e.g. show posters), but these cannot be used as the primary image
  • Photos must be provided in a standard photo format (JPG, PNG etc) — however you'd like to send them (email attachment, shared drive link, WeTransfer etc) is fine as long as we can access the link (e.g. no Facebook links requiring specific permissions or access).
  • By submitting a photo, you're confirming that you own it (or have the photographer's permission to share it), and that you're happy for Harmony Express to publish it. If you know who took the photo, let us know and we'll credit them — though this isn't required

What we'll publish

Harmony Express is a place for stories, not promotional material. We will not accept or publish any advertisements or promotions (including information about upcoming shows and other events). The BABS Bulletin is the right place for advertisements and show promotions. We're happy to cover events retrospectively once they've taken place — it's previews and promotion we can't publish.

We are more likely to write about stories which are specific, newsworthy, and relevant to our audience. We will also accept some opinion pieces, but these must be fully-written submissions (roughly 500–800 words) and will be edited before publication.

Please only name individuals in your story who are happy to be named. If anyone you'd like to name is under 18, please get a parent or guardian's agreement first.

The editor reserves the right to take editorial decisions, so we cannot guarantee that a story will be published. We aim to acknowledge all submissions within a week, though this may take longer if the editor is away. We may also need to follow up on your submission by email, phone, or video call — if so, we'll arrange a time that works for you.

Inviting a Harmony Express reporter to your event

We are open to receiving invitations to events for coverage in Harmony Express. As the publication is run by volunteers we cannot always accept invitations, and sometimes we may require relevant expenses to be covered. Any hospitality or expenses claimed by reporters will be declared in line with our Ethics Statement.