Who We Are
Hotsauce is a digital magazine produced several times a year about food and beverage primarily in the U.S. It is an outlet for writers to submit long form stories that might otherwise not find a home within the current publication stratosphere. Its aim is to provide a place for obscure, quirky, opinionated, one-sided, deep, niche, controversial, witty, or even silly stories to be published about food or beverage or the F&B community.
Hotsauce uniquely double-bylines stories, denoting the writer and acknowledging the editor. Stories are submitted fully edited ensuring the writer knows exactly how their submission will appear with their editor’s name included. All stories must meet our Community Standards to be considered for publication.
Stephanie Burnette, Emily Havener, and Catherine Cambell are partners producing Hotsauce for their singular enjoyment. They are compensated by the merriment the project brings them and personally carry the burden of any monetary cost it takes to sustain it.
It is a non-revenue generating publication.
Our Beliefs
We believe in the printed word, produced by writers, edited by editors, profiling issues and people of the dining world.
Hotsauce aims to create a space for stories of all lengths including ones that wax on or stop abruptly; stories that profile people, ideas, or themes that fascinate; stories unadorned by ads or sponsors. We also don’t care about metrics.
If you have a story that was “not a fit” elsewhere, then we want to read it. We don’t care if we agree with you, if we like your writing, if we’re personally offended by what you write or what your subject says. In fact, we’d like to have a robust discussion about it in the comments. And will vehemently defend respectful, intelligent discourse.
Our Selection Process
Each issue has an over-arching theme. We select submissions as they align with the theme and we may also hold a submission if we believe it will fit another issue’s theme in the future.
There is no compensation offered for stories published in Hotsauce and creators maintain ownership of all work provided. The publication retains the right to re-print all selected stories in perpetuity without cost.
Say hello.
publisher@hotsaucemag.com
How to Submit Your Work
Hotsauce Second Issue: Call for Submissions
Our inaugural issue of Hotsauce is by invitation only. We’re welcoming submissions for the second issue of Hotsauce, an online publication that we’ve envisioned to be a home for hospitality industry–related pieces that were “not a fit” elsewhere. Controversial topics, intelligent rants and criticism, long-form pieces, experimental formats, and editorial voice are all welcome here. (But please see our community guidelines.)
Our second issue is scheduled for August/September, and we’re seeking submissions along the theme of “discomfort.” We currently are a budget-free publication and do not offer payment; however, we will enter to the best of our ability this publication and select individual pieces for yearly industry media awards, including IACP and James Beard. You are welcome to submit any published pieces individually as well.
Submission Requirements
Submissions must be edited and fact checked and include an editorial byline. We will review only for compliance with our community guidelines and minor proofreading.
Submissions should be accompanied by three images, one of which will be selected as the hero image for the piece.
Submissions should follow Chicago style.
Submissions are due by July 31, 2026.
That’s it. No word count limits, no topics we have to avoid. You set your own parameters.
Community Guidelines
Hotsauce was envisioned to be a home for hospitality industry–related pieces that were “not a fit” elsewhere.
However, pieces will be automatically disqualified if they do not meet the following community guidelines. All submissions must:
Plausibly relate to the issue’s stated theme
Be fact checked and free from libel.
Be free of racist slurs and hate speech of any kind.
Correctly attribute direct quotations.
Be published under the author and editor’s real names.