Other Virtues
Calling all moms to submit photos/text to a new publication.
Dear Momma,
Diana, here. I’m working on something that I think you’d be perfect for. The project is called “Other Virtues” and it’s a printed series (a DIY lifestyle magazine?!) about motherhood that I intend to publish through BearBear in 2026.
I thought of you because not only are you a mother, but because I want to help you feel seen, through photographs and a little bit of writing, that you’re a full person and not just so-and-so’s mom :-) You’re undoubtedly juggling more facets, more dimensions, more “motherhood”.
Please read through the project and prompts below. There’s a deadline to participate. There’s no pressure to take new photos or make new writing; you can harvest what you already have on your phone/photo albums (starting from the time that you became a mother).
Always,
Diana
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OTHER VIRTUES is a quarterly riso publication that asks women to document and perform traditionally-sidelined aspects of motherhood so that they can be seen and celebrated.
Other Virtues exists to normalize and appreciate real scenes of motherhood, centered on the woman and not on the child, that complicate pervasive ideas of the virtuous mother — clean, calm, self-sacrificing — by presenting “other virtues” such as disorganization, maximalism, and non-traditional femininity. The series is produced in a Risograph printed booklet format featuring photographs, illustrations, and text. BearBear will publish quarterly with work by Diana H. Chu in collaboration with fellow mothers.
SUBMIT WORK:
Please send up to 10 photographs (required) and 1 paragraph of writing (optional). Your photographs will be curated, cropped, adjusted for riso, but otherwise minimally adjusted before printing. Not all will be included in an issue. Limit your photographs to 1 or 2 per prompt. Your photographs will be credited accordingly.
PHOTO PROMPTS:
Messy.
A laundry basket mid-fold, dishes in a sink, an unpacked suitcase, car chaos, hair thrown in a bun 3 days in a row, a forgotten drawer, the junk desk, the closet you throw things into when guests come over. Show what's behind the curtain. What you wouldn't normally share.Slow.
Unharried, un-packed, nothing on the schedule. The kids are bored. You're not on a screen. No new toys. Old forgotten things. Dust. A wandering mind. Taking your time.As-is.
What’s in your bag, purse, wallet, car. What's on your nightstand. On your bookshelf. Weeds in the garden. A scene that’s left totally uncurated that shows an assortment of stuff in space, just as it is.Nature.
A cut stem in a vase, leaf shadows, a pond, rain. Skin on an apple. Pears in a bowl. The pumpkin patch. Leaves. Detritus. A bug trapped in snow.Feminine.
For you, not for anyone else. What makes you feel femme — beautiful, powerful, worthy? Is it a thing, an act, a ritual, a place? Where are your mirrors? When do you steal glances of yourself?Care.
Caring and nurturing through meal preparation, through song, through awareness, through looking. What feels like care to you? This could be self-care (a playlist, a skincare regime, a cup of tea), a drawing or quotation you return to, a stocked freezer. It could be a pace: how slow or fast you do something, how dialled, how specific.Rage.
Where does your anger go after it surfaces? Is there some place you channel it? Are there colors, shapes, or objects you think of when you bring your rage into focus? Do you rage clean? What does release mean to you?Frivolous.
Trinkets, whims, indulgences, splurges. These things or feelings we label as extraneous, as beyond what’s “responsible”, do they bring you joy? What is small but makes you smile anyway? Are there things you do when no one is around to make you feel good? What makes you, without caring for someone else, simply, happy?
WRITING PROMPT:
Submitting a piece of writing is optional. Please send one paragraph, either prose-style or stream of consciousness, 100 words maximum. Please no poems. This is an open prompt, but here are some ideas: Describe what you do when there's a stolen moment of "you" time, when you trust your intuition or instincts above all else, how your relationship to femininity has developed or changed since becoming a mother, how you feel / what you do an hour before guests come over, how you present yourself these days, what is sacred, what traps you, describe your current relationship(s) with other women that have perhaps deepened or drifted, what nature does for you, what do you want others to know, etc.
ALSO SEEKING:
Have an idea that doesn’t fit into these prompts? Think of [Other Virtues] as a modern lifestyle magazine for “undone” mothers. It’s meant to be friend-to-friend style, like chatting with your best pal on their couch with the kettle on, swapping memories, suggestions, confessions. [Other Virtues] is a safe, conspiratorial, positive space. We are also seeking real stories, anecdotes, as-seen-in, or first-person perspective pieces of text. Research-based, product or media reviews, travel diaries, city guides, gift guides, favorite recipes, and similar lifestyle texts will be considered. Relevant illustrations or comics will be considered. We are not accepting poems at this time.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Email your photographs (and text) to heybearbear@gmail.com by December 1, 2025. If the images are too large, please send files through WeTransfer or a Google Drive link. We are accepting any submissions on a rolling basis following this deadline.
Email your photographs (and text) to heybearbear@gmail.com.
Use the subject line: Other Virtues
Include in your email how you want to be credited. e.g. Diana Chu or Diana H. Chu or Diana C.
Forward this email to your partner, a mom, or even your own mom. I’d love for you to consider submitting as well. Full details are here.
P.S. I don’t want there to be pressure on you to “do another thing”. The prompts should be open enough that ~almost~ anything fits. If you take photos with your phone, you probably have a photo you can submit. The ask is more in the exercise of reflecting on the prompts. I hope you find the time to submit because I want to hear from you <3
How to Bloom
So many people picked this up. We’ve seen record in-person engagement with Claire Whitehurst’s new art book, How to Bloom, at Cincinnati Art Book Fair and Pittsburgh Art Book Fair this month. Copies are still available and they make perfect gifts for moms and friends. One person swore that her “mom is the hardest person to shop for” and she bought a copy just ahead the holidays. Buy a book here.
Final Scene
Over-exposed film & sun on my back,
Diana