Ahead of her Digital Writers’ Festival session Weekend Seminars: Launching a Magazine we asked Bri Lee to give us a little hint about some of the topics and ideas she might be covering. In gifs obviously, because lols.

The steps to launching your feminist magazine:

1. When your parents take you to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2003 and you see Eowyn kill the Witch King and you’re 13 and you don’t know what the word “feminism” even means but you get nerd-shivers and realise that somewhere, deep within you, under the layers of accidentally internalised patriarchy, you have a wealth of inner strength. You don’t realise it at the time, but in a decade you will need this inner strength to deal with patronising dudebro printers.

2. When your best mate who is the best graphic designer ever agrees that your idea isn’t stupid and she wants to work with you to bring the good word of feminism to the world.

3. When baby boomers politely inform you that there’s no money to be made from print anymore.

4. When you’ve said, with the delightful invincibility of youth, that you’ll launch a magazine but amongst editing 9 pieces and hundreds of photos and managing financials, and begin to slowly realise the total shitstorm you’ve got yourself into. Also ten days till print time.

5. When the printers tell you there’s been a “delay” and they can’t possibly meet the deadline they agreed to so you can’t get the 150 copies of your magazine in time to bind them yourself, and so have to outlay an extra few hundred bucks to get them perfect bound so that you at least have them for the launch party in 2 days’ time. (Refer to exhibit #1.)

6. When you’re 20 minutes into the launch party and you realise there are 300 people at a feminist event in Brisbane, and that maybe, just maybe, you’re the shit.

7. When you’re 25 minutes into the launch party and you get hammered at your own launch party.

8. When Clementine Ford agrees to be in Issue #2 of your magazine and the Digital Writers’ Festival want you to run a session about it.

Bri Lee is Brisbane-based writer and the founder of Hot Chicks with Big Brains. She is the inaugural Kat Muscat Fellowship recipient and is represented by Curtis Brown for her debut work of narrative non-fiction, Eggshell Skull.

Weekend Seminars: Launching a Magazine takes place on Sunday 6 November at 3pm and will be presented through YouTube Live at about the exact time the copy for Hot Chicks with Big Brains Issue #2 goes off to the press. Jump into the Live Chat to ask Bri any and all questions: big or small, silly or serious, all answered with 100% honesty.

The Digital Writers’ Festival takes place online, so viewers can participate in conversations with artists and peers located right across the planet. If you have a computer, we want you there. DWF runs from November 1 – 11, check out the full program of events.