Questions

No. ZÉLIE does not charge for features and does not accept payment to appear.

No. ZÉLIE speaks with entrepreneurs, authors, business owners, social innovators and women making an impact in their communities, from one-person studios to large enterprises. What matters is the work and the place.

ZÉLIE is currently speaking mainly with women who have been building their work for at least three years, and women with many more years of experience are very welcome. Where there is space, it also speaks with women who are one to three years in. If you are unsure, apply, and we will tell you where you stand.

No. ZÉLIE is starting with Europe, but we are not limited to it. If you are outside Europe, you are very welcome to take part. Conversations take place online, or in person in the Benelux for now, with France a possibility.

Many people who say this turn out to be the most interesting to talk to. We are interested in how the work is done and where, not in dramatic stories. A single, well-observed street or trade is enough.

For now, yes. ZÉLIE currently conducts its interviews in English only.

A small number each season. We cannot say yes to everyone, and we will always tell you where you stand.

Choose 30 minutes if your time is tight or you would rather start small. Choose 60 if you would like to talk in more depth, and ideally to show us your place of work. We can extend a 30-minute conversation if both of us want to continue.

We are interested in your own experience, rather than advice, a mission statement or a summary of your journey. If you would like to know more, you are very welcome to read the thinking behind our questions in our methodology.

We send a short outline of the areas we will cover. We do not send a full list, because the best conversations follow what you say. If there is something you do not want to discuss, tell us beforehand and we will leave it out.

That’s completely fine. You can decline any question, ask us to move on, or stop at any time, and “I would prefer not to say” is always a complete answer. We may ask about the choices you make in building your work, and no figures are ever required. You decide how much to share.

We aim to ask about the work and what steps you took to get where you are. If gender is part of your account, we follow your lead. We do not assume it is the main thing about you.

Yes. A colleague, a family member or a friend is welcome, provided you are comfortable with them hearing what you say.

That’s okay. Tell us during the conversation or straight afterwards, and we’ll leave it out. Even after it’s published, you can ask us to remove it at any time (see Your Rights).

Some conversations are held in person and others online. When we meet in person, we will bring a camera. When we can only meet online, we would be grateful if you could share a few images that you are happy for us to use. The next question explains how to prepare them. If you have no suitable images, we can arrange a short session with a local photographer.

We would welcome around four to seven images, in landscape or portrait, in an editorial style: your workplace in natural light, hands or tools, or you in the field. Please avoid staged product shots, such as products arranged on a table, white-background packshots and promotional graphics with other companies’ advertising. The feature is about the work and the place, not the products.

Images should be high resolution, at least 2000 pixels on the long side, and unedited or lightly edited, without heavy filters or text. For each image, please let us know who took it and how you would like them credited. If someone else took it, please check that they are happy for us to publish it with their credit, and if other people appear in it, that they are happy to be shown. Every image is credited in the feature as “Photograph: [name]”, and your participation agreement asks you to confirm that you have the right to share what you send, and that we have the right to post it.

Photographs made for ZÉLIE remain the property of the photographer, who is always credited. ZÉLIE is licensed to publish them in your feature, and you are warmly invited to use the approved photographs on your own website and social channels, credited to the photographer and ZÉLIE. Images you supply remain yours (or your photographer’s), and we credit them as you ask.

Yes. Tell us what you would rather leave out, such as a person, a room or documents, and we will respect it.

Your feature and clips come straight from the transcript of our conversation, and usually go up the same day or the day after. Before that, just tell us if there’s anything you’d rather we leave out, and we will.

Because the feature follows the transcript, we don’t rewrite it. But before it goes up, you can ask us to leave out any part of the conversation. Afterwards, you can ask us to correct a mistake or take it down.

Yes, whenever you like, before or after publication, and you don’t need to give a reason. Just write to us and we’ll take down your article, clips and posts and remove your data.

We correct it, mark the correction at the foot of the feature with the date, and tell you.

We edit lightly for clarity and length, removing our own questions where they are not needed or providing headings to improve flow. We do not change what you meant or put words in your mouth.

No. ZÉLIE is a self-funded project with no sponsors, advertisers or investors, and nobody outside the project influences what we publish. If this ever changes, we will tell you.

No. ZÉLIE will not sell your story or your image, and your participation does not give anyone else, including partners and sponsors, the right to use them for their own promotion without your permission. We share your feature on our own website and channels, and we will not pass your details on. As ZÉLIE grows, we will be open about how our work is funded.

With your permission, we use AI tools to help transcribe recordings and analyse the transcripts. A person listens to every recording, reads every transcript, and writes and edits every feature. You can read the full AI disclosure.

We use your details to reply to you and to produce your feature. What appears in the feature, such as your name, your work, your location, your words and your photographs, is published. Recordings are transcribed with the support of AI tools (see our AI disclosure), and if a photographer or another person helps us produce your feature, we share only what they need to do that. Your email address, contact details and application answers are never published, sold or passed on for any other purpose. You can ask us to delete your details at any time.

Write to adela@zeliewomen.com. We will confirm deletion within five working days.