Fiction in Parenting Magazines

[Stijn Hommes]

Hi everyone,

I've got a piece of fiction which I feel is perfectly suited to the parenting market, but I can find hardly any such magazines that publish fiction. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Added problem is that some magazines mention restrictions requiring submission to come from women or parents (when I'm neither of those).

Any help would be appreciated.

[Stijn Hommes]

Seeing as this dropped off the page: *BUMP*

[Siddow]

I can't think of any, sorry. Are you familiar with duotrope.com? It's got a great searchable database of places that take fiction. I'm assuming that your story is mainstream, right?

A lot of the places I can think of that want 'parenting' stories are looking for non-fiction. Head on over to duotrope, see if that helps.

[Stijn Hommes]

Yes, I know duotrope, but there are no publications with any obvious fitting themes.

[jvc]

I can't think of any parenting mags off hand that accept fiction. This doesn't mean they wouldn't. I suppose you could do worse to give them a call and ask. On the other hand you could also target mags such as Woman's Weekly (or the US versions) as they may accept these types of stories.

[Siddow]

Yes, I know duotrope, but there are no publications with any obvious fitting themes.

Without having read your story, I still think it has to fit in the mainstream category. Other than parenting, what is the theme? Can you give us a one-sentence description of the plot? Maybe we can help you. We'd certainly try to.

[Stijn Hommes]

I haven't found a way to describe the story in a sufficiently short manner, but if I can get help if I do it, I'll certainly give it a go. Let me get back to you later.

[mnmamma]

I know BrainChild publishes fiction. The Sun magazine also often publishes stories with a family theme.

You could also do a google search and see what comes up.

Cheers!

[Stijn Hommes]

Without having read your story, I still think it has to fit in the mainstream category. Other than parenting, what is the theme? Can you give us a one-sentence description of the plot? Maybe we can help you. We'd certainly try to. One line description: A mother decides to tell her son the truth about Santa Claus, but the conversation doesn't go the way she planned it.

[Stijn Hommes]

I can't think of any parenting mags off hand that accept fiction. This doesn't mean they wouldn't. I suppose you could do worse to give them a call and ask. On the other hand you could also target mags such as Woman's Weekly (or the US versions) as they may accept these types of stories. I only found websites for the Australian and New Zealand versions. Can you point me to the guidelines for the US (or some European) equivalents?

I know BrainChild publishes fiction. The Sun magazine also often publishes stories with a family theme.

You could also do a google search and see what comes up.

Cheers!
Yes, BrainChild does do fiction, but my story doesn't fit their word count. The Sun might be a good choice and I'll look into them.

[Tymolee]

I only found websites for the Australian and New Zealand versions. Can you point me to the guidelines for the US (or some European) equivalents?


Yes, BrainChild does do fiction, but my story doesn't fit their word count. The Sun might be a good choice and I'll look into them.


I'm not sure if this would work, either, but I've submitted to them before and they're great and take fiction.

http://www.literarymama.com/

It's not a paying market, though - not sure if that makes a difference to you.

[jvc]

Woman's weekly (In the UK)

(This is taken from http://www.jbwb.co.uk )

Woman's Weekly is looking for warm, realistic short stories in two length categories: 2,000 words and 1,000 words. Serials are also required of between 2 and 6 instalments of around 4,000 words per instalment. Submit to: Gaynor Davies, Woman's Weekly, IPC Connect Ltd, King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LS. Write for the latest Woman's Weekly Writers' Guidelines, enclosing a sae.

Woman's Weekly Fiction Special is published bi-monthly and contains approximately twenty-five complete stories of between 1,000 and 6,000 words. Themes are varied, from humour to romance to gentle crime. Each issue also includes a feature aimed at helping would-be writers and a readers' poetry page. Submit to: Gaynor Davies, Woman's Weekly, IPC Connect Ltd, King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LS. Write for the latest Woman's Weekly Writers' Guidelines, enclosing a sae

The website is here (http://www.ipcmedia.com/magazines/womansweekly/), although not much on it.

----

I did hear that Gaynor doesn't work there anymore, but not sure if that's true or not. I'll give them a call in the next few days to check that one for you.



ETA: Woman's Weekly pays £75 per story (about $150)

[Stijn Hommes]

I'm not sure if this would work, either, but I've submitted to them before and they're great and take fiction.

http://www.literarymama.com/

It's not a paying market, though - not sure if that makes a difference to you. I'm trying paying markets first. I'm hoping the story is good enough to make money off and it would be a shame not to try. But if it doesn't find a home with them, I'll give this one a look. Thanks for the suggestion.