Publication Opportunities for Young Writers

It's been a while since I've posted a list of possible opportunities for young writers to get published. Here is a brief list of some of my favorite literary journals/websites that actively look to publish the work of kids and young adults:

• Cicada: a lit journal for teens: http://www.cicadamag.com/

• Stone Soup: http://www.stonesoup.com/

• Teen Ink: http://www.teenink.com/

• The Young Adult Literature Review: http://www.yaliteraturereview.com/

• Figment: http://figment.com/

Best of luck submitting -- and remember, rejection is something every writer has to deal with and is NOT a measure of your abilities and talents as a writer! The true joy should come from the process of writing and sending your work out there into the great unknown. It can be really fun and exciting to be part of the writing and publishing community by submitting your work, and I encourage all of you to give it a try!

As always, keep me posted, and feel free to leave a comment or email me with any questions or concerns you have. I am here for you!

Markets for Young Writers

* Sweet Designs Magazine is an online magazine with articles and features for teen girls, including fashion, beauty, advice, real life, health, teen issues, entertainment, DIY, crafts, polls, humor, contests, and other fun stuff. Learn more and submit your work at http://www.sweetdesignsmagazine.com/

* PLAYS: The Drama Magazine for Young People publishes approximately 75 wholesome, one-act plays each year (in seven issues, October through May, with a combined issue for January/February). Editors are looking for good scripts to be performed by young people in junior and senior high, middle grades, and lower grades. Of particular interest are comedies, farces, dramas, mysteries, and melodramas for year-round use, as well as plays for such holidays and special occasions as Halloween, Book Week, Black History Month, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Washington's Birthday, etc. They use only secular plays for Christmas and other religious holidays, and publish no plays on religious themes. Find full writers guidelines at http://www.playsmagazine.com/AboutUs.asp#Downloadable%20Manuscript%20Submissions

* A+ Research and Writing: stuck on a homework assignment? This website gives tips on writing essays and papers, with step-by-step writing and research info. http://www.ipl.org/div/aplus/

Websites of Interest for Young Writers

Markets for young writers:

* Prufrock Press, Inc. is looking for the very best material by students (ages 8–16). Material may include cartoons, songs, stories between 500 and 1200 words, puzzles, photographs, artwork, games, editorials, poetry, and plays, as well as any other creative work that can fit in the pages of the magazine. http://www.prufrock.com/client/client_pages/prufrock_jm_ck_wg.cfm

* CyberKids is looking for stories, poems, articles, pictures, and other creative work. They do not pay for submissions, but if they use your work, they will send you an email telling you when it will be published. http://www.cyberkids.com/he/html/submit.html

* About Teens publishes articles, short stories, essays, book reviews and jokes. http://www.aboutteens.org/submissions.htm

* Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine is a great place to send fantastical short stories: http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm


Resources for young writers:

* Write Away: a forum with writing prompts, contests, author interviews, book reviews, and more. http://www.writeaway.org.uk/content/blogcategory/16/28/

* Teenage Writers: an online community for teen writers. http://teenagewriters.com/forum/

Markets for Young Writers

* Stone Soup
Is made up of stories, poems, book reviews, and art by young people through age 13. Although all the writing we publish is in English, we accept work from all over the world. To get an idea of the kind of writing and art we like, please look through our writing and art sections. Send us stories and poems about the things you feel most strongly about! Whether your work is about imaginary situations or real ones, use your own experiences and observations to give your work depth and a sense of reality. Pay $40.

* Girl's Life
Each issue of GL is packed with the stuff girls crave—real information and advice—from academic success to peer pressure to time-management and stress-relieving tips; from growing up to boosting self-esteem. Plus, GL profiles real girls facing real challenges that have amazed and inspired readers for almost 15 years.

* Speak Up
Speak Up Press publishes the literary journal, Speak Up, featuring the original fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, photography, and artwork of teens (13-19 years old). Speak Up accepts submissions from teen writers and artists around the world.

* Teen Ink
A national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos and forums. Students must be age 13-19 to participate, register and/or submit work. Distributed through classrooms by English teachers, Creative Writing teachers, Journalism teachers and art teachers around the country, Teen Ink magazine offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens and has the largest distribution of any publication of its kind. We have no staff writers or artists; we depend completely on submissions from teenagers nationwide for our content. We offer teenagers the opportunity to publish their creative work and opinions on the issues that affect their lives - everything from love and family to teen smoking and community service. Hundreds of thousands of students have submitted their work to us and we have published more than 45,000 teens since 1989.

* The Claremont Review
The editors of The Claremont Review are looking to publish first class poetry, short stories and short plays by young adult writers (aged 13-19) anywhere in the English speaking world. What are we looking for? We publish anything from traditional to post modern, but with a preference for works that reveal something of the human condition. We strongly urge contributors to read back issues of The Claremont Review. That is the best way for you to learn what we are looking for.

* Young Writer magazine
We would love to see YOUR writing and we might even publish it in Young Writer magazine or here on the website. It can be anything that you want to say, prose or poetry, fiction or non-fiction. Just make sure it is your own unaided work, write it as well as you can and send it to us. Let us have your name, your age and your address. We do not pass these on to anyone else. You can send it to us by email or post. Remember, whenever you send your writing off to any publisher, make sure you keep a copy for yourself in case it gets lost in transit. Email word documents (under 600 words in length, please!) to youngwriter@writersnews.co.uk

Author Websites with Advice for Young Writers

I came across this wonderful list of author advice for young writers in the latest newsletter from the California Learning Strategies Center, a terrific resource for gifted students and their parents. Visit their website at www.LearningStrategiesCenter.com, where you can sign up for their free newsletter too! Many thanks for Susan Goodkin for reprint permission.

T.A. Barron
http://www.tabarron.com/for-aspiring-writers

Judy Blume
www.judyblume.com/kids.php

Bruce Coville
http://www.brucecoville.com/tips.asp

Jean Craighead George
www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/writing.html

Ursula LaGuin
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/MenuContentsList.html#writing

R.L. Lafevers
http://www.rllafevers.com/for_writers.html

Amelia Atwater Rhodes
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/atwaterrhodes/advice.htm

Rick Riordan
http://www.rickriordan.com/index.php/about-the-author/tips-for-aspiring-writers/

Emily Rodda
http://www.emilyrodda.com/writingtips.html