So, your child’s a writer. Yay! Having a child who loves writing is a great thing. Writing involves creativity, imagination, and the ability to form cohesive ideas together in a complete way. Children can bring these skills into any part of their future. Writing, whether creative or not, is a skill that is needed in every part of life. Brainstorming for plots and resolving conflicts in fiction stories can help children build problem-solving skills. Plus, creating characters help encourage children’s sympathetic understanding of others’ emotions and reactions. So – fear not – this is a good thing! Maybe you’re worried because you’re better at math than writing, or perhaps you’re more inclined toward history, but you can still encourage your child to follow their dreams or at least build their skills! Believe it or not, there is a niche for writing by kids, and even magazines that publish writing by kids and for kids. From prose to poetry, fiction to nonfiction, there is a place. To help you nurture your child’s interests, we’ve compiled a list of magazines for you to check out.
Be sure to continue reading after our list to find the notes from our experts on actually submitting writing, too!
Help! Where Can I Find Magazines that Publish Writing by Kids?
Story Monsters Ink – Ages 17 and younger
This professional, reputable magazine is looking for student writers. Story Monsters publishes stories, essays, articles, and drawings from kids under 17. It was even a Gold Award winner from Mom’s Choice Awards (read more about Story Monsters here!). Like many of these magazines that publish writing by kids, you will be expected to fill out a consent form for permission to use your child’s writing. If your child’s story is chosen for publication, he or she will receive $15! There are also uncompensated sections for book reviews and stories about favorite teachers.
You can submit through email, and get more information here.
EXPERT TIP! Like any skill, writing clearly and creatively is a skill that must be built and practiced. If your child needs some help with his or her English skills, consider an enrichment program taught by teachers who are knowledgeable about this topic.
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The fun, bright façade of this magazine is sure to excite children! The Association for Encouragement of Children’s Creativity publishes Magic Dragon four times a year. The magazine features stories, poems, drawings, and paintings by children!
You can mail or email submissions. Check out this page for more submission information.
EXPERT TIP! It’s a bit more difficult to find magazines that publish writing for kids under 12. Here’s the hack: keep an eye out for literary contests for children! Even if a magazine doesn’t publish writing by youths, they might have a special contest for children. Start by exploring this super helpful list. Also, check out Skipping Stones, a nonprofit organization promoting multiculturalism and global service work, which has writing contests for kids ages 7 to 17!
Stone Soup – Ages 13 and under
Kids write and illustrate this literary magazine, and it’s been around since 1973! Stone Soup is one of our most reputable sources for magazines that publish writing by kids.
One great thing about Stone Soup is that it welcomes reviews of books, poetry, movies, television shows, and video games that it publishes on its blog! Stone Soup accepts fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and even art.
Visit this page to submit and get more information about submission guidelines here. They are super helpful and offer straightforward answer and advice. Even if you don’t want to submit your child’s writing, this page offers some awesome resources.
On the submission page, you’ll find details about each category. Keep in mind that magazine subscribers can submit for free, but non-subscribers must pay a few dollars to submit writing. Reviews are completely free to submit, though. So, if your child loves telling people about his or her favorite book or game, encourage him or her to put it into writing!
EXPERT TIP! Read about a magazine before working with your child to submit his or her story to be sure that your values align with the mission of the magazine. Verify that the source is appropriate for you and your child’s values and needs. Exploring websites can help you find the perfect fit for your child’s writing.
Guardian Angel Kids – Ages 14 and under
Guardian Angel’s Young Muses submission program accepts fiction stories, articles, activities, and poetry. Plus, it even pays a small amount of money per word! The magazine is published every month, and each month follows a unique theme. Following a theme is a great way to give kids some inspiration if they encounter writer’s block. Guardian Angel Kids is connected to the publishing house and its mission is to create healthy and safe experiences for kids.
Find out more about submissions and themes here.
[Note: Though the name implies a religious affiliation, this is not directly expressed in its mission statement. The magazine does publish some religious stories and books, but many stories do not appear to discuss one certain faith.]EXPERT TIP! Some magazines consider submission or payment as an agreement that they own all rights to your work (like this one). That means your child can’t submit that story anywhere else. Be sure to look for the information about copyright every time you or your child submits work. Scroll down to our copyright tips below for more information!
fingers comma toes – Ages 4 to 26 (approximately)
fingers comma toes is an international online magazine that was founded on a small island off the coast of Madagascar. Each issue has a special guest editor, and it is published twice a year in January and in August. Submissions are typically open from October to December and again from May to July.
The magazine takes submissions through email at [email protected]. It accepts any form of writing (preferably under 5,000 words!), along with photography, visual art, and more.
Find out more about submissions here!
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Active since 2014, Balloon’s Lit Journal is a completely free, online magazine for young readers that is published twice a year. Readers can download an easily readable PDF version of the magazine. While the journal is based in Hong Kong, it publishes writing from adolescents all over the world!
First, read its newest issue to see if it’s appropriate for your child’s writing! Then, check out submission guidelines here.
Canvas Teen Literary Journal – Ages 13 to 18
Canvas Teen Literary Journal is extra special because teenage editors actually review and choose the pieces to be included in each edition. Notably, the Autumn 2019 issue contains over 50 pieces of writing from teens from all around the world! This is one of the coolest magazines that publish writing by kids (teens, in this case!)
Canvas first started in Rochester, New York, in 2013. You can read each issue on its website. Or, you can buy a print issue on Amazon. The journal is published quarterly, once each season.
Submit work here. Keep in mind that submissions close for a period of time after each issue, so consider following along on Instagram. The magazine also has a collection of great art made by teens, and submissions for art are open all the time!
EXPERT TIP! Read a past magazine issue with your child to understand what kind of writing a magazine publishes. This will help increase your child’s chances of being featured in the magazine. Some magazines have specific moods and tones that wouldn’t be a good fit for your child’s writing. (For example, your child writes happy, cheerful stories and a magazine may go for darker moods.) Never submit blindly to any magazine, even the ones we’ve listed here!
The Louisville Review – Grades K-12
Calling all children poets! The Cornerstone section of the reputable Louisville Review highlights poetry from students in grades K-12. If your child is a bard, check out the submissions section here. Of all the magazines that publish writing for kids, this is one of the few that focus specifically on poetry.
EXPERT TIP! If you have a teen, especially one 16 or older, there are a lot more opportunities. Explore this list here. Many places that accept adult work may also accept work from teens ages 16-17.
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This magazine that publishes writing by kids has a long history: it has been around for decades! Even better, it pays the writers of the work it publishes. We also loved how specific the guidelines for submission were, which you can check out here.
About Magazines that Publish Writing by Kids: Notes from the Expert
Publishing is never easy, but it can be incredibly rewarding. Try to approach this process as a fun, lighthearted project and look at any outcome as a good one! Whether or not your child publishes work, he or she will be more likely to remember the excitement of the project, and your support, confidence, and belief in him or her. With that said, keep these two things in mind as you go on this journey.
Rejection. Here’s the one thing about submitting work to any literary magazine: these places can’t publish every piece of work that they receive.
Try to have fun with this process and encourage patience. Some magazines take weeks, or possibly months, to read pieces and send decisions to writers. Be sure to continue encouraging your child even in the face of rejection. Not getting published is not an indicator of a writer’s worth or ability because reading experiences are so specific to individuals. What one person loves, another person may not. This is a great time to use some positive thinking exercises and practices to build confidence in kids.
Copyright. Be sure to look at who retains the rights to the story after its publication.
Magazines commonly retain the rights of a story from the time it is accepted until it is published; then, the rights would revert back to the original owner. Some magazines ask you not to publish it anywhere else or ask that you must disclose its previous publication if you publish it somewhere. Be sure to read about this and ask questions.
For some tips to understand copyright, check out these sources, and be sure to ask the magazine you submit to if you cannot find the information online!
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With those two main points in mind, writing is still rewarding and helpful for kids – which is why we practice building writing skills in our English curriculum! Even if your child doesn’t want to publish his or her writing, these magazines that publish writing by kids could be a great reading resource. You can also check out this Young Writer’s Guide, which we found incredibly helpful during our research.
We hope that this list helped direct you to some fun and pleasant experiences! Has your child ever submitted writing? How about winning an essay contest? Be sure to leave a comment below. We’d love to hear about your child’s writing experiences!
Author: Brenna Waugaman, Curriculum Writer at A Grade Ahead
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