There are more and more magazines that feature writing and art by kids and teens, both online and in print. This is a great way to encourage reluctant writers and to give enthusiastic writers and artists a place to spotlight their creativity.
Here are 18 magazines that publish children’s writing and art:
- Creative Kids magazine is a quarterly magazine that features games, stories, and opinions all by and for kids ages 8–14. Visit the web site to download sample pieces, read submission guidelines and find subscription info.
- The Apprentice Writer is a literary journal run by Susqehanna University’s creative writing program. They publish work only by high school students. Every September they send copies of the journal to nearly 3,500 schools. They invite high school students to submit fiction, memoir, personal essay, photography and/or poetry.
- Guardian Angel Kids is a free online magazine that features fiction, articles, poetry and activities written by children and young teens up to the age of 14. They pay .03 cents per word for articles and stories, $10 per poem and $3 for photos that accompany an article. Original artwork earns $5-25 per illustration. Note that each issue has a theme and submissions must relate to the next issue’s themes. Past themes have included water, kids fighting cancer and desserts. Click here for submission information.
- Magic Dragon, a quarterly publication, presents writing and art created by children in the elementary school grades. Magic Dragon is published by the non-profit Association for Encouragement of Children’s Creativity and is ad-free.
- Élan publishes two online and one print issue a year. They accept original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screen writing, plays and visual art from students in grades 9 through 12.
- Amazing Kids E-zine is an educational non-profit that publishes work of kids between the ages of 5 and 17. They publish non-fiction, fiction, poems, videos, reviews and more. You can find submission information here.
- Stone Soup magazine has been published by the nonprofit Children’s Art Foundation for more than forty years. It features children’s writing and art and was called “the New Yorker of the 8 to 13 set” by Ms. Magazine. This is a very tough magazine to get published in. They report that they receive about 250 submissions per week. All contributors whose work is accepted receive a certificate, complimentary copies and discounts on other purchases. In addition, contributors of stories, poems and book reviews are paid $40 each; illustrators are paid $25 per illustration.
- New Moon Girls is an online community and print magazine where girls create and share poetry, artwork, videos and more. Girls can see their work published online or in the magazine. You can find their publishing information here.
- Cricket magazine and its sister publications are written by adults but they feature children’s work through story, poetry, art, and photography contests.
- Balloons Literary Journal is an online journal that publishes poetry, fiction and art that is primarily aimed at young readers aged around 10-16. They accept submissions from teens.
- Teen Ink is a print magazine and a website that publishes work by teens for teens. They have extensive submission guidelines and require registration but they are open to a wide variety of art and writing, including videos and books.
- Ember publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non fiction by writers ages 10 to 18. It is published and administered by the Empire & Great Jones Creative Arts Foundation. They pay 2 cents per word or $20 per work, whichever is more, for worldwide first publication rights in English.
- Skipping Stones is an ad-free, international non-profit magazine that focuses on sharing children’s cultures and perspectives from all over the world that has been published for 28 years. Geared towards readers ages 8 to 16, they accept essays, stories, letters to the editor, riddles and more. They also encourage kids to submit illustrations with their work. Children can submit work in other languages, too (it will be accompanied with a translation).
- Canvas Literary Journal is a print journal for and by teenagers. Teens ages 13 to 18 are encouraged to submit fiction, novel excerpts, plays, poetry and more.
- Cuckoo Quarterly is an online literary journal for writers between the ages of 12 and 18. They are based in the UK. They are looking for submissions of poetry, periodicals, short stories, essays and opinion pieces.
- American Girl Magazine accepts submissions of crafts, recipes, puzzles, profiles, drawings, jokes, letters and such, but not fiction. You can read their submission guidelines here.
- Adroit Journal is a literary magazine run entirely by high school and college students. Adroit publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, art/photography, and cross-genre works with separate submissions for adults and students. They also feature annual poetry and prose contests for students.
- Tunnel is an e-zine that says they publish “art + writing + music + misc from young and fresh people, specifically high schoolers, but really, anyone else, too.”
Note that payment varies widely. In some cases, payment is in copies of the magazine or simply being published, while others offer cash. For many kids, the biggest reward is simply seeing their writing in print.
Competition tends to be high, especially with better known publications. Be sure to remind kids that many famous authors were rejected dozens or hundreds of times before they were published. The act of submitting art and writing can be a lesson in perseverance more than anything else, but that can make it even more satisfying when publishers say yes.
Also let children know that one of the best ways to improve writing is to read writing by others. The best way to keep magazines like these around is to support them, too. Many of these magazines make great gifts as well.
Good luck!
