As November is National Adoption Awareness Month in the US, here is a list of magazines and websites that pay for articles and essays on parenting. Not all of these are parenting magazines or websites, but they do have specific columns or sections that accept writing on parenting. Some are regional. All of them pay writers. As a bonus, there is a magazine for writing by young persons in foster care. — S. Kalekar
The Washington Post: On Parenting
For their ‘On Parenting’ section, The Washington Post accepts “new, insightful, different pieces that have an interesting angle related to parenting”. They want reported pieces as well as personal essays, and the articles should be no more than 1,200 words. Details here.
Focus on the Family
This is a Christian publication, and their requirements are for articles on marriage and parenting from a biblical perspective. Most articles address the needs of families with 4- to 12-year-olds, but parenting preschoolers and teens are not ignored. They currently have a few specific themes they are accepting articles and fiction for, with deadlines in November and December. They also have ongoing features, and pay begins at $0.25/word. Details here.
Adoptive Families
This is a digital magazine and website that is an information resource for parents before, during, and after adoption. They provide adoption parenting advice and families’ stories, and have a list of core topics they accept submissions for, including: deciding to adopt, older child and special-needs adoption, adoption from foster care, single parent and LGBT parent families, adoptees’ perspectives, and parenting tips and guidelines. They publish both reported articles and personal essays. Payment varies. Details here.
ParentMap
This Puget Sound-based magazine and website is interested in both locally-anchored pieces and broader stories on parenting. They cover family life from pregnancy through college and beyond, and aim for diverse voices. They generally work with writers who have some experience. They have a specific call for pitches from writers of color. Payment varies. Details here (scroll down).
Christian Science Monitor: The Home Forum
This leading magazine accepts upbeat, personal essays (400-800 words) and poems for The Home Forum. Their guidelines say, “These are first-person, nonfiction explorations of how you responded to a place, a person, a situation, an event, or happenings in everyday life. … We are always looking for essays on travel, parenting (your experiences with children as opposed to advice for someone else), home, family, gardening, neighborhood, and community.” Details here.
Gay Parent Magazine
This magazine is distributed at select LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community centers and other venues across the US. They only accept articles written specifically on LGBT parenting and children raised by LGBT couples and individuals, and those written by LGBT parents or their children on their personal experiences. Articles are about 1,000 words, and are paid. They also publish Gay Parent Magazine – New York annually. Details here (scroll down).
Adoption.com
This is a resource for the adoption community, and though there are no guidelines for articles or editorial contacts, there is a contact form on their website. Reports indicate that they do pay writers. For writers wishing to query, their contact form is here; and you can read the articles here to get a feel of the kind of writing they accept.
Charlotte Parent
This is a magazine for parents in the Charlotte area, providing useful advice and local resources. The audience is parents, teachers, child-care providers and other advocates for children ages newborn through teens. They also publish two annual guides – GPS [Go. Play. See.] and Education Guide. They prefer articles and essays (500-1,200 words) with local relevance. They publish reprints from publications outside of their region, and also have a helpful editorial calendar on their website. Pay is $50-150. Details here.
Raising Arizona Kids
The magazine is targeted at Arizona parents in the 25-59 years range. They work with Arizona-based writers only, and articles – geared to parents of children from birth to high school – should quote local expertise, and, where possible, local parents, and should be well-researched and fact-checked. They also accept web-exclusive posts. Articles are 300-1,000 words, and pay is $75-200. Details here.
Carolina Parent
This monthly parenting magazine is part of the Morris Media Network, and is circulated in Wake, Durham and Orange counties in North Carolina. Issues reflect a theme. Their audience consists of parents, teachers, child care providers and other advocates for newborns through teenagers. They welcome queries from freelance writers, and articles should be exclusive within the region. Articles are 600-1,200 words, though they do sometimes publish longer ones. Features for the Morris Media Network could fetch $100-300. They accept reprints from publications outside their region. Details here.
Bonus: Represent
Represent is YCteen’s magazine for young persons in foster care who like the idea of writing stories that will help their peers. “Represent writers get published online and in a print magazine that’s distributed nationally. The magazine gives young people in care a place to speak out about their experiences and tell their stories. The writers also learn how to be reporters. They conduct interviews and write news stories about things that are important to youth in care.” Writers are paid a small fee, unless they are getting school credit, in which case they are not paid. Details here (Represent) and here (YCteen – also see details of requirements for adult editors).
