Submission Guidelines
Raising Mothers publishes experimental and traditional fiction, micro and flash, creative nonfiction, interviews, book reviews, photo essays, and comic/graphic narratives.
Raising Mothers exclusively seeks out and supports submissions by self-identified mothers and parents: biological, non-biological, step, foster, grand, or adoptive that are often marginalized in literary spaces. This includes Black and Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC) exclusively; cis women, agender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, two-spirit, and nonbinary people; LGBTQIA; with disabilities; and especially those living at the intersections of these identities.
We are also looking to include the voices of people (there is no requirement here to be a parent) who were un-mothered, under-mothered, have toxic parental relationships; people who are adoptees, and other child-centered perspectives. We are interested in non-heteronormative ideas of parenthood including queer parenting, chosen families, and any other ways not mentioned that reconceptualize “family”.
Raising Mothers reserves the right to remove previously published content for any reason, including but not limited to situations where we believe that doing so will protect the integrity of the publication and its mission.
Fee - Entirely voluntary.
Simultaneous Submissions - Yes - Please notify us immediately if accepted elsewhere.
Multiple Submissions - Members Only - Annual members will receive a special link for submissions. Please use that link when submitting. Become a member!
Previously Published Works - No - We only accept original unpublished work.
Response Time - 3-6 months - Thank you for your patience.
HOW TO SUBMIT
All submissions should have a literary quality: strong, engaging and non-academic.
Work should be submitted in 12 pt font (no fancy fonts, please), double spaced and uploaded as a doc. or docx. file. Comic and graphic narrative submissions should be uploaded as .pdf.
Files should be saved and uploaded as Your Name_Column Name. Include a word count in the document. We no longer accept submissions via email except when noted.
The draft you submit is considered final, excepting suggested changes by our editorial staff.
Include a 100 word bio written in third person.
We do not accept work created by AI. Any submissions not entirely created by a human author will be automatically rejected.
PAYMENT
Raising Mothers is a lean organization, with a fully volunteer staff. As it stands, we are able to pay a small honoraria for limited select work. Our aim is to be 100% reader-funded. In 2016, we launched a Patreon campaign to provide sustainability without turning to ad revenue and to work towards establishing a fund to pay contributors and expand our columns. Now with our move to Substack, we are phasing out our Patreon to move here.
Our tiers are based on our three most used tiers: $5/ month, $10/month (billed annually with a discount), and $15/month (billed annually with a discount). We also offered a $25/month tier and $50/month tier which can be billed directly through us privately if you would like to continue supporting us at those tiers.
Monthly and annual subscribers help us plan for our future while engaging our community, and one-time donations are always appreciated.
RIGHTS
By submitting to Raising Mothers, you’re granting first electronic rights exclusive for the first 6 months upon publication. You grant the right to excerpt portions of accepted work online in order to promote you, your work, and Raising Mothers. You’re also agreeing that if your work is republished in whole or in part digitally or in print, you will credit Raising Mothers as first publication, along with a direct link to the site where applicable. We reserve first world eBook, print and audiobook rights, and non-exclusive anthology rights for our published anthologies. Raising Mothers reserves non-exclusive online rights to publish and archive your work in perpetuity. All other rights remain the property of the author.
Selected pieces might be requested for future anthologies. You reserve the right to decline our offer.
OPEN CALLS
Interview pitches and finished interview submissions are accepted year-round. Please fill out Interview Pitch by completing this form. If you have completed an interview, email it directly to (submit@raisingmothers.com).
ALWAYS OPEN:
WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW
Word Count: 3000 words
Genre: Essay
Always Open
Editors: Sherisa de Groot and Danielle Jerngian
We’re interested in essays that focus on the writing life, craft, criticism, and advice. Where applicable, essays should include a prompt. We’re open to everything, but keenly interested in the process of revision, getting started, pep talks, and writing at the intersection of identity, culture or place.
Some examples: Writing Nonbinary Characters, How to Write a Novel, How to Schedule Time, What to do When You Can’t Write, Submitting for Residencies, Finding an Agent, etc.
WRITERS ON WRITERS
Word Count: 4000 words
Genre: Essays & Interviews
Always Open
Editors: Sherisa de Groot and Danielle Jerngian
We’re interested in essays and interviews that continue the tradition of deeply exploring the work and lives behind the writers of that work. Explore your favorite author and/or texts. Share how they have impacted you and your writing.
BOOKS ON BOOKS
Word Count: varies (detailed under each subheading)
Genre: Reviews, Essay and Interviews
Always Open
Editors:
andWe’re interested in essays, book lists/roundups, reviews, and interviews for adult and children’s titles.
There’s a lot here, so keep reading for a full breakdown of what you can submit.
REFLECTIONS
Word count: 100-150 words
Quick bite reviews that will be highlighted in the quarterly editor’s picks posts. These reviews are brief reflections on why/how the recommended book aligns to parenting/motherhood.
CONNECTIONS
Word count: 800-2000 words
Thought-provoking essays that tie in the personal with the storyline or subject matter of the book. These can be personal essays, humorous, lyrical, or experimental essays that highlight a specific connection between what’s been read and the writer’s personal experience.
TRADITIONAL BOOK REVIEWS
Word count: 250-500 words
Summarize the premise of the book and tell the reader what they can expect or take away from the reading.
• Authors cannot write traditional reviews for their own work.
• Traditional reviews are published anonymously. Readers will not know who reviewed books in this category.
🌺 FLOWERS
Word count: 250-500 words
Reviews of forthcoming titles only that are exceptional and receive a “flowers” emoji mean that the book is highly recommended. We are giving books and authors their flowers!
• Authors cannot write flower reviews for their own work.
• Flowers reviews are published anonymously. Readers will not know who reviewed books in this category.
BOOK LISTS / ROUNDUPS
Word count: 700-1000 words
We’re interested in themed book lists on topics that intersect craft, social justice, reproductive justice, identity, food culture, and other similarly related subjects by and about the Global Majority.
For children’s titles, think of ways to address an issue, or answer big and small questions a child might ask. Each book should include a brief intro, and a small paragraph per selection detailing how it relates to the theme (around 100 words each).
GENERAL FICTION & ESSAY
Word count: Varies (see below)
Always Open
Editors: Danielle Jerngian and Ain Drew
SUBMIT HERE
Essay: We publish first-person narrative essays that use the personal as an entry point to larger themes, questions, and conversations. Unless otherwise discussed, published pieces usually run to a maximum of 4,000 words.
Fiction: Similar to our nonfiction, we seek fiction with a strong narrative arc and a distinctive voice. Word count is between 1,200-4,000 words.
BOOK EXCERPTS
Always open
Word count: 2000-5000 words
Editors: Sherisa de Groot and Danielle Jerngian
Submit a book excerpt for a recently published (within the last 12 months) or upcoming title. Also include a color press photo and an image of the cover art. We strongly prefer authors submit their work to us directly. No self-published works, please.
COMICS
Always Open
Editors: Sherisa de Groot
We are interested in both traditional and non-traditional forms of visual storytelling. Submit up to 3 pieces of narrative illustration, comics, mixed media narrative, or genre-negative oddments. For comics, each piece should contain a minimum of 3 panels. There is no page limit for this category. Theme is not Title image must be at least 1200px wide.
FLASH FRIDAY
Genre: Micro & Flash fiction and nonfiction
SUBMIT HERE (submissions are currently closed)