Raising Mothers celebrates and centers the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Brown parents.
Raising Mothers publishes experimental and traditional fiction, flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, interviews, book reviews, photo essays, and comic/graphic narratives. Raising Mothers publishes work that centers parenthood from either a parent, or child-centered perspective from BIPOC people exclusively; women, femmes, disabled, nonbinary and LGBTQIA+ parents.
Read below for our open calls and detailed submission guidelines. We are eager to read your work.
Submission Guidelines
Please use this form to submit.
Submission Guidelines
Read our site to get a better idea of the work we have accepted to make sure you are a good fit.
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 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 motherhood including queer parenting, chosen families, and any other ways not mentioned that reconceptualize “family”.
How to Submit
All submissions should have a literary quality: strong, engaging and non-academic. We accept original, previously unpublished work only. Work should be submitted in 12 pt font (no fancy fonts, please), double spaced (single space is fine for poetry) 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.
We do not accept work created by AI. Any submissions not entirely created by a human author will be automatically rejected.
Simultaneous Submissions
Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Please notify us if your work has been accepted elsewhere. Previously published work will not be considered. This includes content that has appeared on blogs, tumblrs, or any public or privately viewed space. Work on Raising Mothers is always original unless we solicit said work.
Response Time & Payment
If your submission is accepted, you will hear from us within three months. Although unlikely, if it takes longer, feel free to send one follow-up email after three months.
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.
If you like what we do, please commit to becoming a monthly or annual sustainer at Patreon. Send us a one-time donation using PayPal. Monthly/Annual Patreon sustainers 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 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.
Support Raising Mothers
Childcare costs $20 per hour in most cities. If you value the hard work that our editors put in and the living archive of parenting narratives we are building, spread the word & support our work today!
Raising Mothers is a lean organization, with a fully volunteer staff. 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. In 2023, we are still inching towards that goal.
If you value this work, commit to becoming a monthly or annual member at Patreon. Send us a one-time donation using PayPal. Monthly and annual Patreon members help us plan for our future while engaging our community, and one-time donations are always appreciated.
Please use this form to submit all work to the appropriate column.
All submissions should have a literary quality: strong, engaging and non-academic. We accept original, previously unpublished work only. We can only accept one submission per writer, per column. Work should be submitted in 12 pt font (no fancy fonts, please), double spaced (single space is fine for poetry) 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.
Please use this form to submit all work to the appropriate column.
The draft you submit is considered final, excepting suggested changes by our editorial staff.
Essays
Submissions should be between 1,200 and 4,000 words.
Fiction
Submissions should be between 1,200 and 4,000 words.
Flash
Micro and Flash fiction and nonfiction should be between 100- 1,000 words.
Comic/Graphic Narrative
There is no page limit for this category of submissions. Submissions must be sent as a .pdf file.
Interviews
Interview pitches are accepted year-round. Email us directly at submit AT raisingmothers DOT com with INTERVIEW PITCH in the subject line. We are open to series and individual interviews.
For more information on our columns, see OPEN CALLS.
OPEN CALLS
COLUMNS
Our columns are published year round.
Open Calls – Columns
Reading Period: April 1- June 30
We are not meant to simply endure motherhood. We are meant to savor it, to enjoy it. We want your essays about experiences and memories that brought laughter and healing. Tell us the moments of radical joy that rock your world and redefine perceptions of parenting and motherhood.
Essays should be 1,200 - 2,500 words.
Use THIS LINK to submit.
Reading Period: April 1- June 30
“Even tonight and I need to take a walk and clear
my head about this poem about why I can’t
go out without changing my clothes my shoes
my body posture my gender identity my age
my status as a woman alone in the evening/
alone on the streets/alone not being the point/
the point being that I can’t do what I want
to do with my own body because I am the wrong
sex the wrong age the wrong skin and”
“I am not wrong: Wrong is not my name
My name is my own my own my own
and I can’t tell you who the hell set things up like this
but I can tell you that from now on my resistance
my simple and daily and nightly self-determination
may very well cost you your life”
Excerpts from "Poem about my Rights" by June Jordan
Raising Mothers is accepting submissions for our column, The Political Body. We want to know what it means to live in your body. Tell us how outside influences dictate what it means to live. What collection of truths does your body hold? Which ones does it reject? As you navigate this life, how do you claim space? In light of Roe v Wade being overturned, we want to publish your stories of reproductive access.
Essays should be 1,200 - 2,500 words.
Use THIS LINK to submit.
Writers share their thoughts on any part of the craft of writing and then offer at least one prompt to support that note or that has helped the author. Think of this as a community-resourced MFA or You Are A Writer: 101. Submissions shouldn't exceed 2,000 words.
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.
Use THIS LINK to submit.
Wax poetic about your favorite authors and why they mean so much to you, how they have helped shape you as a writer and as a person. Be in conversation with a fellow author about your triumphs and lessons as a writer, as a Black or Brown person, and as a parent (or someone who was parented if a participant is childless).
We accept essays and completed interviews for this column.
Use THIS LINK to submit.
This column will expand from book excerpts written by Black, Asian, Indigenous, Latine and other racially underrepresented groups at varying intersections to include book recommendations, reviews and more.
EXCERPTS
Submit a book excerpt for a recently published or upcoming title starting at 2,000 words. Name your file BOOK EXCERPT/YOUR TITLE/AUTHOR. Also include a color press photo and an image of the cover art. We strongly prefer authors submit their work to us directly.
BOOK RECCOMENDATIONS
If submitting book recommendations, please name your file BOOK REC/(unique title for your recommendation). Word count: up to 1,500 words.
Examples: 'If You Like This, You'll Love This", 'Weekend Reads' or 'Three Books for a Solo Vacation'.
PROSE BOOK REVIEWS
We're interested in thoughtful, engaging book reviews between 1200-2500 words. Please submit a finished draft of your review rather than a review pitch.
Reviews should be single-spaced and paginated. Please provide the following information in your cover letter and at the top of your review: Title of book, author's name, name of press, publication date, and your name and email address. In your cover letter, please also include your contact information and a brief bio that we would use should your review be accepted.
We prefer not to publish negative reviews, but it’s fine to discuss a specific weakness, lack, or question you have related to the book. Please disclose any relationship you have to the author of the book you’re reviewing if one exists; we do not accept reviews where a conflict of interest exists.
All work must be previously unpublished—this includes personal blogs, websites, and social media.
We are also very interested in highlighting children's books written by Black/Asian/Latinx(ine)/Indigenous and other historically marginalized POC.
Micro and Flash fiction and nonfiction should be between 100- 1,000 words.
This column is currently on hold.
Justice Involved Mothers is a column originally developed in partnership with Roots. Wounds. Words.: A Literary Arts Revolution. Devoted to real life, authentic narratives of criminalization, Justice Involved Mothers is penned by the Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Brown women who have suffered the white supremacist arm and misogynist fist of law enforcement. Through these creative nonfiction works of literary art, we aim to uplift liberation demands, amplify abolitionist urgings, and cast an even wider spotlight on the vice grip criminalization holds around the necks of women—MOTHERS—of color. Justice Involved Mothers centers Our stories because we are the ones who are most ignored. The ones with the most to tell.
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