Contribute your work to KidSpirit — here’s how!
You can submit your work electronically or by snail mail. Look over our guidelines below, then follow the instructions.
GUIDELINES
For all written submissions, please send your work as a Word document, or copy and paste it into the body of an e-mail. For artwork or other image submissions, please send jpegs, pdfs, or gif files. If you would like to send a hard copy in the mail, be sure to save a copy because originals can’t be returned. Artwork should be sent flat in an envelope so we can scan it, if chosen for publication.
Features
If you want to write a feature article for KidSpirit, you should plan according to our upcoming themes. Take a look at the following themes and consider what topics interest you.
Money (Fall, 2012)
Religion (Winter, 2012)
Heroes (Spring, 2013)
Articles should generally be between 400 and 1000 words. Submit only your best work and please understand that we cannot publish all the articles we receive. If you have an idea for an article and want to know if it will fits a particular theme, you can send us a proposal for an article. We prefer to receive proposals for articles before you start writing. That way we can make sure that it works with the theme and that another writer isn’t already covering the same topic.
Awesome Moments
Like you, each “Awesome Moment” is unique. Have you had an Awesome Moment in nature? Creating music or art? Helping others or playing sports? Feel free to write about anything, no matter how ordinary–or extraordinary–it may seem. Pieces should be about 500 words.
Poetry
Submit your poetry related to one of our upcoming themes, or a poem that expresses who you are! Submit up to ten poems at a time.
Media Reviews
KidSpirit readers review books, movies, music, and other artistic works that have something to say about each theme. If you’ve read a book or seen a movie recently that spoke to you, send in a 500-800 word review with your opinion and analysis.
Goof Corner
Calling all cartoonists and puzzle hounds! Do you have a great cartoon you’ve been dying to share? A joke you made up that you tell everyone? A puzzle you’ve designed that stumps all your friends? Share your inspirations at KidSpirit Online. Submit up to three pieces at a time.
Artwork
KidSpirit is always looking for your photographs, paintings, collages, drawings, even doodles you make on the sides of your notebook. If you have any art you are proud of, especially pieces that relate to our upcoming themes, you can submit up to ten pieces at a time.
Our Editorial Board considers all work carefully, but can only inform you if your submission is accepted for publication. Please also note that if you want a copy, you should keep one at home, because originals will not be returned. If your submission is accepted for publication, the Editorial Board will suggest edits. Working with the Editorial Board to refine your submission can be a lot of fun, and is a part of the creative collaboration which makes each issue of KidSpirit Magazine, and the KidSpirit community, so great. Enjoy the process!
HOW TO SUBMIT
To submit electronically, send an email to submissions@kidspiritonline.com with:
- Your name
- Your age
- Your address
- If you wish to submit a feature, a proposal for the piece and the KidSpirit theme it relates to
- If you are submitting work for another section, the writing or artwork
Or, if you prefer to send your work in the mail, print and complete the submission form with your parents and mail it with your work to:
Submissions
KidSpirit Online
77 State Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
I am a 15 year old girl attending Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalin, a Hawaiian Immersion School in Hawaii. My name is Unique or as I am called in school Kahokulani. I was wondering if I would be able to submit my story here. It is about me trying to express myself publicly by joining a song contest at my last school. I have changed the name of the school and my friends name because they did not want to be mentioned in the story. I think that if okay my story might be able to fall under the themes: Creativity and the Imagination or Ethics and Morality. I am a Christian, I believe in God, and I attend Kahikolu Congregational Church.
Thanks for your comment and yes, by all means send us your story, Kahokulani. Since we don’t have your email address, please email it to info@kidspiritonline.com. We look forward to reading it!
Do you get anything if you submit a piece that gets published?
Good question– kids who submit work that is selected for publication go through a unique process with our all-youth Ed Board. The Ed Board edits the submission and communicate their suggestions to the contributor, who in turn sends a new revision back to the Ed Board. This process applies to all essays, but not to poetry or artwork.
Each year, the Ed Board votes on the best pieces for inclusion in our annual print volume. From that pool, the top pieces are selected for the annual KidSpirit Awards, in New York City.
The greatest benefit to having your work published is the interactive process with the Ed Board. Of course, having your work published is a joy in itself!
Thank you. Would you have to be present at NYC?
Generally, everyone tries to come to the award celebration if they can. This year, we had winners who joined us from California to Maine!
Have any of your published writers gone on to become well-known authors?
Thanks for your question. All of our writers except for authors of the PerSpectives articles are teens, and many (or most) are still in high school. We look forward to seeing what they accomplish later in life!
Hello, I am Mono, aged 16 from India and as usual living a crazy teenage life. As your theme for now is education, as you may see many of us here have spoiled our studies due to external factors like break ups, fight with a friend, family issues etc. My article will highlight the problems and the solution I think would help. Should I mail my article?
Hi Mono,
Yes, please do email us your essay (don’t send in the mail because it will take too long). You can send it to info@kidspiritonline.com.
Send it as soon as you can because the Ed Board will be meeting again next month to review pieces for the education issue! We look forward to hearing from you…
Hi, I’m Dianna and I’m 18. I love the concept behind this magazine and I really want to write something for it.
I was just wondering when I stop counting as a teen?
Hi Dianna,
Generally, we don’t publish writing from kids over 16 or 17, but if you’re that motivated, please send us your ideas in an email and we’ll be in touch. It’s great to hear from kids of any age who are excited by our editorial mission, so let us know what you’re interested in writing about and do tell you friends who are a bit younger!