The creative nonfiction department at Literary Mama (www.literarymama.com) seeks strong creative nonfiction stories throughout the year. Stories need to have a beginning, middle, and end as well as vibrant characters who come to life off the page. Forgive the cliche but we like personal stories that show more and tell less. Word count is open though we find that some of the best pieces clock in around 1,500 words. All pieces must be written by mothers, with the exception of the special issues listed on the website. We find that the best pieces relate a compelling story, "show" and not tell, and manage to SUBTLY say something profound or "big picture" about parenting--without preaching or hitting the reader over the head with a "message" (which of course is the kiss of death). A tall order, we know!

The creative nonfiction department seeks stories, as distinguished from essays or op-ed pieces (although Literary Mama's other departments accept fiction, poetry, op-ed, literary criticism, and book review submissions; see the website for these departments' guidelines). It's a good idea to review our recent creative nonfiction pieces to get a feel for what we like.

If you are interested in submitting to the creative nonfiction department, please check our Web site for more guidelines (http://www.literarymama.com/submissions/). Read both the general guidelines (beginning at the top of the page) and specific guidelines for creative nonfiction (beginning about halfway down the page) before submitting; following these guidelines carefully can help you to avoid many of the pitfalls that can get pieces quickly eliminated from consideration.

Submissions addresses are available on the site, but you may also submit to me directly at literarymama.submissions@gmail.com. (I'm the editorial assistant for the creative nonfiction department.) Please follow the instructions on how to submit, detailed on the website. Thanks!