Poetry Markets

I keep hearing it in my various poetry circles - publishers are buying less and less poetry. Really? I hope not! Even if this is true, I'm looking on the bright side -which is that poetry does continue to sell (even if less of it is selling).

For example, children's magazines ARE accepting poetry! In 2009, I have sold poetry to the following children's magazines:

SPIDER Magazine
Highlights for Children
Highlights High Five
AppleSeeds Magazine
TURTLE Magazine for Preschool Kids

If you want to see your poetry in print, try submitting to children's magazines. I have gathered a list of magazines that are currently accepting poetry. I will add to this list as I find more. If you know of a publication that accepts poetry and it is not listed here, please leave a comment and I will add it to this list. Each magazine listed here has specific guidelines to follow (and sometimes themes) so it's best to check the magazine website or your children's writer's market guide.

Babybug
Ladybug
SPIDER
Cricket
AppleSeeds
Cobblestone
Highlights for Children
Highlights High Five
Know Magazine
Turtle Magazine for Preschool Kids
Humpty Dumpty
Jack & Jill

Summer Reading Recommendation

I recently read the moving novel in verse, Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Heese. This deeply touching account of the Japanese attack on Alaska's Aleutian Islands in 1942, is told through the voice of Vera, a strong Aleut girl battling the consequences of government-enforced evacuation and relocation. Uprooted from their treeless coastal landscape and traditions, the Aleut people are forced to try to make a life for themselves in the dense, almost suffocating air of the inland forests. Without the tools for fishing, nor the proper resources to build up their community, the Aleuts are left with almost nothing but their wills to survive.

I cannot imagine a more perfect genre for this story. Poetry allows the unfolding of Vera's thoughts to happen as she is ready to share them. Poetry allows the reader to be patient and open to Vera's unique telling.

Vera is able to voice the experiences of struggle and death, courage, hope and love with a timing that only poetry can make possible.

The book jacket recommends Aleutian Sparrow for kids 10-14. I would place it in the older part of this rating, perhaps a 12 and up, as I think older readers would enjoy this book too.

Poem In Your Pocket

A few days ago for Poem In Your Pocket Day, I carried around a poem from Black Stars IN A White Night Sky by JonArno Lawson. I love all the poems in this book but I chose a short one called "Are You Worried?"
My daughter and I took it one step further (or maybe people are already doing this). After I read her the poem in my pocket at the end of the day, she asked if she could 'borrow' it for her pocket and bring it to school the next day. So I passed it on to her.
Yesterday I found the folded piece of paper in the dryer. I wonder how many poems ended up in laundry this week.

Cybils Winners

The Cybils Winners have been announced!
Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye is the winner of the poetry category!
I just finished reading A Maze Me: Poetry for Girls by the same author and absolutely loved it so I'm excited to get my hands on Honeybee.
Off to the library I go ...

To see the complete list of the 2008-9 winners, go to: http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/

Poetry for Girls

I've been reading A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye. I got it from the library for my daughter, but I've been hogging it. The poems are beautiful, decadent, moving. They bring me back to those complicated years. I highly recommend this book as a source of inspiration for girls and young women. 

Welcome To My Blog!

I have been putting this off for a long time but I am finally here! I will be posting regularly about my writing life. Please stop by often!