The following is a list of literary journals and magazines that publish writing by children and teenagers.
Some of them accept submissions from adults – and all of them accept submissions from youth of various ages.
Not all of them are currently open to submissions but most are.
Children
Stone Soup
This magazine by and for children has been around for over forty years. They publish work by and for 8-13 year olds. They publish stories and poems. Their website contains a lot of helpful tips about what they are specifically looking to publish. Submissions to a few categories are free. Learn more here.
Magic Dragon
They publish stories, essays, poems, and art, by young people. They don’t have strict age limits that I could find but most work seemed to be by children under the age of 13. Learn more here.
Teens and Children
Press Pause Press
This literary journal publishes work by adults and by those 18 and younger. If you are younger than 18 they do have special guidelines you must follow. You can learn more here.
Highlights
A very established children’s magazine, they allow general submissions from those 16 and up, but younger children are encouraged to submit poetry and art here.
Teens
Cast of Wonders
Cast of Wonders is a young adult short fiction market, open to stories up to 6,000 words in length, that they publish in a podcast format. They have detailed submission guidelines but are particularly open to work by young writers. Learn more here.
BALLOONS Literary Journal
An online journal that publishes poetry, fiction and art that is primarily aimed at young readers aged around 12-16. They accept submissions from adults and teens. Learn more here.
Adroit Journal
Adroit Journal was founded by a high school student over a decade ago now, and it is curently partially run by by high school and college students. Adroit publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, art/photography, and cross-genre works by adults and teens. They have a section focused on tips for young writers, as well as a number of opportunities available to young writers, the most notable being the Summer Mentorship Program.
One Teen Story
This magazine publishes four stories a year. [Stories are written by teenagers and have to be submitted as part of their yearly contest. Entry is free, the winners are paid, and the next contest opens up in Fall 2020. Learn more here.
Élan
They accept original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screen writing, plays and visual art from students in grades 9 through 12. They publish two online and one print issue a year. You can learn more here.
Teen Ink
A print magazine and a website that publishes work by teenagers intended to be read by teenagers. They have extensive submission guidelines and require registration but they are open to a wide variety (and lengths) of writing. Learn more here.
Lunch Ticket
An established and respected publication from Antioch University has a special category for writers between the ages of 13-17. You can see what they have previously published by going to their school lunch archive. You can submit here.
Polyphony Lit
This international literary journal run by and for teens is only open to submissions from high-choolers. They have excellent covers and been around for a little over a year now. You can learn more here.
Levitate
Once a year the Chicago High School for the Arts publishes their literary magazine Levitate. Learn more here.
Parallax
They are a high school student-edited literary magazine, featuring original fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays and screenplays, as well as book reviews and author interviews. Edited by the Creative Writing Department at Idyllwild Arts Academy, they publish work by teenagers world wide. Learn more here.
The Rad Mag
This online journal is “committed to providing an online space for young artists, creatives, and activists to uplift and promote themselves and one another”. They accept everything, including songs and knitting. They don’t have any official age limits but prefer submissions from 12-25 year olds. Learn more here.
The Daphne Review
They publish writing and art by individuals between the ages of 13-18. To learn more go here.
The Start
This journal focuses on publishing works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry focused on a young adult (or new adult) reader. They publish work by adults and by highschoolers. To learn more go here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, The 2019 Guide to Manuscript Publishers, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The Authors Publish Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Publishing.
She occasionally teaches a course on manuscript publishing, as well as a course on publishing in literary journals.
You can follow her on Facebook here.
