Written by Emily Harstone June 28th, 2021

16 Magazines that Publish Writing by Children and Teens

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.

Scribere

They publish creative work by 11-18 year olds. Learn more here.

Teens

Paper Lanterns
A literary journal for those age 13 and up. Under 16’s receive a  book voucher as payment. Anyone older than 16 receives payment. Learn more here.

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 currently 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 three 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 2021. Learn more here

Élan
They accept original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screen writing, plays and visual art from students ages 14 to 18. 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-schoolers. They have excellent covers. You can learn more here

Levitate
Once a year, the Chicago High School for the Arts publishes their literary magazine Levitate. 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, nonfiction, and poetry focused on a young adult (or new adult) reader. They publish work by adults and by high-schoolers. To learn more, go here.

The Milking Cat
is an online teen comedy magazine run by a senior in high school. They publish comedy of all kind. You can learn more here.


Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript SubmissionsSubmit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.

 

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