inside markets
KIDZWONDER – A PAYING ONLINE MARKET
This is from editor Teresa Lilly: Kidzwonder magazine is looking for
articles. You can see a
sample issue online.
We are looking for short pieces, fiction, rebus, seasonal, holidays,
community workers, collections, and anything else kids would like. This
is a new magazine so we currently only pay $2 per article. We will also
host writing contests periodically which will be free, so check back
with us from time to time.

SCHOOL MAGAZINE OF AUSTRALIA
[We’re sharing some observations from an Australian writer who has read
through a number of issues. This is what she thought of as she read – so
it’s also an excellent guide to analyzing a magazine. When you read
sample issues, what do you notice?]
I've divided the info up by magazine (as you would know from the
website, there are four different mags, each aimed at different
age-groups). As well as original material, they also reprint classic
poems from time to time - Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, TS
Eliot etc.
Countdown (8-9 years old)
Fiction is often of the heartwarming type, often gently lesson-driven.
More realist storylines than fantasy; whimsy is sometimes a feature.
Often focusing on exploring the world, first experiences. Generally
feature third-person omniscient narrators.
Examples of recent stories: seeing snow for the first time, losing a
tooth, special needs kids, relationships with grandparents,
multicultural elements, a fruit&veg store owner who plays the violin to
his produce, moving house, re-tellings of folk tales, learning to ride a
bike, the drought. There are some stories which feature animal protags -
dogs, frogs etc.
Poetry
Poetry includes both rhyme and free verse, although more of the former.
Lots of slice of life stuff, animals, humour, aspects of nature.
Blast Off (9-10)
Fiction
Again, they seem to favour third-person omniscient; mix of fantastical
and realist. Lots of generational stories - relationships with
grandparents etc. Seems to be more nonfiction here and a trend towards
n-f disguised as fiction - stories which introduce a topic or theme and
educate the reader about that, sometimes followed by related sidebars,
activities etc.
Recent stories include getting a dog, recycling junk from the council
cleanup, the school play etc.
Poetry includes more free verse at this level - whimsy is a feature, and
there is a focus on nature as a broad theme.
Orbit (10-11)
Fiction
School/neighbourhood-focused stories, folk-tale re-tellings, lots of
‘boy-appeal’ stories – sport etc; themes such as friendship, overcoming
adversity, individual strengths and weaknesses, caring for the
environment. First-person narrative starts to become a feature here,
although there’s still plenty of third-person.
Poetry features more free verse and greater use of more advanced
techniques -- figurative language, allegory; still lots of
nature/animal-focused work, some rollicking rhyme/slapstick-type humour.
Touchdown (advanced primary)
Fiction: Ranges from lighthearted/humorous slice-of-life to more
serious/social justice/environmental-type themes. Recent short story
topics include: children saving whales, a girl who makes a wish to lose
weight and ends up on the ceiling, re-tellings of traditional stories, a
fortune-teller’s prediction comes true in an unexpected way, time travel
Poetry: quite a lot of re-prints from poets such as W Carlos Williams,
Dickinson, Robert Frost etc; original stuff is fairly diverse - lots of
free verse, image-focused poetry, still some focus on nature/animals,
also humour, whimsy – statues that talk, a land where humans have tails
etc. Where poems rhyme at this level, they tend not to have the tight
rhyming schemes seen at the earlier levels; there’s also more play with
half-rhymes and techniques such as enjambment etc.
There weren't many serialised stories at all. I had a year's worth of
magazines (eleven issues of each) and there was only one serial out of
all those, which ran across two issues of Touchdown. There is a
recurring character who appears in many stories by one particular
writer, but the stories themselves stand alone.
There were no parallel worlds of any kind and no fantastical
creatures or anything like that. What fantasy there was tended to be
based on extensions of the real world - eg plants coming to life in the
garden, wishes coming true, that sort of thing.

This page last updated on 01 September 2008 |