special report

Crow Toes Quarterly

From their guidelines: “Crow Toes Quarterly is looking for playfully dark, intelligent, descriptive literature for children aged 8 to 13. Stories can range in length but must not exceed 3000 words.”

Only snail mail submissions are considered. At this point the guidelines tell us a lot of things they simply shouldn’t have to say:

• “Please, pretty please send only your best, most carefully edited work.”
• Submissions must be typed and double-spaced.
• Submissions must be printed on one side of the paper only.
• Include your name, mailing address and phone number.

Honestly, please, promise me that ALL KidMagWriter readers always do those things for all submissions to all editors everywhere, okay?

Payment: This is a non-paying market, though you do get two contributor copies. They take first Canadian serial rights. They respond in four months or less. [Stuff sent to the website for publication on the website will be used for an indeterminate amount of time.] They do accept manuscripts from young writers – any writer under 13 will need to get parental permission.

Submit to:

Christopher Millin, Managing Editor
Crow Toes Quarterly
186 – 8120 No. 2 Road
Suite #361
Richmond, BC V7C 5J8
Canada

The website also has a list of “influences” that is very funny. It include great writers like Roald Dahl and J.R.R.Tolkien, and odd things like “things that are rotting” and “dolls with no eyes.” Clearly, an unusual market.

ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC ISSUE

CROW TOES QUARTERLY
SPRING 07
[The Second Issue – 36 pages counting the covers.]

The cover art has a wonderful illustration of a winged person sitting on a toadstool with colorful pine trees and mountains in the background, as well as a huge moon. The grass around the toadstool looks like ocean waves – very cool art by Philip Stephen

The EST Contest – a solicitation of stories from young readers. Looking for the strangest, the weirdest or the spookiest – whatever –est the writer can produce. Winner gets contributor copies and a certificate.

A Word From Your Humble Narrator – semi-fantastic anecdote about the narrator’s dinghy being carried away by seagulls. Compares having a boat with reading – both can take you to new places.

The Understory [Julie Andrés] An interesting folktale-like story. This piece looks like it runs a couple thousand words. It covers nine pages with four illustrations by Ian Fry made specifically for the story (most of the stories in the magazine do not have illustrations specifically made to match the story). The story is a tale of four young people chosen to stop the powers of darkness from preventing the return of light in the morning. The characters are stopped several times to help creatures in need, and in the end, they discover that they could not have saved the light, if they had not stopped to help.

The End With A Big “E” [Sid Plested] A science-fiction-esque tale of a land with almost no light. Even the stars have burned out. Then two friends decide to share their most precious belonging, which begins a process that saves them all. Four pages with illustrations made from pieces of clip-art (or so they look).

Shadow Boxing [Richard Stevenson] A poem about the difficulty of fighting a ghost.

The Secret Keeper [Robina Sharma] A poem about an old and gnarled tree and the secrets it keeps.

The Yowie [Richard Stevenson] A long poem about meeting a Yowie [An Australian Bigfoot] – written as a dialogue between two friends, one of whom is telling his Yowie tale.

The Crow [Robina Sharma] The crow as a messenger with a darker world.

Commas [Jake Strange] A long (7-page) fanciful first person story written as an essay about comma phobia brought on by Ms. Ogelthorpe, a surly fifth-grade teacher.

This page last updated on 01 June 2007