special report

FAMILYFUN
Parenting Magazine
FAMILYFUN targets parents of children from ages 3 to 12 and has nearly 2 million subscribers.

Note: This Special Report first appeared on Janfields.com

From the FAMILYFUN Writing Guidelines:

"Our heavy emphasis on activities and ideas distinguish us from other parenting and family magazines. We do not publish child development articles, fiction, poetry, and the like....Our criteria for each article are simple: the activities must be fun, family-tested, affordable, and easy to do. We strive to entertain as well as inform with a writing style that is no-nonsense, upbeat, and personal."

"Writers are encouraged to study recent back issues for content and style (sample issues are available for $6 shipping included. Send a 9x12 self-addressed envelope.)"

"We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts for feature stories" so features must be queried first. Since the magazine receives many queries on similar topics, your query must be specific and show what makes your idea unique and why you are uniquely qualified to write it. Relevant clips should be included with queries.

"We do accept unsolicited manuscripts for the following departments: Family Almanac, Family Traveler, Family Ties, My Great Idea."

"If appropriate, include photographs or sketches of the finished project, food, or craft."

"Manuscripts and queries are accepted by standard mail only - not by telephone, email, or fax."

Allow four to six weeks for a response and enclose an SASE. Payment varies from $75 (for an idea where a FAMILYFUN staff writer crafts the actual article) to $1,625 for Family Ties columns. Feature Articles pay $1.25 per word. Pays on Acceptance. Buys All Rights.

ATTN: [editor or department]
FAMILYFUN
244 Main Street
Northampton, MA
01060

ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC ISSUE

FAMILYFUN
December/January 2006

From the Masthead:
Editor: Jonathan Adolph
Executive Editor: Mary Giles
Senior Editors: Isadora Fox, Debra Immergut,
Cindy A. Littlefields, Samuel Mead
Senior Associate Editor: Jodi Butler
Associate Editors: Nicole Blasenak, Adrienne Stolarz

The Online Top Five. Highlights five things available on the FamilyFun website - crafts, printables, recipes, and a contest.

FamilyFun Happenings. Promotional blurbs for Disney/FamilyFun events.

Dear Readers. The letter from the editor - in this case, the Creative Director, Ann Hallock, outlines the way candy recipes were chosen for the issue.

Mailbox. Readers write praising a Family Almanac about a first day of school custom, about having older high school players visit a little kid's birthday oriented party, about peanut butter treats and allergies, about a tissue-box craft. Also included some corrections and safety remarks from the editors about past issues.

Family Almanac. This section includes a bunch of short activities and holiday dates. Mint Cookie Pops (cookies on a stick), turning socks into snowmen without sewing, and making a large outdoor lighted wreath from a tire swing. Also a brief reminder about Las Posadas on Dec 16 - 24th, and Boxing Day, December 26th and Winter Solstice, Dec 21st and Kwanzaa, Dec 26th - Jan 1st. Then, backseat game (I-Spy), and Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels. Also, good-luck goldfish craft for Chinese New Year using card stock and colored tissue, and a paper Menorah. Plus, tiny keepsake boxes folded from old greeting cards and sharing the holidays with neighbors via goodie baskets. Finally, Three Kings beanbag craft with dowels, fabric and decorative braid.

Family Ties: Lessons From a Snowy Day. [Mary Cleary Kiely] An essay about snowdays - focuses on a specific recent experience (not nostalgia.)

My Great Idea: Christmas Care Packages. [Heather Beers] An essay on how a family sends their favorite things found only in their local as care packages to family.

My Great Idea: A Roundup of Creative Solutions and Tips. Lots of short one-paragraph ideas: changing a Christmas wreath to a New Year's wreath, easy tree watering, reading on Christmas morning, reindeer sandwiches, and a candy advent.

Family Traveler National Parks Pass (gift giving suggestion), a chalet in the TN mountains, duck tours, Christmas carols on CD (suggested for car singing), a water park, and a calendar of events.

Family Traveler: Houseboating 101 [Daniel Asa Rose] A personal experience piece about one family's adventure in renting a houseboat in Florida.

Healthy Fun: Family Fitness [Catherine McGrady] Fitting fitness into a busy schedule.

Family Home: A DIY multi-use bookshelves [Kimberly Stoney] Cute bookshelves that can be made at home from any simple 2-shelf bookcase and converted into 18-inch doll bunkbeds or a simple dollhouse.

House to House Celebrations [Leslie Garisto Pfaff] Successful progressive holiday parties (feature article).

Holiday Sweet Shop - collection of holiday candy recipes.

Gifts Kids Can Make - Jewelry tree, eyeglass cases, painted candles, ribbon "candy" ornament, and ribbon-covered hangers.

Family Fun 1 2 3 - Little Helpers. [Catherine Newman] Letting young children help (includes a cute serving tray decorated with child's handprints, decorating a clothes hamper like a hungry mouth, and making a cleaning kit complete with dust puppet.

O Christmas Tree. [Adrienne Stolarz] 6 Christmas tree inspired crafts - tree shaped holiday card holder, wooden tree mobile, potted paper cones, festive forest garland, place markers, tree cake made from varying sizes of cake squares.

Family Wisdom. [Teri Keough] Readers share sage advice from family members.

Our Town [Alicia Potter] Making a canvas play mat to represent your neighborhood/town - part toy, part family history.

Cheap Thrills - 10 Great Toys for $10 or Less. Short reviews of inexpensive toys.

Cooking Class [Ken Haedrich] Step-by-Step guide to teaching kids to cook - stuffed peppers.

Our Favorite Things. Tiny reviews of web sites, CDs, movies, video games, and toys.

Try This Now -- A science trick, using salt to help you "catch" an ice cube with a string.

This page last updated on 01 September 2008