special report

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOR KIDS
Readership: boys and girls ages 8 - 14

Note: This Special Report first appeared on Janfields.com

SUBMISSION SPECIFICS:

SI KIDS buys nonfiction only. Most of their material is created in-house but they do buy about 20 manuscripts a year. Unlike many children’s magazines, SI KIDS requires queries for the articles but they pay better than average. They also purchase the photography as a separate package which can lead to considerably more money for those who can both write and photograph professionally.

There editorial staff includes
Managing Editor: Neil Cohen
Assistant Managing Editor: Peter Kay
Senior Editor: John Rolfe

Send queries to:

Specific Editor
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOR KIDS
Sports Illustrated Building
135 W. 50th St.
New York, NY 10020-1393

WHAT THEY WANT:

Guidelines (PDF):
The Sport Illustrated for Kids website will give you a good look at the sort of features they run both length and type of writing. Queries are considered for the following things: profiles of star athletes and features on topical issues in sports (query Bob Der, Assistant Managing Editor). They also buy puzzles and games (contact Andrea Whittaker, Associate Editor). You will find specific beat editors listed in the online writer’s guidelines.

Buys all rights. Pays on acceptance. Bonus/Cover stories run 1,000 - 1,500 words and can pay up to $2000. Athlete Profiles run 400 - 1,500 words and can pay up to $1,500. Puzzles and Games pay from $250 - $700.

ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC ISSUE

Sports Illustrated for Kids
March 2004
Areas potentially open to freelance submissions will be marked with an *.

Talk Back: Reader Mail
Freeze Frame: Game Photos with Captions (4 pages)
Sports Cards: detachable sports cards
Warm-Ups: Short (about 25 - 50 word) news bites about athletes,
both adult and kids. (4 pages)

* Rocket Power by Ted Keith. Profile article on Steve Francis. The format for this is interesting. The article is printed on the back of a 4-page sized poster of Steve Francis that is folded and bound into the magazine. The article is quote heavy (including a number of "break-out" quotes) It uses sub-headings for organization. The article uses plenty of action and visual description, to tell the story of Francis’ career. The article includes a kid-friendly chart of Francis’s favorite stuff (shows, food, music, etc). Photographs provided by someone besides author.

Art Gallery: reader art (2 pages)

* On Edge by Brian Cazeneuve. Profile on skier Bode Miller. Profile begins by relating anecdotes that show how strong-willed Miller has always been -- showing the pluses and minuses of insisting on doing things his way. Lots of quotes. Subheadings for organization. (2 pages)

Your Hit Parage: results of a reader’s poll (3 pages).

* Beware of Bubba by Matt Higgins. Profile on motocross/supercross racer James Bubba Stewart. Again, quote heavy, organized with subheadings, lots of visual detail. (2 pages).

Sports Illustrated Teen. An inset of short pieces directed at their older readers. This section consists of short pieces related to different sports: 2 pages on basketball, one page for baseball, one page for hockey, one page looking at top high school basketball players, a page doing price comparisons on sports shoes, and one page giving a photo with funny captions submitted by readers.

The Madmen of March. A round-up piece, photo driven, with quotes from the star players of NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball.

* Heavy Hitter by Andre Carter. A profile of Dallas Cowboy Roy Williams. One of the shortest of the profile pieces -- seems to depend upon quotes probably gathered rather than interviewed for. Focus on Williams nickname and how it relates to his life and play.

* Raising Baby Bulls by Roman Modrowski. Article focuses on two Chicago Bulls players (Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry) who were drafted straight out of high school. Very visual. Uses quotes from a variety of sources, not just the two players. (3 pages)

Comic Cards: reader submissions for funny remarks that players on sports cards could be saying.

* Belle of the Ball by Andrea N. Whittaker. Profile of women’s college basketball player Seimone Augustus. Another short profile, though this one uses interview quotes. How she became a star player, her family, and her goals/future are covered which seems to be fairly standard for these profiles.

Inside Story - Power Play. Another round up piece with quotes from hockey players about power plays.

Sports Gamer -- reviews of sports games for different gaming platforms.

* End Zone -- puzzles and quizzes. In this issue:
Matching puzzle -- match the school to the pro athlete originally from the school and the mascot for each school. Picture puzzle with overlapping team logos -- which logo is shown the most number of times?
What’s the Call? Sets up sports situations and asks what call would an official make -- this set included a basketball situation, a golf incident, and a football play.
Trivia challenge was a trivia quiz covering different sports.
Brain Buster -- trivia questions about the statistics of a single player with a chance to win a cap.

Buzz Beamer -- comic-book style story.

This page last updated on 01 September 2008