Literary Mama

Last weekend, I somehow found myself with a new book in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, and a tantalizingly unscheduled afternoon. I’d had half-hearted intentions of catching up on all the details of family life that get sidelined during the workweek, but in that moment the yellow brick road of my […]

Congratulations to these Literary Mama Staff members! ~~~~~ Literary Reflections Editor Kimberly Lee’s creative nonfiction appeared in Words and Whispers, Minerva Rising, Grammar of Grief Handbook, and on the Read 650 podcast. Other work is forthcoming in Quillkeepers Press and Fresh Ink. She recently became a certified workshop facilitator with Amherst Writers and Artists, and has been selected to attend the Voices of Our Nations […]

Welcome to our Calls for Submissions page. Here, we’ll feature new publication opportunities for all our Mama readers. Look for updated posts each month. If there is a ❤️ next to a call, that means the magazine or press is specifically looking for mother writers. We ❤️ all our Mamas! Literary Mama is always open […]

Welcome to our newest blog series: Where Are They Now? In this series, our editors interview past Literary Mama contributors to see what they’ve accomplished since publishing in LM and talk about their writing journeys. Marjorie Osterhout was previously the Managing Editor and Columns Editor at Literary Mama. This month, Blog Editor Bridget Lillethorup corresponded with Marjorie […]

Last month, we invited readers to share their responses to a writing prompt inspired by Erin Lyn Bodin’s Even In Winter. We asked, “What passions, interests, or activities do you reserve time for amidst the varied landscape of motherhood? How do they serve your personal wellbeing?” Below is Natalie Brandt’s response. ~~~~~ The Sports Mom  “No thank you.” […]

Welcome to Craft Talks. In this bi-monthly post, we’ll have a mini-interview with our own editors about craft, what they look for in submissions, and all things writing. Today, I talked with Amanda Fields, Publisher. She told me her role as Publisher, Naomi Shihab Nye, and her love of the weirder sides of motherhood. 1. […]

At my house, the beginning of summer is always a bit of a whirlwind. Planning family vacations, scheduling swimming lessons, organizing play-dates, negotiating conflict between siblings who suddenly have to be around each other all the time—I relish the chaos even as it threatens to overwhelm me. My anchor amidst the upheaval of summer, in […]

For each issue of Literary Mama, Literary Reflections shares a writing prompt, inviting our readers to respond. Our editors provide feedback on the responses we receive, and we post our favorites on the blog. This month’s writing prompt is inspired by Annette Lucksinger’s Confronting Literary Theory: Ice Princesses and Don Quixote ~~~~~ Many of us […]

Last month, we invited readers to share their responses to a writing prompt inspired by Erin Lyn Bodin’s Even In Winter. We asked, “What passions, interests, or activities do you reserve time for amidst the varied landscape of motherhood? How do they serve your personal wellbeing?” Below is Emily Patterson’s response. ~~~~~ The Tending of These Days It’s […]

Welcome to our Calls for Submissions page. Here, we’ll feature new publication opportunities for all our Mama readers. Look for updated posts each month. If there is a ❤️ next to a call, that means the magazine or press is specifically looking for mother writers. We ❤️ all our Mamas! Literary Mama is always open […]

“Reading! Now!” I find myself barking, again, at my pandemic-weary 16 year old, waking them up from yet another nap. “Book!” reminding them about their assigned Accelerated Reader book, the due-in-three-days book, the didn’t-you-miss-the-last-deadline book. “Now!” I nag, “Reading!” as I find them once again distracted by a screen, seeking solace in digital art projects […]