As a literary mama to three children over age 16, the groundwork was laid long, long ago. I was much like a museum curator, guiding my charges to what I thought was important but giving them freedom to discover jump off spots where they could explore their own interests. During those early years, board books […]
Imagine. A mother who adores books, sitting precariously on a beanbag at the base of her teenage sons’ bunk beds and reading aloud; mainly to herself, but hopeful that the boys are listening to her, and not to music through earpods. At first glance, this might appear a melancholic vision of a mother’s obsolescence, once […]
Maybe today, July 4, 2026, you’ll find time to write. You’ll fit it in between the hot dogs at noon and the fireworks after dark. Or perhaps, you’ve secreted a pad of paper in the pool bag. Of course, if you’re busy with cookouts and parades, it may be next week before you get a […]
If you’re a literary mama, you’ve likely been reading to your child since birth. But as our children grow, those reading relationships change. The Literary Mama blog team will be periodically presenting some short essays about what those stages of reading look like with some help from guest mama writer, Cassie Mannes Murray. Her first […]
Getting published on a large scale or with one of the Big Five might seem like a pipedream these days, if it wasn’t that before AI stepped up. However, that’s why literary magazines like Literary Mama are such a godsend. There are chances to submit to many departments such as Reviews, Literary Reflections, Creative Nonfiction […]
This is a cliché, but as a child, I used to read everywhere. I read in the car, though it sometimes made me feel sick. When I should have been reading a textbook in lessons at school, I read books under the desk. I read novels as I walked home from school, at bedtime, and […]
When we have free moments, it can be difficult to choose whether we want to spend that time writing or reading. Fortunately, the winter months are often a period when we can manage more of both because we don’t have the temptation of sun and warmth to lure us to outdoor activities. If you’re looking […]
When I’m not writing or teaching, I am often preparing to co-host The Perks of Being a Book Lover—a reading podcast I do with a longtime friend. In the past, we’ve talked about book bans with guests. A guest from our most recent season, Rebecca Leber-Gottberg, talked to us about a program coordinated by Rediscovered […]
Summer approaches, which means it is time to find the books that you’ll keep in your bag that you take to the pool or day-long sporting events for the kids or to the beach or mountains on a family trip. Our staff is always happy to share some of the authors and books that they’ve […]
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. This week, Literary Reflections Editor and Senior Editor Andrea Lani catches up with Anne Liu Kellor. The first essay I edited when I came on board as editor of the […]
It’s cold and gray; icy drizzle falls from the sky, which makes a hot cup of tea, a fuzzy blanket, and a chunky book the best accompaniments for a day spent inside. Winter is a wonderful time to hunker down and get some serious reading done. The editors and staff at Literary Mama would like […]