How to Submit Work

We are currently CLOSED for submissions until January 20th, 2026.

About Pure in Heart

Pure in Heart is a Christian-based literary magazine for families where you’ll find poems, short stories, art, photography, recipes, games, and more — created by writers and artists of all ages. We accept work from adults, teens, and kids ages 6 and older. Our issues appear both online and in print in May and November.

What We’re Looking For …

Pure in Heart is looking for creative work that is appropriate for all ages.

We like silly and fun, and we also like serious. We like depth. We want work that engages with kids and teens without talking down to them.

We especially like work with Christian themes. Some examples of Christian themes include: good versus evil, a retelling of a Bible story, doing the right thing even when it’s hard, redemption, hope, awe of God and His creation, brotherly love, a creative look at biblical people, a righteous heart shining against the backdrop of a fallen world, and much more. Feel free to get creative and surprise us.

Guidelines (for writers 17 and Younger)

POETRY: Send 1-3 poems. These can be typed in a Word document (.doc, .docx, .odt), or you can take a photo of your written work — if you choose to take a photo, please write neatly!

SHORT STORIES: Send 1 story, no longer than 2,000 words (that’s about 4 typed pages, single-spaced). Send in a Word document (.doc, .docx, .odt).

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY: Send 1-3 photographs or photos of your artwork (.jpeg or .jpg). No AI images please.

COMICS: Send 1-2 comics (.jpeg or .jpg). No AI images please.

JOKES: Send 1-3 jokes, typed in a Word document (.doc, .docx, .odt). If you learned the joke from someone else, please let us know where it came from.

RECIPES: Send 1-2 recipes, typed in a Word document (.doc, .docx, .odt). If you learned the recipe from someone else, please let us know where it came from.

Please do not send us AI-generated work of any kind.

E-mail your work to Veronica McDonald (she’s the editor), with your name and your age to: pureinheartstories@gmail.com

You may submit work to more than one category (for example: you can send a poem, a story, and a picture all at the same time), but please put them in one e-mail if possible.

You’ll hear back from us in about 4-8 weeks!

If your work is accepted, we’ll need a grownup’s permission to publish your work, whether it’s a parent, grandparent, caregiver, or teacher. We don’t pay (sorry!), but you get a free digital copy of the issue where your work will appear.

If you work is rejected, don’t let it get you down! Getting “rejected” is actually a big part of being a writer and artist. Keep creating and try again next time.

Guidelines (for writers 18 and Older)

POETRY: Send 1-5 poems, in one attachment (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .odt).

SHORT STORIES: Send 1-2 stories, no longer than 2,000 words each. Send as separate attachments (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .odt) in one e-mail.

ART & PHOTOGRAPHY: Send up to 4 pieces at a time (.jpeg or .jpg). We also accept image-text hybrids. No AI images please.

COMICS: Send 1-2 comics (.jpeg or .jpg). No AI images please.

JOKES: Send 1-3 jokes, typed in a Word document (.doc, .docx, .odt). If you learned the joke from someone else, please let us know where it came from.

RECIPES: Send 1-2 recipes, typed in a Word document (.doc, .docx, .odt). If you learned the recipe from someone else, please let us know where it came from.

Please do not send us AI-generated work of any kind.

E-mail submissions to Veronica McDonald (editor) with a cover letter and a short bio: pureinheartstories@gmail.com

You may submit work for multiple categories at the same time, but please do so in the same e-mail if possible.

We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you let us know if you are accepted elsewhere.

Please do not send previously published work.

We do not offer payment — unfortunately, we don’t have the funds! All contributors will receive a free digital copy of the issue in which they appear.

Terms

On acceptance, Pure in Heart asks for:

First electronic rights to be the first to publish the work online.
Non-exclusive Digital Format rights to publish the work in our downloadable PDF.
First North American Serial Rights to be the first to publish the work in the English language in North America, in a print issue.
Right to archive the work for as long as Pure in Heart exists.

Writers and artists retain the copyright to their work. This means that after we publish your poem, story, art, etc. you keep the right to your work and are free to publish it somewhere else. We only ask that you credit Pure in Heart as the place where your work first appeared.