How to Submit Work

About Pure in Heart

Pure in Heart Stories is a literary and art magazine for families, with a Christian worldview. Here you can find short stories, poetry, photography and art by adults, teens, and children—for readers 6 years old and beyond. Our issues appear both online and in print during the months of May and November.

The Basics

Pure in Heart accepts work from adults, kids, and teens that is appropriate for all ages. We accept work from both Christians and non-Christians, so long as the submission has a Christian theme or demonstrates Christian morals. A piece does not have to be overtly Christian.

We accept all submissions through e-mail, at: pureinheartstories@gmail.com

Please read our guidelines below before submitting.

What is a Christian-theme?

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.

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

Guidelines (for Ages 17 and Younger)

Poetry: Send up to 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 (Fiction): 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), or take a photo of your neatly-written work.

Art & Photography: Send up to 3 photographs or photos of your artwork (.jpeg or .jpg). No AI images please.

Other things we accept: Did you make a comic? Got a joke? Know a good game or recipe? Send up to 3 of these items at a time. These can be typed or neatly handwritten. If you learned the joke, game, or recipe from someone else, let us know where it came from.

E-mail your work to Veronica McDonald (she’s the editor), with your name and 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 2-4 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 18 and Older)

Poetry: Send up to 5 poems, in one attachment (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .odt).

Short Stories: Send up to 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 and comics. No AI images please.

Other things we accept: Comics, jokes, riddles, recipes, games, and more! Send up to 3 items at a time (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .odt). If you learned the recipe, game, or joke from someone or somewhere else, please cite the source.

E-mail submissions to Veronica McDonald (editor) with a cover letter and a short bio (about 50 words): 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, and, unfortunately, we cannot compensate anyone with contributor copies. We hope to change this in the future. 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.

Following publication, 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 Stories as the place where your work first appeared.