Childrens magazine

[Julia Hegetusch]

Hi guys. I'm looking for those first illustration gigs and want to reach out to kids magazines as that is an easier start than trying to land a book deal. I already got a positive reply from the magazine "storytime". But I'm having trouble finding other children's magazines. Does anyone know of a magazine for kids they could name me?
Thankyou!!

[Mimi Simon]

Try cricket if you don't mind not getting paid. Aside from that magazines are dying especially ones for kids. For kids nowadays, reading a magazine would be like making them clean a toilet, lol.

[Griffin McPherson]

@Mimi-Simon even if they’re viewing a magazine on a tablet I think this is unfortunately true. Kids hardly read magazines when I was a kid and I’m sure it’s no better now.

[Mimi Simon]

@Griffin-McPherson I actually loved magazines as a kid but my parents didn't allow tv and video games so I didn't have those things competing with them like most kids do now.

[NessIllustration]

@Julia-Hegetusch Why do you assume magazines will be easier to get than book deals? There are many magazines so the competition is fierce.

[Julia Hegetusch]

@NessIllustration hmm I thought it would be easier as the publishers aren't taking as much of a risk than hiring a beginner illustrator for a whole book. I didn't think about the amount of competition being higher

[davidhohn]

@Julia-Hegetusch You have the right idea. New books tend to come out twice a year -- fall and spring. Publishers are very selective about what titles they acquire for publication, as they keep an eye both on trends and backlist titles. You're right the publisher is taking a much higher risk on brand new illustrators.

Magazines on the other hand come out monthly. And aren't designed to have a long sales tail. Once the new one comes out the old one is effectively gone. They also have multiple stories that need images, as compared to a book's single story. So they need many illustrators per issue. This allows magazines to take greater risks and commission more illustrators.

I can't think why a magazine would have higher competition among contributors than a publisher. In fact, due to the lower pay scale it would likely be less as more established illustrators and authors move out of the magazine market and focus on book publishing.

That said, magazine market is shrinking. And the (as evidenced by comments on these boards) pay is getting worse.

But I loved starting out with Cricket and Spider as my regular clients. Great AD's! So many illustrators I looked up to started with magazines and then moved on to other forms of publishing.

Don't know where you live, but head to your local library and check out some version of the "Writer's and Illustrator's Marketplace" book. Or talk to librarians about what magazines are targeted at children in the country you live in.

[Julia Hegetusch]

@davidhohn thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. I will keep trying to find out about different magazines and try out the library as well.

[NessIllustration]

@davidhohn @Julia-Hegetusch However because book publishers are less likely to take a chance, it takes longer / more pitches to build a connection and get a gig so probably the earlier you start reaching out, the better! Why not hit up both magazines and publishers?

[Coreyartus]

I just listened to a podcast interview with the owner/publisher/art director of Dot and Anorak magazines. They are "high-end" magazines that feature art for children and seem to have found a niche of consumer collectors. They're British. You might check them out.

The idea of magazines seems to hbe shifting to limited edition publications of quarterly issues with higher standards for paper, printing reproduction, and distribution, it seems to me. There are a number of contemporary art magazines, for example, that are on the pricey end. It's clear they're not intended to compete in grocery store aisles.

Dot and Anorak seem to have found their place and appeal to children but also (sometimes more importantly) to adult consumers of children's illustration.

https://anorakmagazine.com/en-us

[Kim Rosenlof]

@Coreyartus Was that podcast from The Illustration Department? If so, I listened to that too. I had no idea that that magazine existed. It was good to see that there is a magazine that is still going strong. I also like that the art director was a champion of illustrators.

[Coreyartus]

@Kim-Rosenlof Yeah, that was the one! It was a very heartening interview! She was a wonderful example of a person who set out to do what she wanted even though it defied convention and it become very successful and noteworthy. Gives me hope!

[kirsten-mcg]

@Julia-Hegetusch Here is a list to try. Not all of them are always open to submissions, but it's always worth checking. You might have to do some digging to find where to submit. If there aren't instructions on the website you can Google the art director and/or editor of these magazines, and try guessing at their email based on other emails for the magazine. (I've used sites like rocketreach.com and hunter.io to find email formats and then just use that with the name I found from my google search).

Anorak
Aquila
ASK Magazine
Bravery
CLICK Magazine
COBBLESTONE Magazine
CRICKET Magazine (There are multiple magazines published by Cricket for different age children, but you submit to one place.)
Ditto
FACES Magazine
HELLO Magazine
HIDDEN PICTURES Magazine
Highlights (High Five is their magazine for younger kids)
Honest History
Illustoria
Kazoo
Mighty Kind
Okido
Storytime
Whizz Pop Bang
CHICKADEE magazine
Kookie
Young and Mindful (Planet Mindful/Teens)
Teen Breathe Magazine
Popshot

[Julia Hegetusch]

@kirsten-mcg oh, great list! Thankyou!! You must have done some heavy research!

[ArtistErin]

@kirsten-mcg This is a great list thank you for doing this research!!!

[Adam Thornton 0]

@Julia-Hegetusch

Hi Julia, I know of Aquila children's magazine.
Took a peek at your website too - really love your artwork!!

Adam
UK.

[Julia Hegetusch]

@Adam-Thornton-0 thanks for the tip