Submission Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing to The Girlhood Home Companion, a publication of Remembrance Press. Before submitting any queries, please acquaint yourself with our submission guidelines and with our magazine. Reviewing an issue or two is a good way to get a feeling for the kinds of articles and photographs we publish.

The Girlhood Home Companion is available from various independent booksellers and online at www.girlhoodhomecompanion.com. Issues may also be purchased by calling (847) 540-1965.

Overview
We are a quarterly publication, with a three month lead-time to publication date. Each issue is based on a specific season (spring, summer, fall, winter) and character quality. For instance, the Summer 2007 issue, “Mothers and Daughters Holding Hands,” was based on the character quality of responsibility. While many articles revolve around the central theme, we are always interested in pieces that mirror our mission and promote the skills of homemaking, cooking, crafting, sewing, and other girlhood pastimes.

A Note on Proposals – All Submissions
Your query gives us an important first impression and also reflects experience and professionalism. A carefully-considered query, whether from a writer, photographer, or illustrator, should begin with a strong lead or “hook,” followed by a few concise paragraphs that answer these questions as they pertain to our publication: Who, What, Where, When, and Why?

Writers
The Girlhood Home Companion only accepts email queries. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, so writers must query first before submitting complete material for consideration. Send queries to editor@remembrancepress.com. Please include a cover letter that details relevant writing experience (links to online clips or scanned copies of print materials are also appreciated). The query itself should begin with a brief summary of the article or poem’s topic, an explanation of the relevance to our readers, and an approximate word count. Please do not submit work that has been previously published; ideas should be fresh and tailored specifically to our publication.

Photographers
The Girlhood Home Companion is interested in lovely photographs that portray our mission and the charm of girlhood. Please query before submitting portfolios and include a cover letter that details previously published work; we will not open unsolicited portfolios. If our editors indicate interest in your concept, your portfolio should be uploaded to www.photobucket.com. Photos should be at least five inches wide and scaled at 300dpi. Please pay strict attention to these guidelines; we cannot use photos that do not meet them.

Illustrators
We will work with illustrators on interpretations of various historical children’s literature and poems. We are also interested in spot illustration. Query with concept and include samples of previously published work.

The Submission Process and Suggestions
Due to the volume of submissions we receive, please allow up to six weeks for a response. Our editors will contact you if we are interested in your material. Terms of publication will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Suggestions for Writers
We are extremely interested in cultivating lasting relationships with skillful and diverse freelance writers. The ability to compose strong features (1,000-2,500 words in length) on assignment will make a writer extremely attractive to our editorial team. Willingness to work with an editor in a professional manner is a must. A clear understanding of the editorial process and the writer-editor dynamic is also very important.

Suggestions for Photographers
Portfolios of historical locations with ties to easily-identifiable literary heroines (such as Green Gables, the setting for L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, or the Walnut Grove home of Laura Ingles Wilder’s Little House Series) are of great interest to us. High-quality shots from an artistic viewpoint are more desirable than photographs that could be taken by the average tourist; we seek depth-of-field shots, overviews from a distance, medium-length views, close-ups of interesting details, indoor and outdoor shots, etc.

Models should wear modest attire and may range from grandmothers to mothers and daughters; we also seek racial diversity and male subjects (brothers, fathers, etc.) to be included in our spreads.

A Note to First-Time Authors
Everyone has to start somewhere! If you believe you have an idea we would like to publish, after reviewing our guidelines and studying our magazine, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line. We are particularly willing to foster the early efforts of young girls who feel a strong propensity towards writing.