Call for Submissions: Motherwell

Motherwell is a Webby Award-winning online publication that tells all sides of the parenting story, with original content on family life, culture, obstacles and the process of overcoming them. Additionally, every day we curate the best, most interesting, and most thought-provoking parenting-related content across our social media platforms. We also offer editorial services and a curated platform, Motherwell Books, entirely devoted to showcasing the best parenting reads.

At Motherwell, we believe that modern parenting is a complicated entity and, as such, every single mom and dad out there has a unique voice that can contribute to our understanding of it. This means we feel strongly about showcasing a full spectrum of parenting experiences, but also that we do not shy away from conflicting perspectives.

The idea of a well conjures up images of community, of depth, of the essential nature of water. Motherwell is exactly this: a place for parents to gather, to think deeply and, hopefully, it is a community that you will keep coming back to, over and over again, for sustenance.

Current calls for submissions:

Parenting and Food. Our ongoing column, we are looking for stories that delve into all the ways in which these two areas of life can intersect. Interpretations might include: cultivating cooking skills with your kids; body image around pregnancy; raising picky or limited eaters; managing food allergies; coping with weight concerns, at either end of the spectrum. Completed essays only and please include word count (we tend to cap at 1,200).

Motherwell Books. We’re currently looking for posts related to reading and writing, themed book lists (e.g. for new moms, parenting teens, empowering girls), and articles and essays that are centered around a parenting book (or books) that aren’t your own. Please familiarize yourself with our site and the vertical before submitting and include word count (we tend to cap at 1,200).

Holidays as a Parent. We’d love to invite submissions about what the holidays (e.g. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving) mean to you and your family. Or anything regarding how they make you feel about being a parent. We are open to a range of formats and lengths: personal essays, humor pieces, listicles, anecdotes, etc. All formats welcome and please include a word count (we tend to cap at 1,200).

For all other submissions:

Motherwell is a publication that tells all sides of the parenting story. We accept work on a variety of parenting-related themes—culture, family life, obstacles and the process of overcoming them. We have two streams of writing on the site:

Paid opportunities for selected, original articles—either personal essays or perspective pieces.

An additional platform where we collect other pieces: syndicated and sponsored posts, shorter essays and alternative formats, including videos, graphic memoirs, lists, poetry, etc. These are unpaid.

We are unfortunately unable to give individual feedback on submissions, but we do offer personally tailored editorial services.

For time-sensitive articles, please continue to use Submittable but indicate ‘timely’ in the subject line. 

Submit your work here.