Are there any magazines still accepting the memoir-type short story, that would nowadays be trimmed and posted on a blog?
I don't mean the 'I slept with my brother's wife, does that make me a Lesbian?' or 'I'm expecting quads!' type of story, but the rather more gentle, humourous, outtakes on life-type of story.



- NaomiM

The womags might, I suspect- and The People's Friend. That's all I can think of really. Not much help, I know!

N

If it has anything to do with family, then try the family pull out in the Guardian. they have A letter to, Playlist, Snapshot, all of which are memoir based. Also in the Observer or guardian mag (forget which) there's Experience, which requires a more dramatic memoir, a middle class take on having incestuous affairs whilst pregnant with quads.

Or there's Mslexia which I think has a life writying section now, along the lines of What I learned - about a turning point, however subtle. Check that. I may be mis-remembering it, but they do have a soft memoir section.

Susannah

Thanks Nik.


Thanks Susannah, I checked out the Guardian and its Family section does seem to have more the sort of thing I was looking for, although they are still the trimmed versions, but I guess that's newspapers and their column inches for you - I see I'll have to get out the ruler


- NaomiM

Have you considered internet publication? It very rarely pays but there are decent magazines out there with regular readership and decent enough submission policy which means they don't accept just anything.

I don't write the kind of things that you've described, but I've had a few stories published on-line and I think it is a good way to make your work known, even if it isn't at all lucrative. I think there are other WWs who do this - I know Nik has has a couple of memoir type creative non fiction pieces published on un-made-up, which is a good site edited by William Shaw (writes for the Observer). There are other creative non fiction sites were your work might fit - Brevity is one of them.

Jenn

Thanks Jenn.
The thought did cross my mind but putting it on non-paying internet sites didn't seem very different from putting it on a blog, such as ne of the sites run by the national papers - albeit without the kudos.
I will check it out, so thanks again.


- NaomiM