Letters to Our Children: 

Parenting  can be poignant. It can be entertaining, frustrating, heartbreaking and  fulfilling. For some, it can be out of reach, and for others, laced  with painful loss. In the many moments, we are sometimes left without  the answers, without the words to express exactly what we wish our  children could know - about how we feel about them, how we miss them,  how we cherish and cheer for them. Letters to Our Children (tentative  title) seeks creative nonfiction essays that explore all of the things  we wish we could have said to our children - those we love, those who  have grown, those we have lost, those we wish we could have known. What  did we wish for them? What would we apologize for? How do we help them  through trauma? How do they make us proud? What if we never met them at  all? What do we like best about them? What moments would we handle  differently? What advice did we give that was really, really bad? What  small moments sparked joy or humor?

Essays  should be first person and bring readers on a journey, encouraging  emotional, visual or visceral connection to your experience. Essays  should be between 2,000-4,000 words, original work, and writers will be paid $.02 per  word and a complimentary copy of the book. Essays should not have been previously published or written with AI assistance.

By February 15, 2025,  please email your essay and your name, mailing address, phone number,  preferred email address, and a 100-150 word biographical statement. Notification of acceptance will be sent by April 15, 2025. All submitted work must be previously unpublished. There may be an editing and revision process.