About Us
Literary Mama publishes work that honors the journey and the job of mothering. For over two decades, we have sought to explore and interrogate the physical, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual experiences of motherhood.
We celebrate an inclusive understanding of motherhood as experienced through diverse lenses and bodies and welcome perspectives that challenge readers’ assumptions and values about motherhood. We’re excited to publish work that crosses boundaries of race, gender, sexuality, culture, religion, age, disability, and/or economic status and encourage contributions that build community.
We take pride in working with and publishing new, emerging, and established writers. Because we value excellent art, we work with each contributor in an intensive editorial review process that aims to respect voice and intention.
We publish six issues a year. Each issue features creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, literary reflections, book reviews, and profiles. Our blog supports mother writers with motivational essays, craft-related resources, and calls for submissions. Our newsletter updates readers on our latest work. Our podcast, This Mama Is Lit!, features interviews with mama writers. To learn more, visit our Staff, Contributors, and Submissions pages.
Literary Mama prohibits discrimination and harassment against any member, officer, applicant, or artist submitter on the basis of sex, disability, race, age, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, marital or familial status, medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical characteristics, criminal record, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.
Our History
We invite you to enjoy this interactive timeline that celebrates over twenty years of Literary Mama. Since 2002, more than 110 volunteers and 2,000 contributors have given their time and talent to help our publication celebrate mothers everywhere.
Literary Mama started to take shape in 2002 in Amy Hudock’s class called “Writing About Motherhood” taught in Berkeley, California. A group of mothers continued meeting at the conclusion of the class, and within months, connected with other mother writers who, like them, were producing work that was deemed too complex for glossy parenting magazines and too mother-centric for traditional literary journals.
The group decided to found their own online magazine, a home both for their own writing and for the kind of writing they wanted to read. They published several issues of Books and Babies: Writing about Motherhood Literary Web Zine in the spring of 2003, launched Literary Mama that fall, and published an anthology in 2006.
The spirit behind the founding group’s efforts continues at Literary Mama today. Our current staff includes people from across the United States, Canada, and all corners of the world working to share voices and experiences of motherhood.
Read our full history as written by Caroline Grant, one of Literary Mama’s former editors-in-chief, and thoughts from other staff members who participated in our Celebrating Ten Years blog series.