Your true stories may be in demand by Chicken Soul For the Soul.
Even if you've never been published before, submit a story. According to Ken & Dahlynn McKowen, co-authors of four Chicken Soup For the Soul books, including Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur’s Soul, “approximately 40% of the stories accepted by Chicken Soup are from unpublished writers.”
If your story is accepted you'll be paid $200, plus 10 copies of the book you're in.
Here are some STORY WRITING TIPS to help you get started, from Chicken Soup for the Soul's own Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Amy Newmark.
I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Amy for her Chicken Soup for the Soul daily podcast and we talked about the transformative power of both writing and reading these stories:
These are the topics Chicken Soup for the Soul is currently accepting stories for (from their Possible Book Topics page) arranged by submission deadline date:
* Teenagers
Callout for writers under age 35.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is excited to announce the 25th anniversary of the release of the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul book. What an amazing 25 years it has been! This book title has sold millions of copies and is still relevant today. In honor of the 25th anniversary, we are rereleasing the original Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, and we are adding 25 new stories!
Chicken Soup for the Soul has always provided support to teenagers from all over the world. We’re collecting up-to-date stories written by teens and men and women under age 35. We want these stories to represent how the world is today for teenagers, and we’re hoping for stories about the pandemic, technology, social media, and other modern-day concerns.
We’re looking for everything, from serious to silly. What was your experience like as a teenager? Did you fit in with the popular crowd, or were you left out? What did you learn about yourself that you can pass on to help another teenager who is growing up today? What kind of humorous or embarrassing things happened to you when you were that age?
Your stories and poems should be written in the first person about something that happened to you or someone close to you. Your stories must be true. Do not change any facts. If you want to change someone’s name or use a pen name, that’s fine, but you need to tell us exactly what you changed. Please try to keep your stories under 1200 words.
Please remember you must be under 35 to have your story considered for this 20th anniversary edition of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.
Here are some suggested topics, but we know you can think of many more:
- Dealing with the pandemic - how COVID changed your life
- Zoom schooling or home schooling
- Lack of contact with friends because of COVID
- Dealing with tough stuff – being teased or bullied or confronting the bully
- Acts of kindness
- Teachers, parents, coaches, and friends who gave you guidance
- Embarrassing moments and funny stories
- Changing schools and being the new kid
- Crushes and dating
- How technology influences your life -- texting, FaceTime, social media, and emailing
- Sibling relationships
- Learning to be comfortable in your own skin
- Doing the right thing even though it was the difficult thing
- Divorce and remarriage – blended families and fitting in
- Best friends and changing best friends
- Body image and eating disorders
- Being an immigrant
- Going through puberty
- Sports and teams
- Having a disability or being different
- Drinking and using drugs and the consequences of those actions
- LGBTQ stories and coming out to friends and family
- Learning to drive and driving stories
- Part-time jobs
- Living in a shelter or housing project
- Going through tough times in terms of finances or health
The deadline for story and poems submissions is DECEMBER 15, 2020.
* Preteens
Callout for writers under age 35.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is excited to announce the 20th anniversary of the release of the Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul book. What an amazing 20 years it has been! This book title has sold millions of copies and is still relevant today. In honor of the 20th anniversary, we are rereleasing the original Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, and we are adding 20 new stories!
Chicken Soup for the Soul has always provided support to preteens from all over the world. We’re collecting up-to-date stories written by preteens, teens, and men and women under age 35. We want these stories to represent how the world is today for preteens, and we’re hoping for stories about the pandemic, technology, social media, and other modern-day concerns.
We’re looking for everything, from serious to silly. What was your experience like as a preteen? Did you fit in with the popular crowd, or were you left behind to eat your peanut butter and jelly in the library? What kind of humorous or embarrassing things happened to you when you were that age?
Your stories and poems should be written in the first person about something that happened to you or someone close to you. Your stories must be true. Do not change any facts. If you want to change someone’s name or use a pen name, that’s fine, but you need to tell us exactly what you changed. Please try to keep your stories under 1200 words.
Please remember you must be under 35 to have your story considered for this 20th anniversary edition of Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul.
Here are some suggested topics, but we know you can think of many more:
- Dealing with the pandemic - how COVID changed your life
- Zoom schooling or home schooling
- Lack of contact with friends because of COVID
- Dealing with tough stuff – being teased or bullied or confronting the bully
- Acts of kindness
- Teachers, parents, coaches, and friends who gave you guidance
- Embarrassing moments and funny stories
- Changing schools and being the new kid
- First crushes
- How technology influences your life -- texting, FaceTime, social media, and emailing
- Sibling relationships
- Learning to be comfortable in your own skin
- Doing the right thing even though it was the difficult thing
- Divorce and remarriage – blended families and fitting in
- Best friends and changing best friends
- Body image and eating disorders
- Being an immigrant
- Going through puberty
- Sports and teams
- Having a disability or being different
The deadline for story and poems submissions is DECEMBER 15, 2020.
Black Women
I’m Speaking Now: Black Women Share Their Truth in 101 Stories of Love, Courage and Hope
Chicken Soup for the Soul is thrilled to announce a new title for Black women, publishing June 1, 2021. Award-winning novelist Breena Clarke will serve as a coauthor for this new Chicken Soup for the Soul book. You may remember her first novel—River, Cross My Heart—an Oprah’s Book Club pick.
It’s been 14 years since Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul came out, so let’s get the world up to date. Now, more than ever, the strong, independent, empowered voices of Black women are being heard loud and clear. Black women are speaking, for themselves and their families, and everyone is listening.
Share your dreams and your triumphs and failures. Write about your lives and community, which have unique challenges not well understood by others. This unique collection of stories will be for readers of all colors. Readers of color will recognize their struggles in these pages, and all readers will benefit from an inside view of Black life in America, Canada, and the diaspora.
We’re looking for everything from the serious to the silly. There will be 101 stories, so we can go wide and deep, and we’d like to share stories from Black women of all ages, from late teens to women in their nineties.
Here are some suggested topics but we know you can think of many more:
- Black Lives Matter
- Raising Black children in a dangerous world
- Intersectionality
- Writing as a Black woman
- Traveling as a Black woman
- Children’s dolls and toys
- Television and films and how they affect you as a Black woman
- The strength of cultural roots and family
- Police brutality, fear
- Institutional racism, redlining, stereotypes
- Inequity and barriers, including voting
- Politics
- Role models and pioneers
- Sisterhood
- Dating and romance — the good, the bad, and the crazy
- Self-image and beauty
- Resilience and excellence
- Overcoming obstacles
- Humorous stories
- Entrepreneurship and making it as a woman
- Inter-racial marriages and relationships
- Stereotypes
- Physical health — how you are bettering yourself through physical activity.
- Mental health — taking care of your mental health just as much as your body
- Self-care — investing time into making yourself feel good, physically and mentally
- Managing finances — budgeting and investing for yourself
- Finding joy and happiness — how you have found JOY in your life.
- Life during the pandemic
- Life lessons — what storms have you been through that made you stronger?
- Sexual harassment/Abuse — how you fought back
- Confidence — coming forward and telling the truth, like it is, regardless of the consequences
- Self-esteem — understanding that you are terrific and can do anything
- Being brave enough to take educated risks
- Girls and women in sports — at school, college, professionally, Olympics
- Women in what used to be considered men's roles/jobs/occupations
- Thinking outside the box
- Becoming a role model or mentor for other women
- What role models helped you?
- Speaking up for your rights
- Balancing marriage, kids and your own independence
- Following your passion
- Volunteering and giving back
Write about your truth, your everyday and your milestones, and your feelings. As Breena says, "Come ahead with your story. Tell it straight, tell it slant, tell it loudly or softly. Speak up now."
The deadline for story and poem submissions is JANUARY 15, 2021 but submissions will be reviewed as they come in, so please don’t wait until the deadline.
* Eldercare
Eldercare on an ongoing basis is a very difficult task, whether the care is in your home, the person’s home, or an outside facility. Eldercare requires the caregiver to be patient, kind, compassionate and giving. And having a little humor doesn’t hurt! Are you providing eldercare for a spouse, partner, or sibling due to dementia, chronic illness, permanent physical or mental disabilities, or just plain old age? Did you move in with an older family member to care for him or her? Are you part of the “sandwich” generation—caring for a parent and a child at the same time?
Think of this book as a portable support group to help others. Everyone needs support, and sometimes we feel so alone when we’re caring for elderly family members who are living a new normal. We are looking for true stories that show our readers how lives and relationships change when eldercare becomes necessary. They will provide practical advice, encouragement, insight and support.
By the way, we are in awe of professional caregivers, but we are only seeking stories from family members providing eldercare for this particular book.
Here are some suggested topics, but we know you can think of many more:
• Accepting the new reality
• Recognizing when eldercare is necessary
• Convincing the person that he or she needs help
• Moving day
• Cleaning out the old residence
• Meeting the challenges of everyday life
• Making important decisions
• Finding the blessings and gratitude in eldercare
• Dealing with the physical changes
• Dealing with the rollercoaster ride of emotions
• Reactions from the outside world
• Reacting to personality changes
• Asking others for help
• Coping with the stress
• Taking care of yourself, too, and your marriage and other relationships
• The lighter side – and there will be some funny moments!
The deadline for story and poem submissions is JANUARY 30, 2021.
* Counting Your Blessings
Gratitude is one of the keys to happiness. Even during the toughest times, if we can find our gratitude and count our blessings we feel better. Back in 2009, when we were going through a deep recession, Chicken Soup for the Soul received thousands of stories from people who were still counting their blessings and finding their joy. Those stories became the bestselling book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings.
With today’s worries about contracting disease, joblessness, and rampant divisiveness we thought it was time to revisit this topic. We’re not sure of the title for our next book about counting your blessings, but we’re sure a new collection of stories is appropriate for 2021.
Please share your stories about handling challenges in your life, finding the silver linings, and counting your blessings, whether the challenges you are facing are COVID-19 related or other kinds.
Stories can be serious or funny, but definitely should be inspirational and heartwarming. Attitude adjustments, finding contentment and gratitude, a new way of handling your daily life, and other great ideas to inspire readers to find their own paths to happiness and to remember to count their blessings every day are what we are looking for.
Here are a few suggested topics:
• How do you count your blessings?
• How do you express your gratitude for your blessings?
• How does doing good for others become a blessing in your own life?
• What made you realize that your life is good and that you are grateful?
• Silver linings in the midst of challenging events
• Turning lemons into lemonade
• How do you spread the message of gratitude to your family and friends?
• The joy of simple pleasures
• The unexpected benefits of health challenges or other life changes
• Triumph over tragedy
• Managing financial problems
• Turning negative into positive and the lessons learned from the change
• Adjusting your attitude and seeing aspects of your life in a new way
• Learning to be grateful
• Experiencing contentment with things just the way they are
• Handling economic challenges
• Handling health challenges
• Handling the challenge of grieving
• Family challenges including divorce, death, substance abuse, mental illness, eldercare, disabilities
• Affirmations
• Gratitude journals and other methods for training your brain to be grateful
• Going back to basics, enjoying the simple things
• Downsizing and rightsizing; cleaning out all the stuff and donating it
• Volunteering and charity work; donations
• Approaching each day with a positive attitude
• What worked for you to turn around your attitude or that of your loved ones
The deadline for submissions is FEBRUARY 28, 2021.
* Cats
Our cat titles are so very popular, and you have so many great stories to share with us, that we do a new cat title every eighteen months or so. Here is another chance for you to share a story or two about that member of your family who just happens to walk on four feet for our 2021 book!
We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1,200 words. Tell us about your cat. Tell us how he made you smile. How she "rescued" you after you "rescued" her. How she brought your family closer together, helped you find love, inspired you to change something in your human life. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both. We can’t wait to read all the heartwarming, inspirational, and hysterical stories you have about your cats!
***Please note: If you submitted a story or poem for a previous Chicken Soup for the Soul cat book and it was not published, here's your chance to submit it again to be considered for this new book. If you submitted a story that was published in a previous cat book, please do not submit it.
The deadline for story and poem submission is FEBRUARY 28, 2020.
* Angels
Angels and miracles are all around us if we keep our eyes open. Have you experienced a divine intervention, answered prayer, or other miraculous occurrence courtesy of someone you think just might have been an angel. Do you have a guardian angel who seems to swoop in and help you when you need it?
We are looking for true personal stories about how an angel has touched your life – stories of true wonder and awe from people who have directly encountered or received help from angels. We’re looking for amazing stories that will make people say “wow” or give our readers chills. Have you experienced something otherworldly or celestial? Or had a personal experience with an angel or divine being? How did your angel manifest himself or herself to you? Were you the only person who saw your angel? How did your angel protect or guide you?
We are looking for stories, and poems that tell a story, from writers of all faiths. This includes writers who do not follow a particular religion. This book is by and for everyone.
Please note that we are not looking for stories about people who are “angels” because they do nice things, and also please do not submit eulogies about a loved one who has died and is now an “angel.”
Here are some possible topics to help you remember your own great angel story:
• Angel visitations
• Angel protection
• Guardian angels
• Messages from an angel
• Prayers answered by an angel
• Receiving support from angels or spirits
• Angel intervention
• Receiving guidance or lessons from angels
• Interactions with angels
• Receiving news or warnings from angels
• Mysterious helpers
• Unexplained healing
• Rescue from accidents or disasters
• Being saved from death
• Voices that spoke to you and helped you
• Love that doesn’t die
• Mysterious visitors
• Restoring faith because of an angel
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
1. If you submitted a story or poem to a previous Chicken Soup for the Soul title about angels and it was not published, please feel free to submit it again if you think it's a terrific story.
2. Do not submit a story or poem that Chicken Soup for the Soul already published, even if it was published in a book about a different topic.
3. If you submitted an angel story or poem to the Miracles & Divine Intervention title, there's no need to submit it again. It will be considered for this title, too.
The deadline for submissions is MARCH 31, 2020.
* Tough Times
The world has been going through an upheaval unlike anything we have experienced in our lifetimes. Because of the pandemic, our way of life has completely changed. Things we used to take for granted are no longer available to us. We have had to overcome obstacles and adversities we never dreamed of having to do. Many people have lost their lives, their jobs, their homes, or at least are having to make drastic changes and cutbacks.
Tough times won’t last but tough people will. We are looking for stories about how you have been affected and how you and your loved ones are handling the changes in your life. We’re looking for the ups and downs, so share the tough times but also the silver linings, the unexpected blessings, and resilience and gratitude that you have discovered in yourself and the people close to you.
We’re also looking for stories about tough times unrelated to the pandemic. Are you going through other challenges that have nothing to do with the pandemic, such as health crises, loss of loved ones, personal challenges, family issues, job loss and economic upheaval? When we published a book in 2009 called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People we ended up with about half the stories being directly related to the impact of the recession that was occurring at that time. The other stories were about tough times in general. It was a great mix of advice and comfort for our readers.
Here are some general ideas for story topics but we know you can think of many more:
• Dealing with Covid-19
• Economic troubles/loss of a business or a job
• Death, grieving and healing
• Chronic disease and serious illnesses
• Accepting the new norms and living with them
• Stay-at-home self-quarantine changes to the usual routine
• Zoom schooling and home-schooling challenges and perks
• Finding pleasures in simple things
• The value of family and friends
• The silver linings during tough times
• The power of positive thinking
• Changes in vacation and travel plans
• Taking and making time for the simpler things
• Working from home instead of going to the office
• Counting your blessings
• Returning to old values and pastimes
• How did your children or grandchildren change and grow as a result of this?
• What lessons from the pandemic can you apply to other parts of your life?
• What other issues were you dealing with at the same time as the pandemic and did that give you perspective?
• Did you improve as a person? How and why?
• Did you have family issues with some people wanting to practice social distancing and others not? How did you handle that?
• Celebrating milestone events such as birthdays, weddings and graduations during the pandemic
Please do not submit stories that argue against good health practices, social distancing, and wearing masks. Those will be deleted.
The deadline for story and poem submission is MARCH 31, 2020.
* Christmas Stories
Everyone loves holiday stories and our contributors write great ones. They are so good that we create a new edition for the holiday season every year. We are now collecting stories for our HOLIDAY 2021 book and we are looking for stories about the entire December holiday season, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year’s festivities too.
The rituals of the holiday season give a rhythm to the years and create a foundation for our lives. Were your traditions and celebrations different this year? Were you able to gather with family, go to church, attend holiday parties and share the special spirit of the season, brightening those long winter days. Please share your special stories about the holiday season with us. Be sure that they are “Santa safe” so that we don’t spoil the magic for precocious readers!
If your story was published in a previous Christmas book please do not submit it again. If you submitted a story and we did not publish it and it will fit in this book, please do submit it again.
The deadline date for story and poem submissions is MAY 15, 2021. This book will be released for the holidays - 2021.
Hooked on Hockey
If you love hockey, if you play hockey, if you are a hockey fan, we are looking for stories from you! We are looking for stories for this book written by and for hockey fans and families. The book will include stories from everyday hockey players and fans like you, as well as revealing personal stories from some of your favorite NHLers and hockey insiders. The deadline for story and poems submissions is January 30, 2012.
