StarLight Magazine Writers Guidelines, Themes, and Style Guide – Christian Children's Magazine

Whether you are looking for an opportunity to be published or are established and are inspired to contribute, we welcome you!

Browse our previous issues!

Our publications are for elementary aged children to nurture a love of reading and a love for our Lord. Content is in agreement with a traditional Christian world-view.

Magazine

Seasonal digital magazine in two formats, Flipbook and Dynamic to nurture and encourage!

Fiction for ages 5-7
Fiction for ages 8-10
Devotion
Child-friendly retelling of a Bible story
Poems
Biography of a notable Christian figure
Short Bible quizzes
Bible Trivia
Creature Feature – facts about amazing creatures
The Heavens Declare – interesting facts about heavenly bodies
Creation Trivia – short nonfiction about animals or plants

Printable activity pages filled with Magazine, Bible and Book themed content! Whether the Companion or Stella’s Bonus, this is every month!

Puzzles
Crosswords
Word search
Coloring pages
Dot-to-Dot
Mazes
And more!

Companion and Stella’s Bonus

Submission:

Generally, anything about books and reading for younger children, Bible stories and trivia, stars and other heavenly bodies, plants and animals.

Here are some starters…

Winter Issue – December 1 – winter, snow, snow people, Christmas, new reading habits, holiday fun, simple kid-friendly Christmas recipes, birth of Christ, NO SANTA, please.

Spring Issue – March 1 – spring, Easter, Lent, new life in Christ, baby animals, birds, flowers, new ideas, new friends, new siblings (whether by birth or adoption), the Days of Creation, God’s gift of color in nature and in humankind.

Summer Issue – June 1 – Summer, vacations, fun in the sun, summer sports teams and games, beach time, camping adventures, icy treats, places to visit on family vacations, pets (personal photos welcomed), favorite books, library visits, park visits.

Fall Issue – September 1 – back to school, learning new things, fall season, new skills (like tying shoes, telling time, jumping rope, writing their name, learning multiplication facts, riding a bicycle), starting the new school year, new friends, new siblings, new schools, learning new things, generosity, blessings, Thanksgiving Day celebrations, giving thanks, simple kid-friendly Thanksgiving recipes.

Fiction – Stories of 500 words or less, aimed at children 5 – 7 years old. Also, stories of 800 – 1000 words, aimed at children 8 – 10 years old.

Stories should:

Be about experiencing and learning in daily life.
Portray a variety of ethnicities and abilities.
NOT be fairytales or fantasies, romances or crushes, Santa-themed.

Stories can:

(For younger children) have animals instead of children as characters.
Be historical fiction. Include a list of your sources.
Be futuristic or science fiction (no demons or sorcery). For science facts include a list of your sources.

Devotions – No longer than 300 words, including a short Scripture verse, and a short prayer. We use the NLT.

Retelling of Bible Stories – The story should be no more than 800 words in length. It should be true to the Biblical account, but can take some literary license to include dialogue, names of specific characters, etc. These are primarily for younger children. Please read the parables in our previous issues.

For our 2025 we are accepting retellings of stories about the patriarchs.

Poems – Poems should be no longer than 12 lines. A wide variety of topics are acceptable. Capitalize in poems as follows. The first word of the first line of each verse or stanza is capitalized. Succeeding lines of each verse are capitalized only if they begin new sentences.

Short Fillers – Quotes from children’s authors or poets. Quotes from notable Christians. Bible Trivia. Science Trivia.

Creature Feature – send no more than 200 words about an unusual animal, or surprising traits of familiar animals from a Creationist’s viewpoint.

The Heavens Declare – 200 words about a single heavenly body (a star, constellation, planet, black hole, galaxy, etc.) Write from a Creationist’s viewpoint.

Please click on the Artwork Submissions tab for our printable puzzles, games, and coloring pages.

All manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced (do NOT hit hard returns between lines), 11 or 12-point type, New Times Roman or Arial font, black print.

Author’s name, address, phone number, email address, website address, social media links, type of submission, and word count should be on the first page, top left-hand corner (single spaced).

All pages should be numbered.

Email all submissions as attachments to editor@starlightmagazine.com. Put “Submission” in the subject line.

Use the New Living Translation of Scripture. (NLT)

Reading levels: articles for older students should be on a 3^rd/4^th grade reading level. Articles for younger students can be on a 1^st grade level OR on a level that adults can read to younger children (much like a picture book.)

Capitalize all references to God, Christ, Holy Spirit including pronouns.

Be consistent in your use of numbers and number words. If you use digits, use them consistently throughout the manuscript. Do not spell out dates or other serial numbers. Write them using digits, such as:

August 9, 2019

Rule 3

When dates or other serial numbers occur in dialogue it is best to spell them out, such as:

“We arrived on June twenty-fifth,” she said.

“Please read Chapter Three.”

Capitalize in poems as follows:

The first word of the first line of each verse or stanza is capitalized.

Succeeding lines of each verse are capitalized only if they begin new sentences.

We value your contributions toward both our online magazine and the printables which we send with every issue AND on the months between issues. Our magazine is a full-color, online publication. The printables are a collection of mazes, puzzles, pencil & paper games, and coloring pages. Please add your name and website or logo in a footer.

We accept high-resolution (at least 300 dpi) funny or cute photos of pets in jpg or png files. Compress large files in a zip. These should be your personal property – not downloaded online. Please include permission for us to use the photos in the body of your email.

PRINTABLES:

Bible quizzes on specific events, people, or stories in Scripture.

Quizzes or puzzles on godly character traits. Send two files – one with blanks, one with answers.

Puzzles can also specifically relate to Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Year’s, or the beginning of the school year.

We also use original, thematic, seasonal, and holiday coloring pictures, dot-to-dot pictures, and color-by-number pictures in pdf format. Do not send material you find on the Internet.

Any questions? Helen would be pleased to work with you. Please feel free to drop her a line at design@starlightmagazine.com.

We require both electronic and print exclusive rights for 12 months after publication.
At this time StarLight Magazine is a non-paying market.
All submissions accepted for inclusion are subject to editing.

At StarLight Magazine, we aim to inspire children ages 5–10 with engaging content that shines God’s truth through captivating stories and fun activities. Our mission is to share faith-filled messages rooted in Bible truths, bring delight through creative fiction, and spark curiosity with fascinating facts about God’s creation and influential Christians throughout history.

As a contributor, you play a vital role in making this vision come to life! We’re looking for submissions that brim with excitement, humor, and adventure, all from a Christ-centered perspective. Your work should both intrigue young readers and reassure parents that the content is uplifting and faith-driven.

Ready to share your creativity? Send your submissions as attachments to editor@starlightmagazine.com, with “Submission” in the subject line. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Receipt of Submission – We will respond with receipt of your submission and will let you know in advance in which issue your contribution will appear.

Please feel free to connect directly with

Jean at editor@starlightmagazine.com or

Helen Jimmie at design@starlightmagazine.com.

Together in His grace.