By Jennifer Melnik Childrens magazines were very popular pre 1980s. However, when television and computer games took over, childrens interests refocused. Young imaginations and literacy skills also took a downhill slide and havent yet managed to recover. The importance of magazines, with their variety of stories, short enough to maintain interest, poems and rhyme, colourful illustrations, puzzles, crafts and competitions to captivate and entertain young minds has sadly been forgotten. In the past, childrens magazines originated from the United Kingdom and were distributed worldwide. Today, those available are still mainly published in England and the United States. Sadly Australia is lagging behind in this creative field. Is it because of a lack of interest in publishing or marketing magazines, cost, or a lack of contributors? Surely not a lack of contributors! An annual Australian mentoring competition recently attracted 500 budding childrens story writers and illustrators, all trying to get a foothold into the market! Publishers more often than not have their doors closed to new unknown authors. Traditional publishing is profit driven and new authors have not yet proven themselves as revenue generators, therefore they will not take the risk on them. Heaven forbid the manuscript they turn down might be another Harry Potter that slipped through the net! How then do emerging authors and illustrators get a foot in the door of the competitive publishing world? Self publishing is one way, but is costly. Success is limited unless you are a self-promoting marketing wiz. Partner publishing meets the author/ illustrator halfway, with marketing and publishing costs shared between publisher and author, but is restricted to books. Many magazine publishers are willing to assess and take the risk on new authors. They often publish weekly or monthly, so their needs are ongoing. This gives newcomers a chance to showcase themselves and gives readers a variety of writing styles and ideas to keep their interest. Work by the same limited number of authors becomes very predictable. It is essential that reading material, particularly for children, remains fresh and vital to challenge young minds and is interesting enough to keep their interest. It is also important that children are exposed to non commercial related stories. Stories about popular TV and toy characters are well and good, but shouldnt be promoted and used exclusively to attract sales. Children also need to read stories related to their own culture. Several newly formed Australian childrens magazines are now available, both in hard copy format and online. Online magazines reach a wide audience and the stories and activities can also be selectively printed out.
Bring back the magazines! They are inexpensive and easy to read. Children can look forward to something new each week or month and it encourages parents and children to share reading together. Jennifer Melnik Cherubs OzKids Children's Magazine caters for 4 to 9 year old readers. It showcases emerging Australian authors and illustrators. It also gives teachers, children and parents a chance to colaborate and enjoy together the learning experience of young children.
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