kids write

Interview with Gerry Mandel
Editor, STONE SOUP MAGAZINE

One of the true veterans of magazines for children by children is STONE SOUP MAGAZINE. The magazine has a wonderful website where you can read stories, poetry, and book reviews from back issues. You can also see how the covers have changed through the years. It's really a great place to get to know the magazine. STONE SOUP runs six issues a year and uses young people for both writing and illustrating -- it is available by submissions but can also be found in quite a few bookstores. I've been known to nab a copy from my local Borders.

We caught busy editor Gerry Mandel and chatted a bit about this wonderful magazine.

KMW: I see you get about 250 submissions a week (phew)...do they tend to cluster around any specific age range?
GM: Our age range is 8 to 13.

KMW: How are you even able to read that many? Do you have readers?
GM: My assistant screens the submissions, so I usually read about half of them myself. My routine is to read submissions while I eat my lunch. I can read around 40 submissions in an hour.

KMW: What are some of your criteria for the stories and poetry you choose?
GM: We look for stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and a point to make; stories we would want to read over and over again; stories with good descriptions of people and places; and stories with dialogue that sounds like real people talking.

KMW: How many kids do reviews for your right now?
GM: We send out about 100 books a year to young reviewers.

KMW: Your process of choosing illustrators sounds a lot like the process adult illustrators go through -- do you find it harder to get enough good illustrators than good writers?
GM: No. Our illustrator file typically has 50-75 illustrators in it. We use 7 or 8 illustrators per issue, and we use our favorite illustrators over and over again.

KMW: Since you get 250 writing subs a week -- how many illustrator subs do you average?
GM: About 10 a week.

KMW: Can you tell us a little about the early days of STONE SOUP? I know readers love knowing how magazines have grown and changed.
GM: STONE SOUP was started by a group of college students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1973. William Rubel and I were part of that group. The idea grew out of a Saturday morning art program, where children from the community would come up to the campus for various art and writing classes taught by college students. We were 19 years old when we started STONE SOUP.

KMW: You offer a huge amount on your website (I loved looking at your book covers -- I remembered some of those covers) -- has your flood of submissions increased since you went online?
GM: We do not accept e-mail submissions. Our level of submissions has been fairly steady for the last several years.

KMW: How has the Internet affected STONE SOUP?
GM: The Internet makes it easier for us to share STONE SOUP with children and adults in other countries. It also makes ordering STONE SOUP easier for both the subscribers and for us.

KMW: Can you tell anything about the future of STONE SOUP?
GM: We celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2003 and hope to continue publishing for many years.

KMW: Do you foresee any changes?
GM: We're always looking for ways to make STONE SOUP better. We'd love to expand and streamline our Web site, maybe in 2005.

This page last updated on 01 December 2004