Got a story? We're always fishing for them!

The Saint Paul Almanac is always looking for unique Saint Paul stories. Whether you're a professional writer or writing for the first time, you've got something to say, and we're interested in reading and publishing it.

Some ideas
• what happened to me in Saint Paul
• a love letter to Saint Paul
• what I hate about Saint Paul
• humorous weather forecasts for Saint Paul
• the lost Saint Paul
• my winter carnival experience
• a Saint Paul puzzler
• a favorite place in Saint Paul (now or in the past)
• childhood memories of Saint Paul
• a favorite organization or business in Saint Paul (now or in the past)
• your family's experience growing food in Saint Paul
• getting lost in Saint Paul
• your experience as an immigrant to Saint Paul
• the rivers and creeks of Saint Paul
• the parks of Saint Paul
• Saint Paul after midnight
• weird work in Saint Paul
• your favorite Saint Paul teacher (now or in the past)
• special trails and hikes in Saint Paul
• birding and wildlife watching in Saint Paul
• the State Fair (now or in the past)

Please send us your stories of 650 words or fewer. We pay small stipends on publication.

Thank you for wishing to participate in the Saint Paul Almanac's experiment in democratic publishing. We eagerly await your submission, and we are grateful for your willingness to shape it to the publication's needs. Please read the writer's guidelines in the right column for further information on the content, tone, and format of submissions.

Submission deadline for 2011 Almanac
March 31st, 2010

WHERE TO SEND YOUR STORY
Kimberly Nightingale, Editor

Via E-mail: stories@saintpaulalmanac.com

Via Mail:
Saint Paul Almanac
PO Box 16243
Saint Paul, MN 55116.

We receive hundreds of submissions every year, and we read each one carefully. To help you understand the Almanac's format, please keep the following points in mind:

Make it personal
Daily and weekly newspapers and tv/radio news provide Saint Paulites with plenty of straight news and dry facts. What the Almanac is looking for is something much more personal. For example, we are more interested in a story on your reactions to the Saint Paul Saints' season than in one on the Saints—after all, we can open the sports page and find that. If you write about a Saint Paul person, make it clear to readers why this person deserves their attention. Similarly, if you work for an organization, don't just tell us about the organization—describe why working there is so fun or meaningful or challenging to you.

Be specific
It's the bright particulars that give stories their charm and uniqueness. Help your readers see, hear, touch, taste, and smell the experiences you're writing about. Specifics help you tell your story.

Don't advertise
The Almanac is published by a non-profit organization. We don't take advertisements, and we don't publish them in the guise of stories. If you want to sing the praises of your favorite bartender or grocery store, dig a little deeper—our readers want a living profile of a person or place.

Stay within word counts
One of the Almanac's goals each year is to publish the broadest and deepest possible range of writers. For this reason, we must limit the length of pieces, and we may have to further limit them through careful copyediting. Most of our selections are 300 words (or fewer) or 650 words (or fewer). If you want to submit a longer piece, please contact the editor by e-mail first and describe the piece you want to submit. We will let you know if you should send the longer piece or not.

Be frisky
Have you written a poem, lyrics to a song, or a short scene that you'd like to submit? Essays aren't the only things we publish—we're happy to look at other formats, including graphic fiction.

Remember that we're in this together
Just as you bring unique experience to the submission you send us, we bring something unique to publishing the Almanac's selections. Your and our work is a collaboration. We may need to tighten or shorten what you've sent us; we may need to ask you to rewrite or add something to it. Please don't think of such editing as criticism of your writing—it is not. Editors are the midwives to your words, helping them to be born into the world of a specific publication.

Help us keep our costs down
Formatting selections is expensive. If you believe in and want to support the Almanac, please help us keep our expenses down by submitting your contributions this way:

1. Put your name and the title of your submission on the left instead of centered.
2. Double-space your lines.
3. After the period at the end of a sentence, use only a single space (not two spaces) before you begin another sentence.
4. When you e-mail us your submission, please give the file a title that uses your last name, and then one or two words to describe the contents—for example, GraysonMoundPark.doc
5. Include a short (50 words or fewer) biography at the end of your submission.