Dear Readers, In 2012, when I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I wanted to create a space where we centered the narratives of parents. Not in the ways we were used to seeing online. I wasn’t interested in the daily documentation of life, of sharing the stories of children without their consent, of selling “stuff” to fill—the parts of you you felt you lost, the parts of you you think you should be, the parts of you left in utter confusion. I didn’t want to take advantage, which unfortunately is central to so much of new parenthood. You have to buy this and this and this and that otherwise you’re not, something. No. Having children actually deepened my curiosity of what makes us, us. Something I’d been drawn to from a young age, listening to the stories my grandmother shared. Listening to the spaces between those stories. Wishing I had more time with her, with a more mature mind to ask her about those spaces. I wanted to make a room for …

Calling all readers, writers, artists, and literary enthusiasts: WE’RE HIRING! Raising Mothers is currently looking to add some dynamic new members to our team! If you or someone you know is Black, Latine(x), Asian, Indigenous and/or a person of color that is also disabled, LGBTQIA2S+ and you are passionate about sharing parenting stories of the global majority, APPLY TODAY. Send samples/portfolio link, resume and cover letter letting us know how you’d contribute to Raising Mothers.  email us at:  HELLO (AT) RAISINGMOTHERS (DOT) COM Note: this is VOLUNTARY. We all work incredibly hard to produce this amazing work. We are also completely remote. EIC lives in Europe and most everyone else is stateside. Artists Create visuals for each published quarterly issue and/or dedicated illustrations for columns. This is open to various styles of artists as we are looking to have a roster, instead of one exclusive artist.  Comics Editor Pitch, solicit and edit comics either in column format or for our issues. Ideally has prior experience. Has a good comic/graphic narrative network of artists of color. Would …

After 6 years it’s our first time entering competitions and I wish the best for each nominee. It feels exceptional because how many literary spaces focus only on Black and brown parent writers talking about that subject? I hope they all place and it was extremely difficult to choose coming off this past year. It was incredibly difficult to choose—but we’re pleased to finally announce our nominees for Best of the Net 2021! Poetry Akua Lezli Hope, “They Are Swimmers“ Anna Limontas-Salisbury, “Some Mothers III“ Janel Cloyd, “In the Land of Milk and Honey We Are Lactose Intolerant and the Bees Are Dying“ JP Howard, “Lullabies for Black Boys“ LaToya Tee Bellamy-Hunter, “She Know (Free Verse)“ Lee Scottlorde, “Softness is your birthright“ Fiction Najah Farley, “We Call Them Destiny: A Birth Story“ Oreoluwa Oladimeji, “The Test of Womanhood“ Nonfiction Tonya Abari, “Backscatter“ Son Trà Nguyen, “The Other Side of Town“ Help us congratulate them all!

Meet our Senior Poetry  Editor, Julia Mallory (she/her). We asked her to share a bit more about herself in a new series we’re running for our editors. Here are Julia’s 10 questions. What are your writing rituals? Generally, I start writing only under the influence of inspiration which means that I have to get started as soon as possible to capture the wave of words while they are still fresh. This could also mean that if I interrupt the flow with any additives, I might miss some of the message as it’s coming to me or even dull the feeling that it’s traveling through.  But, when it’s time to build the writing beyond the initial inspiration or revise the writing, particularly if it feels stuck or slow to come, I might light a candle and/or incense to clear my space and invite clarity or insight. I might also create a soundtrack from existing music to support the world I am building with my words. And if I am really, really stuck? I do something else. I …

Meet our Senior Columns Editor, DW McKinney (she/her). DW is a Black American essayist and interviewer living in Nevada. We asked her to share a bit more about herself in a new series we’re running for our editors. Here are DW’s 10 questions. What are your writing rituals? I have routines more than rituals. I alternate between editorial work and my personal writing in certain genres by day of the week. Wednesdays and weekends are for rest. I don’t listen to music while writing unless I need intense focus (heartbeat recordings) or high energy flows (hip-hop and [t]rap). Who is a writer who inspires you and why? NK Jemisin is amazing at worldbuilding and character development. Her characters are memorable and tangible to who we are in real life. I also love how she weaves cultural and social criticism in her work. She inspires me to dig deeper in my storytelling and to pull up a richness that I cannot yet fathom. What book has a significant influence on you/your writing? I talk about Maya Angelou’s …