Your one life is worth noticing.
Commonplace is a publication of the quotidian; a gathering place for what is beautiful and good in your ordinary, everyday life. We invite you to share!
Attentiveness to the goodness of God is always a worthy practice. Itโs our hope that the exercise of writing, drawing, and photographing the beauty of the commonplace will give you a sweet awareness that your ordinary matters.
Submissions by women of all Christian faith traditions are welcome. As an Anabaptist ministry, our aim is to publish works that represent the values and vision of this tradition. Content will be selected accordingly.
2025 THEMES
- January: Seasons of Sabbath
- May: Rhythms and Habits
- September: Preservation
"Preservation" Submissions are Open June 1 - July 1.
Before making your submission, please review our Content Guidelines, which include specifications for things like article length, formatting, and photography and artwork specifications.
COMMONPLACE, VOLUME 8
About the Preservation Issue
Our era is one of constant memory preservation. We snap photos on our phones, film cameras, and Polaroids. We are quick to video a precious or funny moment at a family gathering. Our generation is known as the ones who are often so eager to record memories that we miss out on the things themselves.
While photos are part of preservation, we also preserve traditions, food, and antiques. We save, refurbish, and find new ways of using old things, in order to preserve them. We pass down our faith and stories to our
families. We avoid waste.
In this issue, we are taking the time to look at how and what we preserve, and why it is valuable. What is important to you to preserve? How are you doing it? What do you wish had been preserved before you? This edition of Commonplace will be a collection of the stuff of life that is worth preserving, and the ways we keep it for ourselves or others.
For a full overview of this issue's theme, and the type of content we are seeking, please review the content brief below.
Two Special Sharing Opportunities in This Issue!
-
โIf I Only Had One Photoโ Challenge
SUBMIT YOUR ONE PHOTO HERE!Most of us have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos capturing special memories in our lives. This challenge invites you to think of one such moment/person/experience, and pick one favorite picture of it. Share a single image that fulfills the prompt "If I could only have one photo of my ___, it would be this one". It could be a photo of your parents or grandparents, your wedding day, your childhood, your child, etc. If your image is accepted, you will receive a discount code for this issue when it releases in September.
-
Share an Heirloom Family Recipe
SHARE YOUR HEIRLOOM RECIPEWe're defining "heirloom recipes" as ones that have their origins at least one generation ago, and which you love to prepare for your own family today. What's that beloved dish that has been handed down through your family? Maybe it was Grandma's pie crust, mom's buttermilk biscuits, or Great-Uncle-Sam's homemade ice-cream. You may share more than one, and include photos if you like. If your recipe is chosen for print, you will receive a discount code for this issue when it releases in September.
Ready? We can't wait to see what you have to share! Submissions for the Preservation issue are open until July 1.
published content
Compensation Tiers
Articles
Articles: $40 cash/$50 shop credit, and a free copy of issue (you pay shipping).
Poetry
Poetry: $25 cash/$30 shop credit and a free copy of issue (you pay shipping).
Photo Series
Photo Series: $40 cash/$50 shop credit, and a free copy of the issue.
Artwork
- One illustration: $30 cash or $40 shop credit, and a free copy of the issue.
- Two illustrations: $50 cash or $60 shop credit, and a free copy of the issue.