Contact
Are you a local writer interested in topics that relate to family life here in the Bay Area? Are you a professional wishing to write on topics you feel are important for young families? If so, please send an email to our editor, including two story ideas, a short introduction of yourself and a list of previously published work or blog, if applicable. Send your email to newsletter@ggmg.org.

Golden Gate Mothers Group Newsletter
The Golden Gate Mothers Group (GGMG) newsletter is targeted to mothers of children five years and younger who live in San Francisco. It is a 40-page full-color newsletter published 10 times per year. July-August and December-January are combined issues.

Our Readers?
We have a circulation of approximately 4000 newsletters per month. Our readers receive the newsletter free as part of their yearly membership to the GGMG and generally are mothers of children from infancy to early school years. Most are first-time mothers with a child under 18 months of age. They are well educated and most of them work, striving to do the best for their children, even as they juggle busy lives and home. They come from 71 different zip codes in the Bay Area and beyond. They expect the GGMG newsletter to give them practical no-nonsense parenting advice, as well as local family travel, health and education ideas.

What We Are Looking For
We are looking for writers who are conscientious and fact-check their work, for writers who do not write to advertise their business but write to inform our readers in an objective manner.

Our articles range from short features on specific topics (between 500 and 1,000 words) to longer investigative journalism pieces (1,500 to 2,500 words) based on real-life experience and solid research to present all angles of an issue. We tackle controversial topics, as well as more classic ones, as long as they are well-documented and inspiring. Humor is always a plus, particularly if it helps convey sensitive points. We expect from our writers that they:

• Talk to three local sources considered authorities on the topic at hand.
• Perform all the legwork for the reader and list resources (web and non-web), answering the obvious questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How much? Whom can I call? What's the number?
• Always use local, real-life situations and people to illustrate your topic.

We generally do not run first-person or personal essays unless they are unusually compelling or humorous.

We focus primarily on:

• Bay Area activities and topics, particularly San Francisco (local resources for mothers and fathers)
• Occasionally Northern California (weekend getaways) or Southern California (theme parks, Disneyland, etc.) travel pieces
• Child-related topics (nutrition, health, behavior, travel, education, safety, crafts, activities, routines and milestones, etc.)
• Mom-related topics (travel, health, lifestyle, estate planning, parenting, going out, hobbies, etc.)
• Reviews (books for children, DVDs, music CDs, restaurants, neighborhoods, etc.)

For a list of previously published work, check the Newsletter Archive.

What We Are About
Our goal is to make our readers' everyday lives easier by anticipating the sort of information they want, identifying and sifting through available resources and synthesizing information so they can just read it and go. We strive to present unique stories that readers won't find in any other local publication.

Our Writing Approach
Our readers may have only five minutes over a slice of toast to glance at the newsletter, so we want to use an easy-to-read, accessible tone, but also pack plenty of punch into the few words we write. Through our articles, we want our readers to feel understood, supported and empowered to make healthy parenting and life choices.

We Are a Non-Profit
We do not pay our writers, but we will include a short biography at the end of your piece, along with a website or blog, if applicable, where members can reach you.

Deadlines and Submissions
Non-seasonal feature articles and columns are due on the 15th of the month, two months prior to the publication date (so articles for the September issue are due on July 15, for example).

Once your topic has been approved, please submit your article to copyeditor@ggmg.org with a creative title/headline suggestion and brief biography. Please submit your article as a Word attachment.

Unsolicited Articles
We will consider unsolicited articles but we have very limited space. We encourage writers, especially local ones, who feel strongly that they have a story for the Bay Area to send us a query/outline.

Contacting Us
Contact us via email at newsletter@ggmg.org.