"The Saturday Evening Post"

Unless I'm a worse judge of people than I believe I am, there are plenty of you who may remember "The Saturday Evening Post" from years gone by.  I remember the magazine was always on the coffee table whenever we visited my grandmother or some of the other relatives we'd visit on Sunday afternoons when I was a kid. 

That was a time when stores weren't open on Sundays and gas was less than 50 cents a gallon, so we'd hop in the car and head out on Sunday afternoons after church to visit with our neighbors, great aunts and uncles and, of course, Grandma and Grandpa.  If we timed it right, there'd be homemade ice cream after a huge dinner we'd share before heading back home again.  But I digress. 

"The Saturday Evening Post" was as much a part of that time as the Norman Rockwell artwork included between its covers.  The magazine's rich history speaks for itself.  It originated  with Benjamin Franklin’s "Pennsylvania Gazette," first published in 1728, going on to become "The Saturday Evening Post" in 1821.  The fact that it has endured for nearly 300 years is nothing short of amazing.  Not that they haven't faced all the same issues with revenue and content as all the rest of the periodicals out there, but they've held true to their publishing heritage and the fact is, they're here to talk about it.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with Stephen George, who's the current editor of the magazine and a very engaging gentleman.  We talked briefly about the magazine and some of the changes they've encountered and others they're considering.  By the way, take a look at their website http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/ where you'll find a short story by Ray Bradbury and another by Edna Ferber, in honor of the birthdays of both writers.  And the magazine is encouraging short story writers to submit.  Their submission guidelines are also on the website.

I told Steve I was very excited about having a representative from "The Saturday Evening Post" speak at our conference in April.  He astonished me when he said that as far as he knew, we were the first to invite them to such an event!  Steve has agreed to serve on the magazine panel during the Other Than Books:  Pubishing in Places You Can't Overlook panels on Friday evening and will hear pitches on Saturday.  He'll step out of pitches for an hour to lead a breakout session on the topic of Selling Your Work to The Saturday Evening Post.  Anyone needing query-writing  pointers should plan to attend!

Have a great day!