The Prairie Times is always looking for new writers! It doesn’t matter if you’re five or ninety-five, as long as you have a story to tell. All we ask is that your words inspire, uplift, entertain or leave the world a little better than you found it.
Charity Bishop enjoys nurturing new talent and helping established voices refine their work. As of July 2025, she no longer just accepts your manuscript and edits it later; she works with you to improve it, until both of you are pleased with the final result. (This works best if you can open Word documents, since she uses the Track Changes feature.)
📌 What We’re Looking For
We publish material from all ages (our youngest writer was six!) and across a variety of topics. Here’s what we accept:
✅ Family-Friendly Content
- No drinking, sexual content, profanity, or abuse of God’s name
- Suitable for readers of all ages
✅ Personal & Humorous Stories
- First car, childhood memories, pets, or that time your dad set the house on fire
- Clean humor—make us laugh or cry!
✅ Inspirational & Thoughtful Content
- Pieces that stir the reader’s spirit and imagination
- Life lessons, triumphs over adversity, wisdom, or gentle encouragement
✅ Historical Nonfiction
- Nostalgic stories
- Local history, old west heroes, cowboys, ranchers
- A “simpler time” tone (not necessarily better, just different)
✅ Creative Lifestyle Content
- Practical ideas for relationships (e.g., “how to stay in touch with a grandchild six states away”)
- Animal stories (but end before the pet dies—Charity doesn’t want to cry before lunch!)
🚫 What We Do Not Accept
- Hunting stories (the editor and our readers love animals)
- Rants or negative pieces
- Profanity or angry political essays
- Full autobiographies (pick one incident or theme instead)
🖋 Submission Guidelines
- One submission at a time, no more than 8 stories per year
- Include your name and address on every manuscript
- Email to: charity at prairietimes.com
- Mail to: Prairie Times Editor, Box 880, Byers, CO 80103
Think Ahead:
Issues fill up 5–6 months in advance. If submitting holiday or seasonal content, send it six months before publication.
Example:
- Valentine’s stories = submit in mid-winter
- Summer stories = submit in spring
- Autumn & holiday stories = submit in summer or early fall
💵 Payment & Rights
We pay by final word count, after editing and post-publication (usually 2–3 weeks after the issue date). We buy first-time rights, which means we can reprint your story in future issues without additional payment.
| Final Word Count | Payment |
|---|---|
| 400 words | $5 |
| 500 words | $10 |
| 600 words | $15 |
| 700 words | $20 |
| 800 words | $25 |
| 900 words | $30 |
| 950+ words | $35 |
| Over 1,000 words | $35 |
Tips for Writers
- Focus on the story, not the facts—enhance details for dramatic effect
- Your goal is to entertain; good writers know when to exaggerate
- Learn from your editor; notice what changes are made to your drafts
- Never send your first draft—send your final, polished version
- Choose wisely; only the best submissions are accepted