Guidelines for Submission

Mamalode's publishing is first and foremost about the power of voice. We have published literally thousands of submitted first-person essays in text form, and we feel that delivering powerful, well-written stories in audio format is a natural way for us to extend our love of voice into a new and interesting experience.

The Mamalode Podcast is a bi-monthly podcast of roughly 15-30 minutes in length that seeks to feature powerful first person writing in the voice of the author. Many of our episodes are features of a specific writer, or topic, and will not include submitted readings, but we will try to release 2-3 submitted readings each month.

We made a couple early forays into podcasting, but really started in 2016. We have quickly grown to an audience of thousands of listeners.

The Mamalode Podcast can be found in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Soundcloud.

Please submit both a document version of your story and a recorded audio file.

Please include a personal/biographical statement of 150-250 words in your cover letter. Also please state what you feel the subject category of your submission is. For instance, "Topic: Single/Step Parent" (this assists us in selecting the right pieces to pair in an episode). If you are uncertain what our content categories are, you can see them all under the Categories dropdown menu on Mamalode.com. 

If you would, tell us how and where you heard about The Mamalode Podcast.

All submissions to The Mamalode Podcast are at this time No Fee/No Pay.

It is entirely possible to get a good recording using the voice memo app on a smart phone. If you listen to The Mamalode Podcast, you might hear a range of audio qualities. We strive for the best possible audio quality, with no background hiss or interference, and minimal background noise. Record with the phone near your mouth, in a space that doesn't echo or reverberate sound, and avoid pops and "s" directly into the microphone. Keep the phone placement consistent throughout the recording. Several episodes of our podcast were recorded using the voice memo app on an iPhone (others were recorded with high-end condenser microphones -- it's honestly hard to tell which is which).

Try to avoid paper shuffling sounds, and other sounds in the background.

We have not found it very easy to upload the audio file to Submittable directly from the phone. You my need to transfer the file to a computer (for instance using AirDrop on Mac) or a cloud drive (iCloud or Dropbox) first.  

Practice reading your story out loud several times. Try reading to a family member or friend. Relax, don't speak too fast, and give it everything you've got. 

We can't wait to hear and share your story in your voice.