In the Market for Food Writing?

by Jill Earl

This year, one of the markets I’m pursuing is food writing. In the course of research, I’ve found a couple of markets that have whet my appetite, which I share below.

First up is Gastronomica, published quarterly and billing itself as ‘the journal of food and culture’. Their content encompasses the myriad ways food touches our lives, ranging from historical articles to interviews to essays. In the Fall 2009 issue, I was intrigued by Andrea Broomfield’s examination on how even the meals on the ill-fated Titanic fell along class lines. I traveled along with photographer Ahahita Avalos viewing images of ‘Al Mercado’, the Mercado Pino Suarez, the central market in Villahermosa, Mexico. And Adela (Mary) Blay-Brody shares memories of the role of hot peppers in Ghanaian cuisine and offers a rich pepper soup to top off her essay, ‘Rx. Pepper Soup’.

Articles should generally not exceed 7,000 words. See submissions details at their site online.

More creative offerings are found in Alimentum, ‘the literature of food’. Issues are released yearly in the winter and spring, and they accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry and book reviews. The Winter 2009 issue featured an enlightened interview with Alan Richman, whose work appeared in magazines including Conte Nast Traveler, Bon Appetit and GQ, and is Dean of Food Journalism at The French Cullnary Institute of New York. ‘Useful Kitchen Knots’ was a hilarious piece complete with sketches that gave a new tongue-in-cheek perspective on knots. And for reviews of the latest food-oriented books, click on the ‘Goodies’ heading online.

The submission period runs from September to March and more information can be found at their site.

So if you’re in the market to pursue food writing, give these journals a closer look. They just might be the recipe needed for a new direction in your writing this year.