Chicken Soup Wants Stories About ‘Counting Your Blessings’

Deadline APRIL 30, 2021

Gratitude is one of the keys to happiness.

Even during the toughest times, if we can find our gratitude and count our blessings we feel better.

There’s always something to be grateful for.

Tell us your stories about what you are Counting as Your Blessings in your life these days.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is a company that publishes anthologies of short stories that are intended to make the world a better place.

They pay for each story they accept, and you retain all rights to your writing. (see their website for specifics).

They are inclusive and share their revenues with nonprofits, with a focus on furthering unity and understanding in the world, and fostering an appreciation for our differences.

If you like to write feel-good stories, this might be a fit for you.

During the 2009 recession, this publisher asked for stories from people who were still counting their blessings and finding their joy.

Those stories became the bestselling book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings.

Covid, job losses, and divisiveness in the media have made it another difficult year. They decided it was time to create another collection around Counting Your Blessings.

Reading a couple of these stories every day helps you put your problems into perspective.

There’s nothing like reading about the real lives of other people to help you see that acceptance of a situation, concentration on the present moment, and enjoyment of the good, positive aspects of all circumstances help us to rise above difficulties.

More information from their website:

“Please share your stories about handling challenges in your life, finding the silver linings, and counting your blessings, whether the challenges you are facing are COVID-19 related or other kinds.

Stories can be serious or funny, but definitely should be inspirational and heartwarming.

Attitude adjustments, finding contentment and gratitude, a new way of handling your daily life, and other great ideas to inspire readers to find their own paths to happiness and to remember to count their blessings every day are what we are looking for.”

Here are a few suggested topics:

• How do you express your gratitude for your blessings? • How does doing good for others become a blessing in your own life? • What made you realize that your life is good and that you are grateful? • Silver linings in the midst of challenging events • Turning lemons into lemonade • How do you spread the message of gratitude to your family and friends? • The joy of simple pleasures • The unexpected benefits of health challenges or other life changes • Triumph over tragedy • Turning negative into positive and the lessons learned from the change • Adjusting your attitude and seeing aspects of your life in a new way • Learning to be grateful • Experiencing contentment with things just the way they are • Handling economic challenges • Handling the challenge of grieving • Family challenges and how you found the blessings in disguise • Affirmations, gratitude journals, and other methods for training your brain • Going back to basics, enjoying the simple things • Downsizing and rightsizing; cleaning out all the stuff and donating it • Volunteering and charity work • Approaching each day with a positive attitude

The stories need to be true and they have to be your stories.

Write them in the first person, and keep them under 1200 words.

They will publish a story that has been published elsewhere, as long as it’s was to a very small audience. See the website for more details on how to disclose that when you submit.

“We include stories in our books from as diverse a group of writers as possible, including the LGBTQ community and people of all ethnicities, nationalities, and religions.” Chicken Soup for the Soul

FOR SUBMISSIONS INFORMATION GO TO THEIR WEBSITE.

The deadline is APRIL 30, 2021