best creative writing magazines

Written by Emily Harstone October 2nd, 2017

20 Respected Literary Journals and Magazines that Publish Creative Writing

The literary journals and magazines on this list reject the vast majority of what is submitted to them. Sometimes authors’ works are rejected for years, decades even, before they receive an acceptance.

But these literary journals are respected and trusted. Most have a large readership and good distribution in libraries and bookstores. Many of these are the journals and magazines that the editors of publications like The Best American Short Stories read through to select work from. Acceptances at one of these 20 journals and magazines can make a huge difference in your career as a writer.

The list is not in any particular order. Not all are currently open to submissions.

None of the literary journals charge readers for all submissions. We never review publishers that charge , and  these are some of the reasons why . So if a well- known literary journal or magazine that publishes creative work is not listed here, that is one of the reasons why.

We limited this list to 20 literary journals and magazines. There are lots of great respected and established literary journals that are not on this list and do not charge submission fees, but we didn’t want to overwhelm anyone. Because of that reason, there are no publishers that focus on genre writing (like Tor.com or Shimmer) on this list.

The name of the publication links to their submission guidelines.

The Atlantic

The Atlantic is open to submissions of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. They pay well.

The New Yorker

The most famous (and most profitable) magazine with a literary bent, The New Yorker is very competitive to get into. However, they accept unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, and cartoons. They pay very well.

This is the most famous poetry magazine there is. It is published by The Poetry Foundation. The first time you have a poem printed by them, an asterisk appears next to your name to note your appearance as a debut poet with them.

The Sun is a fabulous ad-free magazine that has been around for over 40 years and has published so many famous writers, I have a hard time choosing even five. The publish fiction, creative non-fiction, memoir, and poetry. They only accept submissions through the mail. They even pay well.

This prestigious print magazine also has a wonderful weekly online feature called “Poets Respond” which features poems that are responses to news articles published that week.

They publish one story per issue. They pay well and they have published many established, reputable, bestselling, and award-winning authors.

The Paris Review

This venerable print publication accepts only postal submissions. They publish poetry and fiction, as well as interviews, which they are rather famous for. They were founded in 1953 and have published many well-known writers since then. Some famous authors including Adrienne Rich, Philip Roth, V. S. Naipaul, and Rick Moody were first published by The Paris Review.

This print and electronic literary journal publishes great straight-forward fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Granta has editions in twelve languages across three continents. Unfortunately in November 2017 they started charging a 4 dollar fee for all prose submissions but they are still open to free poetry submissions.

The Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR)

They publish poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction by award winning writers. They pay $200 per poem, and start at $1,000 per fiction piece.

Harper’s Magazine

Harper’s considers unsolicited fiction. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S.

Cimarron Review

This respected literary journal publishes some of the most established writers, and on their pages appear a wide range of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry.

McSweeney’s Quarterly

Also known as Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, this literary journal publishes nonfiction and fiction only, and is reformatted every time it is published. Sometimes it resembles a journal, sometimes a box, sometimes something else entirely. Some of the many writers they have published include Denis Johnson, Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Lethem, and Michael Chabon. The amount they pay authors varies.

The Threepenny Review

According to Tony Kushner, “Everybody should rush right out and subscribe to The Threepenny Review”. This quarterly arts magazine publishes poetry, fiction, memoir and criticism. They have very fast response times. They pay.

The Rupture

This online-only literary journal publishes fiction, excerpts, poetry, and nonfiction. They are highly respected and have published many contemporary authors that have become part of the establishment.

The Kenyon Review

They publish short fiction, essays, poetry, plays, excerpts, and translations of poetry and short prose. When you submit to their print journal, you are also submitting to their online magazine; both have a large readership.

A Public Space

They publish great writing and work, everything from novellas to excerpts. They are respected, modern, and compelling. They have an open reading period once a year.

This is one of the most prestigious poetry-only journals. They are print-only, and do a fabulous job.

This is a wonderful print journal that publishes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Known for publishing “important new writers early in their careers” (PEN), six contributors have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Missouri Review

This established print journal publishes some of the best non-fiction around; they also publish poetry and fiction. They do charge for electronic submissions, but postal submissions are free.

ZYZZYVA has some of the best distribution I have ever seen. If a bookstore sells only three different literary journals, ZYZZYVA is one of those three journals. They have published many famous poets and writers, including Haruki Murakami and Sherman Alexie.

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June 11, 2024

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May 17, 2024

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June 13, 2024

Nine Manuscript Publishers Open to Direct Submissions This June, 2024

Imprints of major publishers and award winning small presses. No agent required.

Prune Juice: Now Seeking Submissions of Senryu and Related Forms

Literary journal accepting Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun, Haiga, Gembun and Rengay.

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EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

Top 50 Literary Magazines -Every Writer

January 12, 2023 by Richard 71 Comments

Welcome to our list of the top 50 literary magazines. Our criteria for this list have changed. We considered a wide range of standards for this list. We looked at close to 20 data points. The most important criteria we used this time were:

• The date of founding.
• The number of national anthologies publications (and we looked at many of them).
• The quality of work and names of past authors published in the magazine.

We have a database listing 1000s of magazines:   Find a complete list of literary magazines here.

We were the first site on the web to develop a list of the top 50 literary magazines. Many news outlets and websites have copied this list. Our methods are systematic in compiling numbers for placement on the list. This list aims to help writers find a place to publish their writing that will get them recognition. When a magazine is published over a long period and is recognized nationally, it gives authors more opportunities for exposure. Also, these magazines have a very good name in literary circles. Many will not agree and feel we’ve left a good or great publication off the list. That’s okay. The best thing to do is leave a comment below.

This list of top 50 literary magazines culminates in 20 years of hard work. I first thought about this list when I got my BFA in Creative Writing. In the early days of the internet, people in the BFA and MFA programs would talk about good and bad literary magazines. It took a lot of work to find online publications. Only some reputable magazines took online submissions. At that time, I started collecting a list of magazines. It was the Big List, and it started this site. Then I put this list together. I started looking for the best literary magazines, and then later, I realized I could turn different indicators into a point system, and so on. Later as EWR grew, others helped to compile this list. These magazines are very special to us; we purposefully constructed this list. It’s one of the reasons it takes so long to update.

We have also included interviews with some of the editors of these magazines. It was an honor to interview them, and we recommend you read those interviews. The editors tell you what they are looking to publish in their magazines. The best practice and best way to get your work published in these Top 50 literary magazines are by reading them. Understand what they want before you submit your manuscript. Having a thriving scholarly community is about supporting each other, not just supporting your work by publishing with them. Now here is our list of the top 50 literary magazines.

Top 50 Literary Magazines – Every Writer

1  new yorker .

Since 1925 this magazine has published some of the best writers in the country. They consistently publish outstanding work. Please support them. They have over a million readers.

2  Ploughshares

Founded in 1971, Ploughshares is our best and highest-ranked university non-commercial literary magazine. It is more honored by national anthologies than any other magazine except the New Yorker. It is an outstanding publication. We had the honor a little while back of  interviewing Editor Ladette Randolph . Ploughshares is excellent and exceptional. Please support them.

3  Paris Review

The Paris Review started in 1953 and is one of the best-known literary magazines in the world. It is constantly publishing great authors and great works.

4  New England Review

It started in 1978 and is one of the country’s best-known and best-loved literary magazines. It is outstanding.

An outstanding literary magazine that has been publishing since 1889. They are honored with awards often.

6  Harper’s Magazine

Founded in 1850 and has always been honored. It is an outstanding commercial literary magazine with a circulation of 220,000 readers.

7  Kenyon Review

Since 1939 the Kenyon Review has been one of the best literary magazines in the country. You can always find great writers on its pages. It started in 1939. We recently interviewed the great  Poet David Baker , one of the editors of the Kenyon Review. The magazine is one of the best out there, always.

8  Georgia Review

It started in 1947 and has won many awards. It is a significant literary magazine that publishes great authors and great works.

9  Southern Review

Originally started in 1935, Southern Review has contributed to great literature for over 50 years. A publication of the Louisiana State University and a great literary magazine.

10  Virginia Quarterly Review

One of the very best journals out there. This journal is often honored and published by The University of Virginia since 1925.

11  Threepenny Review

Founded in 1980 and is one of the best literary magazines out there. It’s always in national anthologies and winning awards. We had the honor of interviewing the Threepenny Review editor Wendy Lesser a little while ago; please  check out the interview .

12  American Short Fiction

Founded in 1991, the magazine is always a leading source of well-honored fiction. The magazine takes online submissions. Buy the magazine, read the magazine, and support it.

13  Yale Review

For 100 years, this literary magazine has published great works by great authors. It’s always worth a read and a submission.

14  Southwest Review

This literary magazine can trace its roots back to 1915. Published by Southern Methodist University, the magazine is consistently publishing great work.

15 Green Mountain Review

Green Mountain Review, or GMR, was founded in 1987; they consistently win awards and publish famous names in the literary world. Northern Vermont University publishes them. 

16  Iowa Review

Founded in 1970, this literary magazine publishes excellent work again and again.

17 Painted Bride Quarterly 

Published in 1973 in Philadelphia, PBQ puts forth amazing authors in poetry and fiction. 

18  American Poetry Review

This literary magazine only published poetry and was founded in 1976. It is one of the top 2 poetry magazines in the country.

Poetry is the best poetry magazine in the country, hands down. They were founded in 1912 and consistently published great poets. 

20  Zoetrope All-Story

Founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997, the literary magazine consistently publishes outstanding works of fiction.

21  One Story

Launched in 2002 and immediately began getting recognition for its high-quality stories. They publish fiction only.

22  Zyzzyva

First published in 1985 and has published wonderful stories every year it has been in circulation. They are consistently honored.

Boston University has published them since 1972. This literary journal is continuously publishing great work.

24  Antioch Review

Since 1941, The Antioch Review has published great authors and excellent writing. We love the Antioch review. 

25  Michigan Quarterly Review

MQR began publishing in 1962; they are continuously publishing outstanding work. The University of Michigan publishes them.

26  Gettysburg Review

The Gettysburg Review, founded in 1988, publishes fiction, essays, and poetry. They publish quarterly and have won numerous awards and honors. 

27  Prairie Schooner

This literary magazine has been published since 1927 and is among the best. 

28  Cincinnati Review

Starting in 2003, this literary magazine has published many outstanding authors and outstanding works.   

29  Colorado Review

In 1956 Colorado State University established the Colorado Review. They consistently publish good work from authors.

30  Boulevard

The literary magazine has been publishing great work since 1985. It’s one of the best.

31  Harvard Review

The Harvard Review started in 1986, publishes top writers in the country, and has won many awards and honors. 

32  Subtropics

This literary magazine has only been published for six years but has been honored so many times it made our list.

33  Shenandoah 

This literary magazine began publishing in 1949 and is one of the best.

34  Five Points

Five Points is published by Georgia State University and is in our top 10 of these 50 for always being in national anthologies and winning awards. Founded in 1996 still less than 20 years old, but a great literary magazine.

35  Conjunctions

An outstanding literary magazine from Bard College, they do have online content.

Published by Cornell University since 1947 and always publishes great authors and excellent writing.

37  Hudson Review

Founded in 1947, this literary magazine publishes outstanding work and authors.

38  Triquarterly

Founded in 1958, Triquarterly has continuously published great work. The magazine is honored often by national anthologies.

39  Alaska Quarterly Review

Founded in 1980 and published at the University of Alaska of Anchorage. The magazine publishes excellent work.

40  The Missouri Review

Since 1978 this magazine has won many honors and has published great works by great authors. The Missouri Review is one of those old.

41  A Public Space

The site was founded in 2006 but has won many honors in the short time it has been published.

42  Chicago Review

Founded in 1946 this literary magazine is consistently publishing great works.

43  Black Warrior Review

This literary magazine was founded in 1947 and has continuously published great authors. The Black Warrior Review is consistently publishing outstanding works by notable authors. We are big fans of this unique and long-standing magazine.

44  Witness

First published in 1987 the literary magazine has come on strong lately with many honors.

45  Barrow Street

The literary magazine only accepts poetry and was founded in 1998—one of the best.

46  New Ohio Review

Starting in 2006, this Ohio University Magazine has consistently published outstanding work from the day it opened. They have an excellent site on the web and online submissions.

47  Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was established in 1960. The magazine is consistently publishing excellent writing by fantastic authors. We highly recommend you pick up a copy. 

48 Hanging Loose

Hanging Loose first appeared in 1966. They have won many awards, and their authors appear regularly in national anthologies. 

49  Narrative 

Since 2003 they have published fiction and poetry by great authors. We had them listed as the best online literary magazine, and they do have an excellent website, but they now publish in the real world, so we’ve moved them. This magazine is certainly worth reading and paying attention to.

50  Ecotone

The University of North Carolina-Wilmington established Ecotone in 2005. They consistently publish good work.

How did we come up with this top 50 literary magazines list? It’s challenging! Some other lists on the web tally the most appearance in Best American Short Stories or other anthologies. The literary magazine gets points for the years it has been publishing. Then we tally the appearances of these literary magazines in several national anthologies. We then give points for specific awards like Pushcart. We turn all these into a point system and then rank the magazines. So it would be like this, the top 50 magazines in order are based on age + awards + anthology appearances =best. This list was number one for literary magazines for the last ten years. It’s a detailed process. We hope this list of Top 50 literary magazines is helpful.

Related Posts:

About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

Reader Interactions

Real Writer says

March 24, 2017 at 9:13 am

Any idea why The Atlantic fell off the list? The last time I checked (maybe a couple of years ago), it was #3. That seems like a pretty precipitous drop, unless you excluded it for some reason.

Adela Brito says

June 22, 2023 at 9:31 am

I think they stopped publishing fiction, and do more news oriented essay type pieces.

Jersey Pinoy says

April 4, 2017 at 4:49 pm

ZYZZYVA also publishes poetry.

Every Writer says

April 6, 2017 at 8:31 am

Thank you Jersey!

Mike Pulley says

June 10, 2017 at 1:14 pm

Good list! However, I’ve got one correction for you. I clicked on the link above for Ecotone, and it took me to the magazine’s website. I clicked on its “About” page and it says that it was launched in 2005 by the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, not University of South Carolina, as you state above. I’m at Clemson and have connections to University of South Carolina. Its literary publication is called Yemassee. Hope that helps!

August 4, 2017 at 12:15 pm

We are working on updates. Sorry about the errors. Our site is about 10,000 pages, so sometimes it’s hard to make all the changes we want to make. If you see errors point them out. Mike, I’ve made the changes you pointed to. Thank you so much, and yes, it does help.

Rachel says

August 8, 2017 at 2:21 pm

Thank you for all your work! I’m chiming in to say that Michigan Quarterly Review now accepts online submissions via Submittable.

August 8, 2017 at 2:56 pm

Your comment popped up in my board, but it was so difficult to find where you left this. These new reply buttons. I made the changes…thank you for the note.

Cincinnati Review says

August 7, 2017 at 9:10 am

Hello there from Cincinnati Review! We do have online submissions now–in fact, we accept only online submissions. Thanks for the list!

August 7, 2017 at 12:41 pm

This is great to hear. I will make the update soon.

DeWitt Henry says

August 7, 2017 at 12:31 pm

Where are the online magazines? For my own tops list on the net, see my website or my monthly column of “literary booksmarks”

Please don’t just come by to plug your site. We have a large listing of literary magazines, print and online at on our literary magazines pages: https://www.everywritersresource.com/literarymagazines/ I’ve been listing them on this site since 1999.

April 5, 2022 at 10:23 am

With the exception of Granta, this list is so … Ameircan.

August 7, 2017 at 5:12 pm

Disappointing to see a list like this base so heavily on biased anthology presence. The next article should be about how basing a list of “best” on metrics that are skewed towards cis-hetero white men is flawed. Also, as someone else said, where are the online literary journals that are doing the work right now? Meh, won’t be bookmarking this.

Teny C. Williams says

June 23, 2018 at 2:33 pm

I’m not sure what journals you are referring to as skewed to cis-hetero white men. The three I subscribe to (university journals), and others I grab off the stands, are heavily weighted to feminist and LGBT points of view, with a fair bit of Social Justice War-making.

William Humphrey says

August 7, 2017 at 11:44 pm

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t the 6th to the last word of the introductory paragraph be “past”? Or are you referring to necrotic authors?

August 8, 2017 at 12:18 am

You are of course correct, what really needs to be done is the entire thing needs to be rewritten. I’m sorry for all the mistakes. It was botched long ago. The rewrites coming.

August 8, 2017 at 12:20 am

You should think about writing for our contest. https://www.everywritersresource.com/every-writer-halloween-50-word-scary-story-contest/ It’ll make you feel better about all the things that have gone wrong in the world.

Stephanie G'Schwind says

August 8, 2017 at 11:13 am

Just to clarify: Colorado Review does in fact take online submissions.

August 8, 2017 at 11:52 am

I’ve made the changes. Thanks for the note.

August 8, 2017 at 11:53 am

A note to editors, the best way to update the information above, and to get a listing on our site for free, is to go here: https://www.everywritersresource.com/literarymagazines/submit-your-site/ and fill out the form and submit it. We will update your listing, and this page….

Former Narrative Staff says

August 8, 2017 at 12:44 pm

Not only does Narrative charge an outrageous fee, but they have options for readers (internally, of course) to flag submissions either by “Noteworthy Authors” or those who have contributed $X to the journal. Narrative is an outright racket.

G. D. McFetridge says

May 8, 2022 at 8:58 am

And furthermore, Tom Jenks is a hustling little weasel who lurks in the back pages of writers magazines advertising his marginal editing skills, for which he charges substantial fees under innuendoes of how good he thought the work was, after his initial review and before receiving his fee, of course, and then he essentially razes the very work he previously praised; although because he is a hustler, he chooses his words carefully during the setup phase.

August 8, 2017 at 1:39 pm

How do you expect a literary magazine to continue in existence charging $1 to $3 for a submission? Assuming a magazine gets 2,000 submissions at even $3 per, that’s $6,000. Printing costs alone can exceed that total. An independent magazine with no university backing would find it difficult to survive.

August 8, 2017 at 2:33 pm

There is a lot of debate about literary magazines charging to read….but it is so difficult to make money publishing that it should certainly be understood why. Think of it this way, when you submitted your work did you also subscribe to the magazine? Have you ever bought a copy of the magazine you are submitting to? It cannot be one sided.

Sydney Lea says

November 20, 2021 at 1:43 pm

I started NEW ENGLAND REVIEW in 1978. At that time, we had no college/university backing, and I was spending as much time chasing funding as I was editing. Even back then, the volume of submissions was nigh overwhelming, as I was often essentially the sole reader in all genres. I decided it might be helpful to charge a buck to submit, and you would have thought I’d asked potential contributors (who FAR outnumbered subscribers) for their firstborn children. The hue and cry was so calamitous I had to change the policy. It therefore astounds me –though it does not in the least chagrin me; I pay willingly– that magazines WITHOUT reading fees are the very rare exception.

August 8, 2017 at 2:50 pm

Well, we looked at the quality of writing in these magazines, not at their practices. Narrative doesn’t make anyone submit work to them. Writers find a value in it, or they wouldn’t do it. I too worked for a university magazine, and I never made a dime. We have to ask ourselves at some point what is the value of the work we do? Is the end goal only publishing a novel with a big publisher and riding off into the sunset? That prospect is sinking quickly. Making money on ads has become increasingly difficult. So how do you pay your fiction editor? Should literary magazines always be a profitless venture where no one sees value, and it’s just a few selfless souls who produce them? I’m just asking, what is your model to profit from these? Should these editors always work for free? Should it always be a university venture for the sake of art? Do you have a suggestion on how a magazine can make profit? Even major magazines and newspapers are disappearing.

August 9, 2017 at 7:57 am

I don’t know, but if they give their fiction editor $20 per submissions, wouldn’t that be nice? On EWR we get 100s of submissions, and many are outright spammed. I get submissions that are just forwarded from other magazines. No cover letters, nothing. You have to think of the value, and submitting your work has a value. If they made it a rule to subscribe to their magazine before you submit, would that be ok? I don’t know, but the model for literary magazines has been around for a very long time. One of my first rejection letters was from the late great Lois Rosenthal of Story magazine. It was hand written and worth much more to me than $20.

August 9, 2017 at 8:04 am

I’ve removed a couple nasty comments here. One was from a website owner who has 14,000 backlinks and 53 organic traffic. It kinda tells you what he does with his time. It’s bad form to spam the site while insulting me.

Ken W Simpson says

November 2, 2020 at 9:35 pm

R. T. Smith says

August 10, 2017 at 9:58 am

ALthough I appreciate your ranking of SHENANDOAH, I think you should know that the journal has been on line (shenandoahliterary.org) for about 7 years. To assess it’s current quality, someone needs to look at recent issues. In fact, we now ONLY consider mss. sent through our Submittable portal. Thanks R T Smith Editor, SHENANDOAH

August 10, 2017 at 2:29 pm

Yes, we’ve had you on the list for over 10 years, back when your url was http://shenandoah.wlu.edu/. I am a fan of the magazine. As a side note I’ve read your work since Brightwood. We’d be honored to do an interview….see some other interviews here: https://www.everywritersresource.com/interviews/

February 19, 2018 at 5:02 pm

Ecotone was of time.

bart plantenga says

June 26, 2018 at 3:05 am

nice standard list – the only detail missing is that many of these magazines charge submission fees. This is like a regressive tax. Writers already earn nothing but are now forced to go negative. The main culprit is their use of submittable I guess. it is being addressed above. it reminds me of the 1990s nyc bar/cafe scene of pay to play for bands and writers.

Rob Klein says

July 24, 2018 at 12:17 pm

Alaska Quarterly Review but not Salmagundi? Are you sure?

Melanie L Griffin says

October 24, 2018 at 2:40 pm

Thanks for this list. Two thoughts: first, the repeated use of “great work” or “outstanding work” or “one of the best” isn’t useful because we assume that’s your opinion since these mags are on the list! Instead maybe you could add a few words about the type of work they publish (not just genre), even simply taken from their websites. Secondly, it would be super helpful if you could note whether or not they are a paying market. Don’t have to research how much, just something beyond contributor copies. More and more, publications don’t even bother to say that on their websites! They just assume you will be honored to write for them for free. Thanks again for the work you put into this!

Valentine says

October 30, 2018 at 7:54 am

Well, I would actually say, that it’s a great job anyway. Subjective opinion doesn’t make it to be less impressive. I find this list very helpful.

Satya Pattanaik says

January 16, 2019 at 6:55 am

Anyone can help me giving a list of the magazines who accept translation work from other languages from around the world? Thanks

Tiny Tanaka says

February 13, 2019 at 5:59 pm

Hello! I’m also a small and young poetry writer and I’ve found some success on Instagram with tagging relevant common words that seem to have lots of search results. I also submit to different online small-time literary magazines. There are numerous out there that have small followings, which can easily get your work published on multiple sites, your name out in more public searches, and can get you that first step into the business of writing. I know that your comment was posted a while ago, but if you’ve learned anything new, or see anything that you can now start doing yourself, then best of luck to you! I hope that maybe one day we can connect and I can see how far you’ve come! If you ever need anything, my user name on insta is tinytanaka.poetry and my e-mail is [email protected]. I hope you’re doing okay!

Krishnamurthy N says

February 18, 2019 at 9:52 am

The literary magazines, ilike have not made the grade! Litrery Review (LR), New York Times Book Review, London Review of Books (LRB), Times Literary Supplement (TLS)

February 18, 2019 at 9:57 am

We are looking at rewriting this list. It is based on numbers, many factors. The first time we did this list, it was over 10 years go. If you want a complete list of literary magazines, you can go to our literary magazines site (searchable) https://www.everywritersresource.com/literarymagazines/

Cynthia says

March 17, 2019 at 12:41 am

It’s absolutely bananas of you not to include The Sun Magazine in your list. By your own stated criteria, it’s top of the heap. It was founded in 1974, recommends the most Pushcart prize winners of any literary magazine, and publishes consistently high-quality stuff.

Why did you overlook this gem???

March 21, 2019 at 4:32 pm

I’m looking to see why The Sun was removed from the list. I believe, at the time of writing the list that The Sun was ONLY taking solicited submissions, but I honestly cannot remember. We will be redoing this list soon.

July 17, 2019 at 12:55 pm

Why isn’t Rattle listed? They boast a circulation of nearly 10,000, and close to half a million page views per month. https://www.rattle.com/info/about-us/

Tony B says

November 27, 2020 at 11:25 pm

Thank you. Great, thoughtful work in creating this list and posting it here online. Please continue your work. I look forward to the update as, for example, some publications accept online publications. Thank you for the support of the work of writers everywhere especially at this time. Long live the written word of stories and the supportive readers of such words. Thanks.

March 19, 2021 at 1:40 am

I don’t agree. The list may be okay for non contributors – but for poets such as me – there are virtually no opportunities. There are publishers listed that are supposed to accept submissions – but don’t. The utter arrogance of some publishers is evident here. They don’t give a damn about contributors. Of course this sort of thing happens in other lists – in poets and writers for example.

March 30, 2021 at 12:43 am

I only see things from the point of view of the a poetry and occasional prose submitter. Writers are the backbone of any literary journal – yet all – except for a few at the very top – either don’t get paid or get paid very little for the years spent honing their skills – for little or no purpose other than as a vocation. It’s a part time occupation at best – and for most a humiliating experience. Perhaps if publishers published more and better books – rather than the rubbish they publish that sells – such as horror – science fiction – craft – gardening and cooking books – the industry would be better off. Sex sells and so does stupidity. All you need to do is drop by any of the very few places that sell books – apart from Amazon – and you will see lots of books – but very little literature.

Sinclaire says

October 23, 2021 at 10:19 pm

Started in 1998 but quickly became one of the best and best known literary magazines in the country. It has been honored by national anthologies more times than many literary magazine that have been publishing for over 100 years.

December 4, 2021 at 3:32 pm

No mention of The Sun on your list? Clifford Garstang ranks it as the #1lit mag for non-fiction.

ROSY DIXON says

September 2, 2022 at 9:33 am

How could you not include TLS – the Times (UK) Literary Supplement? Founded in 1902, it’s long been considered the world’s best literary magazine!

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backrooms says

April 2, 2023 at 8:21 pm

No longer accepting submissions for tales

May 31, 2023 at 4:21 pm

As of 7:20 ET on Wednesday, 5/31/23, each item on your list has a blank space next to the numeral for the ranking. The blurbs are visible, but the names of the lit mags are not. This is true on both Chrome and Edge.

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Home » Self-Publishing » Our favorite magazines for writers

• The 19 Best Literary Magazines You Should Be Reading in 2023

In the world of literature, storytelling is king. Whether it’s a gripping novel, a haunting poem, or a thought-provoking essay, what ultimately draws us in and keeps us hooked is the power of a well-told story. And what better way to explore the vast and diverse landscape of storytelling than through the pages of a literary magazine?

Literary magazines provide a platform for both established and emerging writers to share their stories, their experiences, and their unique perspectives on the world. From the experimental to the traditional, the humorous to the thought-provoking, the stories found in these magazines push boundaries and challenge us to see the world in new ways.

But with so many literary magazines out there, how do you know which ones are worth your time? In this article, we’ll explore some of the best literary magazines available today, each one offering its own unique brand of storytelling magic. Whether you’re a seasoned reader or just starting to dip your toes into the world of literature, these magazines are sure to provide a rich and rewarding reading experience. So settle in, grab a cup of tea, and let’s dive into the world of literary storytelling.

The Paris Review

The Paris Review is a leading literary magazine that has been publishing since 1953. It features interviews with prominent writers, as well as stories, poetry, and essays. It is known for publishing the first works of many now-famous writers, including Jack Kerouac, Philip Roth, and V. S. Naipaul.

Granta is a British literary magazine that has been publishing for over 130 years. It features fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from established and emerging writers from around the world. Granta is known for its themed issues, which explore various topics from a literary perspective.

McSweeney’s

McSweeney’s is an independent publishing house that produces a literary magazine, as well as books and other projects. The magazine features humor, fiction, and non-fiction, and is known for its unique design and typography.

The Los Angeles Review

The Los Angeles Review is a quarterly literary magazine that publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and book reviews. It is known for its commitment to publishing diverse voices, with an emphasis on writers from the West Coast.

BOMB Magazine

BOMB Magazine is a quarterly publication that features interviews with artists, writers, and filmmakers, as well as works of fiction and poetry. It is known for its in-depth interviews with prominent writers and artists.

VQR Online is the online version of the Virginia Quarterly Review, a literary magazine that has been publishing since 1925. The online version features original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, as well as multimedia content, including videos and podcasts.

n+1 is a literary magazine that focuses on contemporary culture and politics. It features fiction, essays, and reviews, as well as translations of works from other languages. n+1 has been praised for its fresh and critical voice.

The White Review

The White Review is a quarterly literary magazine that features fiction, poetry, and essays, as well as interviews with writers and artists. It is known for its commitment to publishing new and experimental works.

Electric Lit

Electric Lit is an online literary magazine that features fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as critical essays and reviews. It is known for its commitment to publishing diverse voices and promoting emerging writers.

Music & Literature

Music & Literature is a biannual literary magazine that features works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, as well as interviews with writers, musicians, and artists. It is known for its innovative approach to publishing, which combines literature with music and other art forms.

The Stinging Fly

The Stinging Fly is an Irish literary magazine that features poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, as well as interviews with writers and artists. It is known for its commitment to promoting emerging Irish writers.

Flaneur Magazine

Flaneur Magazine is a biannual publication that explores different neighborhoods around the world through literature and photography. Each issue focuses on a specific neighborhood, providing a unique perspective on the area.

Freeman’s

Freeman’s is a biannual literary magazine that features works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as interviews with writers and artists. It is known for its themed issues, which explore different topics from a literary perspective.

Guernica Mag

Guernica Mag is an online literary magazine that features fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as interviews with writers and artists. It is known for its commitment to promoting social justice issues through literature.

Visions is an online literary magazine that features original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, as well as artwork and photography. It is known for its commitment to publishing new and experimental works.

ThreePenny Review

ThreePenny Review is a quarterly literary magazine that features fiction, poetry, and essays, as well as book reviews. It is known for its commitment to publishing works from emerging writers, as well as established ones.

American Chordata

American Chordata is a biannual literary magazine that features works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as artwork and photography. It is known for its commitment to publishing diverse voices and promoting emerging writers.

Zoetrope: All-Story

Zoetrope: All-Story is a quarterly literary magazine that features fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as artwork and photography. It is known for its commitment to publishing works from emerging writers, as well as established ones.

New Criterion

New Criterion is a monthly literary magazine that features literary and cultural criticism, as well as essays and reviews. It is known for its conservative perspective and its commitment to high literary standards.

And that, my dear reader, is the magic of literary magazines. They are portals to other worlds, other stories, other lives. They are the doorways that lead us to new perspectives, and the keys that unlock our imaginations. As a writer and reader, I can attest to the immense value of these magazines in shaping and expanding our literary horizons. So go forth, dear reader, and seek out these literary gems. The world of storytelling is waiting for you, and the possibilities are endless.

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We’re all natural born storytellers. We live in stories. It’s stories that define is. This blog is dedicated to exploring the power of stories.

• What Is Magical Realism?
• The Anatomy of Metafiction: A Story About Storytelling
• Breaking The Fourth Wall: Transforming Stories With Narrative Alchemy
• Examples of Breaking the Fourth Wall
• Storytelling Books

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After weeks of deliberating over the right words and fine-tuning your creative nonfiction piece , you’re ready to begin submitting to literary nonfiction journals. The only problem is finding the right home for your creative nonfiction submission. What journals or literary nonfiction magazines should you prioritize submitting your work to?

Find your answer here: we’ve searched the net for great creative nonfiction journals, and any of the following 24 publications is a wonderful home for creative nonfiction—guaranteed.

If you’re looking to submit multiple genres of work, take a look at the best places to submit poetry and the best places to submit fiction , too!

24 Creative Nonfiction Magazines to Submit To

Just like our other guides on the best literary journals to submit to, we’ve divided this article into three different categories:

• Great journals to secure your first publications in
• Competitive journals for writers with previous publications
• High-tier creative nonfiction journals at the summit of publishing

Any publication in the following 24 journals is sure to jumpstart your literary career. So, let’s explore the best nonfiction magazines and journals!

Creative Nonfiction Magazines: Great First Publications

The following eight journals sponsor creative nonfiction from both emerging and established writers, making them great opportunities for writers in any stage of their journey.

1. Sundog Lit

Sundog Lit loves the weird and experimental, and it regularly seeks innovative nonfiction for its biannual journal. All submitted works should be well-researched and play with both form and content. Submit your hybrid content to this great creative nonfiction journal!

2. River Teeth Journal

River Teeth Journal specializes in narrative nonfiction. The journal operates with the motto “Good Writing Counts and Facts Matter,” which captures their preference for well-researched and thoughtfully composed CNF. Literary nonfiction submissions are open twice a year, typically between September and May.

3. Atticus Review

Atticus Review posts daily nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. They publish work that is unabashed and resilient, finding hope in even the toughest of situations. All published works after September 19th, 2020 receive a $10 award from this creative nonfiction journal!

4. Barren Magazine

Barren Magazine publishes nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and photography, preferring works with grit and muster. Each publication of this creative nonfiction magazine includes prompts: for their 17th issue, the prompts are “unorthodox, sensational, kinetic, quixotic, & transcendent.”

5. The Offing

The editors at The Offing look for work that’s innovative, genre-bending, and challenges conventions. The Offing is especially keen to support both new and established authors, making them a welcome home for your creative nonfiction submissions.

6. Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse sponsors emerging and diverse voices in its biannual publication. Submissions for this journal remain open between September and May, and they typically range between 2,500 and 5,000 words. This is a great literary journal to submit to for writers of all styles and narratives!

7. Dogwood: a Journal of Poetry and Prose

Dogwood is a journal of poetry and prose based out of Fairfield University. This annual publication only opens for submissions in the Fall, and each edition includes prizes for top pieces. Literary nonfiction from all walks of life are welcome here.

8. Montana Mouthful

Straight out of the Treasure State, Montana Mouthful seeks “just a mouthful” of fiction and nonfiction. Creative nonfiction submissions should not exceed 2,000 words but should still deliver a cogent, memorable story.

Creative Nonfiction Magazines: Reputable Literary Journals to Submit To

The following literary magazines and creative nonfiction journals can be tough competition, but with a few previous publications under your belt and a special story ready for print, the following journals could jumpstart your literary career. All of these journals have fantastic literary nonfiction examples!

9. Conjunctions

Conjunctions publishes daring works of poetry and prose, living by its motto to “Read Dangerously!” Submitted works should provoke, excite, and linger with the reader. Conjunctions publishes both a biannual magazine and a weekly online journal, both of which house fantastic literary journalism.

10. Black Warrior Review

Black Warrior Review is a biannual literary journal run by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This Whiting Awarded journal nurtures groundbreaking literary nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, with many of its authors going on to win Pushcarts and Best of the Net prizes!

11. Hippocampus

Hippocampus Magazine is one of the best creative nonfiction magazines out there, as it focuses solely on the publication of personal essays and nonfiction stories. Their strictly digital publication is highly literary and has many great creative nonfiction examples and pieces. Despite being a highly competitive journal, both new and emerging writers can find a home at Hippocampus .

12. American Literary Review

The American Literary Review , run out of the University of North Texas, publishes engaging and precise stories and poetry. The journal is currently on hiatus, but read some of its back issues and you’ll understand why it’s a great literary journal to submit to.

13. Fourth Genre

Fourth Genre is a biannual creative nonfiction journal published through Michigan State University. The journal amplifies diverse and powerful voices, seeking stories that are refreshing, earnest, and imaginative. Fourth Genre only publishes nonfiction, so read its back issues for some great creative nonfiction examples!

14. The Cincinnati Review

The Cincinnati Review is interested in literary nonfiction that can “knock your socks off.” Submissions for personal essays are open between September and January; writers can also submit flash nonfiction year-round to its miCRo series.

15. Creative Nonfiction

“True stories, well told” is the motto of Creative Nonfiction , the aptly-named journal of all things CNF. Creative Nonfiction celebrates a diverse range of voices and experiences, championing both new and established essayists. Between its literary publications and its creative nonfiction blog, writers can learn a lot from this journal. Send your creative nonfiction submissions to Creative Nonfiction !

16. Witness

Witness publishes prose and poetry that examines and analyzes the modern day. They seek stories about modern issues and events, often publishing bold and eclectic takes on serious issues. Witness is a more politically-oriented journal, making it a leader in contemporary literary journalism.

Creative Nonfiction Magazines: The Summit of Literary Nonfiction

The following journals are notoriously difficult to publish in, as writers often have to have a name built for themselves in the literary world. Nonetheless, the following publications exist at the summit of CNF, so keep these publications on your radar as top literary journals to submit to.

AGNI , a highly literary publication run at Boston University, publishes fiery, transformative prose and poetry. Creative nonfiction submissions should be polished, inventive, and highly original. Be sure to read their previous publications for an idea of what they look for!

18. The Atlantic

The Atlantic is well-respected for its literary journalism, making it a premier publisher of creative nonfiction. Though many of its published pieces are solicited, The Atlantic is always looking for fresh, bold stories and poetry, so it’s a premier place for nonfiction magazine submissions.

Salon does not present itself as a creative nonfiction journal, but many of its previous magazine issues are highly literary in nature, examining current issues with a sharp, educated lens. If you have nonfiction stories that are both personal and global in nature, Salon accepts queries for articles and editorials, so check them out!

20. The Antioch Review

The Antioch Review is a real page-turner, as their past publications can attest to. This highly literary journal publishes fantastic prose and poetry, and if you have a creative nonfiction piece that’s riveting and influential, The Antioch Review is looking for your creative nonfiction submissions.

21. The Colorado Review

The Colorado Review is a tri-annual publication steeped in history, with original issues featuring poetry and prose from Langston Hughes, E. E. Cummings, Henry Miller, etc. The journal is committed to contemporary literature, seeking voices that are transformative and capture today’s (or tomorrow’s) zeitgeist. The Colorado Review is a fantastic space for literary journalism and will certainly welcome your creative nonfiction.

22. The Virginia Quarterly

The Virginia Quarterly publishes a wide array of literary nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, promising both ample readership and ample pay. VQR seeks inventive and imaginative stories, and it accepts both personal essays and nonfiction pieces on literary and cultural criticism. Submissions are generally open in July, but keep tuned for any special announcements or brief reading periods!

23. New England Review

New England Review is a quarterly publication of all things literary. The journal is dedicated to publishing both emerging and established voices, though it remains a highly competitive journal for creative nonfiction. NER is a great literary journal to submit to for stories that are engaged, critical, and sparkling.

24. North American Review

The North American Review is the oldest literary magazine in the United States. Since its inception in 1815, it remains one of the best nonfiction magazines to submit to, publishing strong literary voices with imaginative story arcs and moving messages. Nonfiction magazine submissions at North American Review are always spectacular—go check them out!

Tips for Publishing Your Creative Nonfiction Submissions

“How do I get my nonfiction published with so many other voices in the room?” This is a question we hear often, and as writers in the modern day, we can’t help but notice how diverse the publishing world is, and how everything “has already been written.” How can you make sure your story gets published in the right creative nonfiction magazines?

Of course, no story is guaranteed publication, but if you’ve written an earnest, sparkling story with grit, character, and truth, then the right literary journals to submit to are in this list. Additionally, you can boost your chances of success with the following publishing tips:

Start With a Powerful Title

Your creative nonfiction submissions should draw the reader in right away, which means starting with an attention-grabbing title. Your title could be a singular and obscure word, or it could be a long description, or anything in-between—the goal is to stand out while representing your story faithfully.

Here are some great titles we saw from a brief glance at the literary nonfiction examples from Hippocampus :

• Bar Bathroom Graffiti in New Orleans: A One Year Catalog by Kirsten Reneau
• Necrokedeia for Children by Mark Hall
• Ford Motor Company Tells Me About Perseverance by Alexis Annunziata

These titles give you an idea about the story itself while also drawing you in with wit, humor, or obscurity. Literary editors have thousands of stories to read each year; give them something to notice so you can stand out among the rest!

Follow the Creative Nonfiction Journal’s Formatting Guidelines

A surefire way to receive rejections on your literary nonfiction is to ignore the formatting guidelines. Each journal has its own requirements, though they often align with MLA formatting requirements, but be sure you follow the journal’s instructions faithfully, or else they may discard your submission without even reading it.

Read the Creative Nonfiction Magazine’s Past Issues

The 24 publications mentioned in this article are some of the best nonfiction magazines in the world, in part because they adhere so strongly to their tastes and preferences. As such, no two journals are alike, and each publication has its own expectations for the nonfiction they read and publish. Before you submit your creative nonfiction, be sure to read some past publications and gauge whether your essay will fit in with the journal’s literary tastes.

Keep Track of Your Submissions

Many creative nonfiction journals allow simultaneous submissions, meaning you can submit the same piece to multiple journals. However, if one journal accepts your work, you need to notify the other journals that it has been accepted and is no longer available for consideration.

Keeping track of your creative nonfiction submissions in a spreadsheet or personal organizer is essential: if multiple journals publish your story, it could harm your chances of getting published in the future.

Aim High—But Not Too High

Your personal essay deserves to be read, but if you’re only submitting to journals like VQR or The Atlantic, it might never see the light of day. Part of the publishing process means building your publication history and portfolio.

Your literary journalism will one day get published in Salon or the New York Times, but until then, focus on getting recognized in smaller and medium sized journals—and don’t let rejections bring you down, because it’s only up from here!

Fine-Tune Your Creative Nonfiction Submissions with Writers.com

Looking for extra help on writing your personal essay, lyric essay, or hybrid nonfiction piece? The instructors at Writers.com are ready to assist you. Gain valuable insight and diverse perspectives on your nonfiction stories before submitting them to the 24 creative nonfiction magazines we’ve listed.

Good luck, and happy writing!

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11 Indie Literary Magazines You Should Be Reading

Reading Lists

Steven watson, founder of stack, recommends print lit mags.

Independent magazines are notorious outsiders. Generally made with lots of passion and not much cash, they’re gloriously uncommercial artefacts of our current age of creative independence, in which virtually anyone with an internet connection and an Adobe Creative Cloud license can publish their own professional quality print magazine. Of course the fact that pretty much anyone can now be their own editor-in-chief and creative director means that lots of the work committed to print isn’t all that good, but there are some extraordinary gems out there waiting to be found, and that’s what we spend our days doing.

Stack searches out the best independent magazines and delivers them to thousands of readers around the world every month—you never know what you’re going to get next, but you do know it will be a beautiful, intelligent print magazine you probably wouldn’t otherwise have come across. We pride ourselves on delivering a wide range of magazines covering all sorts of subjects, but for the following list we’ve focused on the literary magazines we’re currently enjoying the most.

The White Review

One of London’s most revered independent literary magazines, The White Review mixes outstanding fiction, essays and poetry with beautiful art and photography all wrapped up in a lovely, thick print edition. Launched in 2011, its founding aim was to provide “a space for a new generation to express itself unconstrained by form, subject or genre”, and today it publishes in monthly online editions, but it’s the roughly triannual print version that we love. The current issue looks at first glance like a sort of bookish fashion magazine, with its cover featuring a photograph by artist Elad Lassry, but the content inside ranges far and wide, covering subjects including migration and asylum, LGBTQ+ spaces, race and disability. Essential and important, but with a fantastic lightness of touch, a new issue of The White Review is always eagerly anticipated in the Stack office.  

Freeman’s looks like a book but it self-defines as a magazine. “I think a magazine is tracking and engaging with culture,” explains editor John Freeman, who used to head up Granta . “It has an ongoingness, whereas an anthology freezes a moment, perhaps, and puts it in two covers.” The fifth issue is about power: it’s topical, but in a pleasurably sideways way. One of the most beautiful things here is a poem by Julia Alvarez that reimagines Penelope, happy alone, disappointed when Odysseus finally comes home: “He’s back, disguised as an old man/ to test my virtue… I would be rid of him.”

The plaything of one extraordinary tinkerer, science-fiction magazine Visions is a testament to the power of passion. Creative technologist and sci-fi fan Mathieu Triay began the project by making Marvin Visions, the typeface that he uses for titles throughout the magazine and its website. Licensing the typeface online generated enough money to pay for printing the first issue, and he uses the magazine as a platform for both new and established science-fiction writers. In the latest issue, for example, multi-award winning author Robert Silverberg’s story “Caliban” is set in an alarmingly lithe, glistening future, as seen through the eyes of a man who has become the only relic of our messy, hairy times. Silverberg locates his smooth sexualization a hundred-odd years into the future, but in “Hyperbeauty,” the non-fiction essay that follows it, master’s student Raquel Hollman seems to respond to Silverberg by showing how our world is already uncomfortably sexualized and dominated by ideals of “perfect beauty.”

American Chordata

One of the defining characteristics of New York-based American Chordata is that it looks really good. Mixing short stories and poetry with photography, the pictures aren’t specially commissioned. Instead, art director Bobby Doherty mines the internet for art all year long, and then sets his favorites next to the text in a strange, non-illustrative way, almost like collage. In the most recent issue—AC’s ninth—Tatu Gustafsson’s grainy CCTV images of a lonely figure standing by the sides of roads are dropped throughout Angela Woodward’s disturbing short story “Decoy Animals,” the writing and images each intensifying the other. [Editor’s note: Erin Bartnett, associate editor at Recommended Reading, is also the fiction editor at American Chordata.]

The Stinging Fly

An Irish literary magazine of new writing, The Stinging Fly has excellent pedigree—Sally Rooney is a contributing editor, and on these pages there’s an echo of her attention to the minute detail of how we see ourselves and are seen by others. The current issue is fronted by a brilliantly fleshy artwork by Irish Japanese painter Shane Berkery, which sets the tone for the intimate and personal reflections that run through the fiction and poetry inside.

Founded by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997, Zoetrope was originally conceived as a way to inspire independent movie-making, by providing a space for writers to publish their short fiction and plays. The magazine’s role-call of contributors is ludicrously star-spangled—the rotating guest-designer spot has been filled by Bowie and Lynch, to name only Davids. But what makes this magazine remarkable is how lightly it wears its famous names. Virtually unknown here in the U.K., and boasting just a thousand or so Instagram followers, you get the feeling the only thing its editors really care about is the quality of the fiction. 

This London-based journal of sexuality and erotics was started in 2018 by the Feeld dating app, and it’s run today by editor Maria Dimitrova, who works with editorial independence to assemble an inventive series of poems and short stories that explore the frontiers of sexual life. Of course any literary magazine stands or falls on the strength of its writing, and Mal brings together some exceptional talent: the latest issue includes an original piece by cult author Chris Kraus and a short story by Luke Brown that was commended in the Best Original Fiction category at this year’s Stack Awards. 

Worms is a literary magazine about style: writing style, but also sartorial. We are all worms, Clem Macleod explains in her editor’s letter, and “in the end, we’re going to be eaten by them. As a Worm, you will fertilise your mind with glorious words.” Using clothes as a way of worming your way into a writer’s work is a contentious business. Traditionally understood to be something frivolous women like, clothes are depicted here to be so much more interesting. Author Natasha Stagg is interviewed, and the first question she is asked is whether everyday dressing is a sort of curation of self. This idea—that dressing up can be a way of slipping out of your identity and trying on another—is most fully realized in a feature towards the middle, where Clem goes to visit a box of the late punk writer Kathy Acker’s clothes, and tries some on. Acker is the cover star, and the whole issue is a homage to her. The clothes are “unwashed, crumpled” and “musky”; a mass of Vivienne Westwood, Commes Des Garcons and Betsey Johnson. Trying on your dead hero’s outfits is thrillingly intimate. As readers, we feel that we should like to do this intimate thing, too.

The Lifted Brow

“A quarterly attack journal from Australia and the world,” The Lifted Brow is based in Melbourne and sets out to showcase the most inventive and accomplished experimental storytelling. The result includes fiction and non-fiction, poetry and comics, and frequently gives a voice to groups that aren’t commonly heard. Last year’s 40th edition, for example, was re-branded Blak Brow , and was created entirely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, born out of the conviction that “blak” women’s writing can “transcend off the pages and topple the patriarchy.”

Somesuch Stories

The fourth issue of this U.K. literary journal is themed “redemption,” a word editor Suze Olbrich defines as borderline archaic. But the idea of absolution still sticks its pins into us. In a largely secular world, we share what Olbrich calls a “gnarly yearning for liberation from guilt; for forgiveness—for salvation.” It’s a great theme, and while the stories on these pages are uneven, when they’re good, they’re very very good. Like Luke Turner’s beautiful, ambivalent essay on cruising, looking back on encounters he is now old enough to recognize as abusive. And Kieran Yates’ fan fiction about women of color in popular culture; from Padma Patil, to Ursula from The Little Mermaid .

Mekong Review

Launched in 2015 at the Kampot Writers and Readers Festival in Cambodia, the Mekong Review was created as a platform for the literary scene in Southeast Asia. Over the years its influence has spread, and today it publishes essays, interviews, poetry and fiction drawn from across Asia and Australasia. It’s proud to claim no political allegiance, and the current issue includes thoughtful and critical reviews and essays inspired by the protests in Hong Kong, as well as politically-inflected commentary from Thailand, Malaysia, China, Myanmar and beyond.

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Best Fiction Literary Magazines in 2024

Showing 121 magazines that match your search.

Zoetrope All-Story

Print magazine for Fiction ,

In 1997, Francis Ford Coppola launched Zoetrope: All-Story, a quarterly magazine devoted to the best new short fiction and one-act plays.

Submission guidelines →

👀 Average visits: 27,700 /month

🌍 Territory: USA

💰 Submission fee: $0

⏱️ Frequency: 4 times a year

🧑‍💻 Online submissions: No

Southwest Review

Print & Online magazine for Fiction ,

Our mission is to publish a magazine of the highest quality for general readers worldwide. As we reflect on our past and look ahead to the future, the goal is to inspire new ways of connecting with the world. Simply put, we think writing should be as comprehensive and far-reaching as twenty-first–century life itself.

💰 Submission fee: $3

⏱️ Frequency: 1 times a year

🧑‍💻 Online submissions: Yes

Nowhere Magazine

Every week we publish a feature-length story, photo essay or film that will delve into a new corner of the planet. Our goal is to surprise you every week. As travelers, we thought you would appreciate that. So be sure to check back and see what we’re up to. We print one edition annually.

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Hudson Review

Founded in 1948, The Hudson Review is a quarterly magazine of literature and the arts published in New York City. It has a distinguished record of publishing little-known or undiscovered writers, many of whom have become major literary figures. Each issue contains a wide range of material including: poetry, fiction, essays on literary and cultural topics, book reviews, reports from abroad, and chronicles covering film, theatre, dance, music and art.

The New Yorker is a weekly magazine offering a signature mix of reporting and commentary on politics, international affairs, popular culture and the arts, science and technology, and business, along with fiction, poetry, humor, and cartoons. If your story makes it onto the pages of the New Yorker, you've made it.

👀 Average visits: 34,600,000 /month

⏱️ Frequency: 52 times a year

Hayden's Ferry Review

Hayden’s Ferry Review looks for well-crafted work that takes risks, challenges readers, and engages us emotionally and artistically. A small portion of our publication is solicited from established authors, while the majority of our contributors are chosen from the thousands of manuscripts we receive each year.

⏱️ Frequency: 2 times a year

American Scholar

The American Scholar is a quarterly magazine of essays, fiction, poetry, and articles covering public affairs, literature, science, history, and culture. Published since 1932 for the general reader by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Scholar considers nonfiction by known and unknown writers, as well as fiction and poetry for online publication.

👀 Average visits: 90,000 /month

Each issue of Ecotone brings together the literary and scientific, the personal and biological, the urban and rural. Much of the writing we publish addresses the idea of place: overlapping habitats both real and aesthetic.

Threepenny Review

There are vanishingly few magazines left in this country which seem pitched at the general literary reader and which consistently publish such interesting, high-quality criticism, reflection, argument, fiction, and poetry. Threepenny is thankfully still out there.

👀 Average visits: 44,600 /month

The Dark Sire

The Dark Sire is an online magazine for short fiction, poetry, and art in the subgenres of Fantasy, Gothic, Horror & Psychological Realism

American Short Fiction

Issued triannually, American Short Fiction publishes work by emerging and established voices. These are stories that dive into the wreck, that stretch the reader between recognition and surprise, that conjure a particular world with delicate expertise — stories that take a different way home.

👀 Average visits: 28,200 /month

⏱️ Frequency: 3 times a year

F(r)iction is a triannual publication that boasts work from both industry legends and emerging writers. Each issue is carefully curated to evaluate an important cultural topic from vastly different perspectives. We accept short fiction, creative nonfiction, flash fiction, comics, and poetry submissions all year round, and also host contests featuring guest judges and cash prizes twice a year (each spring and fall). Every piece published in F(r)iction is also accompanied by custom artwork, making our journal a visual odyssey from cover to cover!

🌍 Territory: United States

Massachusetts Review

The Massachusetts Review is one of the nation's leading literary magazines, distinctive in joining the highest level of artistic concern with pressing public issues. As The New York Times observed, "It is amazing that so much significant writing on race and culture appears in one magazine." MR was named one of the top ten literary journals in 2008 by the Boston Globe.

ZYZZYVA is a critically acclaimed print journal, introducing readers to new work from the best contemporary writers and artists since 1985. Based in San Francisco, we have established a vigorous tradition of finding and fostering new talent, in our backyard and beyond.

Alaska Quarterly Review

Alaska Quarterly Review publishes fiction, short plays, poetry, photo essays, and literary non-fiction in traditional and experimental styles. Although we publish established writers, most of our content comes from unsolicited submissions and the editors are committed to publishing new and emerging writers.

Run a literary magazine? Submit it to our directory!

The halls of literary success are paved with authors who got their start appearing in literary magazines — such as Zora Neale Hurston, Truman Capote, William Faulkner, Edith Wharton, Ursula Le Guin, J.D. Salinger, George Saunders, Alice Munro, Flannery O’Connor, and many more. 

For centuries, literary magazines have highlighted works that would otherwise struggle to reach readers. Poetry, short stories, essays are all forms of writing that own very tiny shares in the publishing landscape — except in the world of literary magazines, where they reign supreme.

If you’re an aspiring author, submitting to literary magazines is a great way to get your foot into the door of the publishing industry, as it allows you to build up your credentials and reach readers. That being said, having your work appear in a literary magazine isn’t as easy as hitting “submit.” While they can act as a stepping stone for writers who wish to go on to have a career in publishing, you shouldn’t view literary magazines as simply a means to an end — if only because doing so will very likely reduce your chances of ever actually being featured in one of them.

And on that note, let’s get started with our first tip for getting your work featured in some of the best literary magazines out there.

Tips for submitting to literary magazines 

Ensure you’re submitting to the right places.

When you think of literary magazines, your mind might automatically go to The New Yorker . Or it might go to independent webzines that specialize in very niche genres. Maybe you think of university-funded quarterlies like The New England Review . All this is to say that the range of lit mags out there is broad and the kinds of things they publish also ranges — from short lit fic to flash space operas, and everything in between. 

So before you decide to submit your short stories or poetry to a magazine, make sure you do your due diligence and research what kinds of things they publish, and where your work is really a match.

Don’t submit to tons of publications all at one

“Cast a wide net” shouldn’t be your mantra when it comes to submitting to lit mags. As mentioned, all magazines have their own styles. So spending your time ensuring your submissions are targeted at the right places is much more valuable than sending your writing to as many different publications as possible. Editors can usually scout fairly quickly the pieces that have been submitted en masse, without any regard for their specific publication.

Instead, make a list of the magazines you want to submit to and group them into tiers. Tier One can be your top five magazines, Tier Two your next five favorite, and so on. This is not only a good way to make sure you’re giving each submission care and attention, it’s also a good way to make sure you don’t get the same piece of writing accepted by two different magazines, forcing you to pull your submission from one of them.

When it comes to making your list, don’t only consider what magazines have prestige, huge audiences, or hefty cash payouts. The best magazines to submit to are the ones that you actually enjoy reading. Because chances are those are the magazines that are going to be most interested in the kind of things you’re writing.

Keep your cover letter short and to-the-point

Editors are not won over by cover letters. If you’ve written a great story and have publishing credentials to boot, sure, your cover letter might help win them over. But if your submission isn’t strong, your cover letter is going to mean nil. So let your cover letter mention the important bits, make sure it provides any specific information that’s requested in the submission guidelines, and let your entry do the heavy lifting. 

Typically, a cover letter will mention a couple of the previous places you’ve been published as well as any other relevant experience you might have. You can also add a personal touch by mentioning a previous story or issue you particularly enjoyed.

What your letter shouldn’t mention is every place you’ve been published (up to 5 will suffice). It shouldn’t summarize your entry, your life story, or your “writing journey,” and any previous experience you mention should be related in some way to writing, publishing, or your entry.

Thoroughly edit your story — and follow submission guidelines!

An editor is probably not going to banish an otherwise very strong entry to the slush pile because of a misplaced typo. That being said, they have lots of reading to do, and while most editors won’t consciously read an entry looking for reasons not to like it, at the end of the day they can only accept so many pieces. So if you make their jobs easier by giving them a reason to pass on your piece, they’re going to take it. If it’s not adequately proofread, there’s only so long someone can continue reading even the strongest writing before the spelling errors convince them to stop.

Another quick way to convince an editor to pass on your entry is to not follow the submission guidelines. If the guidelines ask you to include specific information or to format your story in a certain way, follow those instructions to a tee. If the guide doesn’t tell you how to format your story, go classic: Arial or Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced. To ensure your submissions look professional, you can always copy and paste them into our free formatting tool, the Reedsy Book Editor !

Editors do want to like your submission

The publishing world is competitive, so it’s natural for authors to stress about all the little details of submitting to a literary magazine — whether to add page numbers to their document, who to address in their cover letter, whether they’ll stand a chance as a brand new author, etc. And while we did just mention that editors generally won’t put up a fight if you give them a reason to pass on your entry, they also won’t toss aside a submission they love just because the full package isn’t 100% perfect.

Remember, editors are looking for quality art they feel is going to resonate with their readers. If you can provide them with that, they’re going to be on your side.

Don’t just do it for the money or prestige

If you’re submitting to lit mags with the hopes of raking in the cash, you are more than likely going to be disappointed. Sure, there are some big-time magazines out there that offer larger paycheques to their writers and widespread readership, but many of them don’t accept unsolicited submissions — or come with extremely steep competition.

Most literary magazines are run on very tiny budgets that can’t afford to pay the writers they feature. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t submit to them. The exposure and credibility an emerging writer can gain from having their work featured across a number of smaller, indie publications are still very valuable and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Have fun — and be proud of what you publish!

Yes, having your work appear in literary magazines can help build up your publishing resume. But if you’re not writing and publishing work you feel really proud of, what’s the point? Readers don’t need more stories that make it into magazines because they follow the right trends or say the right things, we want literature that the author clearly loved writing. 

So, as we mentioned earlier, don’t just submit a piece because you think it’s going to get you somewhere. Submit something because you think it’s strong, unique, and worthwhile. Write and submit work you can proudly stand by! 

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NewPages.com is your best guide to literary magazines, indie publishing, university presses, creative writing programs, writing and literary events, writing contests, calls for submissions, and more.

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Creative Writing Magazines: Where to Submit and Why You Should

by Ashley · February 1, 2018

As creative writers, most of us want to share our stories and publish. I’m not gonna lie, I want to. Paradoxically, most of us are terrified to publish because of potential failure and rejection. What if I release my work to the world and they hate it? (By the way, remembering these 4 things when someone doesn’t like your writing may help with that fear.) Or, no one wants to read it? Or, no one knows about it and it goes unnoticed forever? Well, maybe you should start with a smaller audience.

As you develop your writing style and ideas, try writing short pieces of fiction to publish in magazines.

Doing so allows you to:

• Find out what you can work on to improve your writing.
• Get you used to working with the publishing process.
• Expose yourself little by little to more audiences.

I was only published in one magazine–in high school–

Hold on…in high school? That doesn’t even count!

Let me make my point! I was published in one magazine in high school. It was small and barely anyone read it. However, the teachers and students running it helped me to edit and revise my work to prep it for final publication after it was selected for its content. Then, I got a copy and felt so proud. It was out there, where anyone could read it–and some did. I was afraid because my name was on it and teens are cruel. Nevertheless, I did it. I think I still have the copy somewhere in a box.

It really did help me build the confidence to keep writing.

Now, I could come up with an awesome list of magazines that accept submissions for your creative writing. I was going to do that and enlighten you all but I was enlightened instead. As soon as I started my research, I found other blogs that compiled those lists for me. Why do extra work, right?

You’re so lazy!

The blogs and articles listed are not sponsoring me, nor am I representing their views and work. I merely found their article helpful in developing my own. Find out more about my terms and conditions and each of theirs when you get to their sites.

Top 50 Literary Magazines from Every Writer Resource

9 Literary Magazines for New and Unpublished Writers from Aerogramme Writers’ Studio

A List of Creative Writing Journals Accepting Submissions from Almond Press

So many options, right?

Well, you can’t publish to them all–nor should you. Your writing may not fit for every magazine. Thus, it may go out to the wrong audience and get more backlash than it would have from the audience it was intended for. Before you start trying to decide which magazines to go with, check out the “ 7 Signs a Literary Magazine is a Good Fit for Your Creative Writing ”; maybe it’ll help you narrow it down.

Have you ever published your work to a magazine? What was your experience like? Do you know of any other magazines that accept creative writing submissions? Let us know below and on social media. I recommend you also take a step further and sign up for bi-weekly Writer’s Wisdom for more writing tips, tricks, and topics.

Tags: Resources stories storytelling Writers Writing

My passion for storyology started at a typical young age, but with a desire to do it forever. That's why before I started my true writing journey, I taught writing and reading in high school classrooms in AZ. Later, I started writing part-time toward a goal of being published. All the while, trying to help others like me with my storyology blog.

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UK litmags great for new writers

Uk-based publishers for your poetry, flash fiction, short stories and creative nonfiction.

The UK is home to some great literary magazines and online journals. For this month’s list, we looked for publications that welcome new and unpublished writers from around the world, that are not restricted to a particular genre (for example, sci-fi), and that have reasonable response times.

Unless otherwise noted, the publishers on our list don’t charge fees. Some will even pay you! We’ve highlighted the forms accepted in bold – fiction means both flash fiction and short stories. After the first two entries, the list is ordered very roughly by acceptance rate – from high to low.

We didn’t include Litro , Riggwelter , Wildness and Literally Stories since they have appeared on some of our other lists, but they are also great and you should check them out.

Note:  We are a creative writing school and compile these lists for the benefit of our students. We’re happy to answer questions about  our courses  but please don’t send us your publishing queries or submissions :). Instead, click on the green links to go to the publication’s website and look for their submissions page. For more great places to submit as well as our best tips on getting published, check out our  other lists and resources .

Goatshed Press just launched in 2022 and the editors are keen to champion new writers. They plan to publish in print biannually and are currently looking for bold, exciting poetry , fiction , and creative nonfiction for their first issue (due out summer 2022). They will pay £60 for stories and personal essays over 1000 words and £25 for poems and flash fiction. The editors aim to respond in around a month. Since they reached out to us personally, we put them at the top of the list. You may want to clarify usage rights & copyrights before sending them your work.

Makarelle publishes attractive digital issues quarterly. They are looking for poetry (up to 3 poems, maximum 40 lines each) and fiction and creative nonfiction (up to 2000 words). They do charge a small submissions fee of £3 to cover their operating costs. The fee also enables them to reward the authors selected as the featured entry for each form (poetry, flash fiction, short story and creative nonfiction) with an honorarium of £10. They have four submissions windows, and their next runs from 28 February to 18 March 2022. They aim to respond in around a month. Like Goatshed, they are quite new (2021) and reached out to us, so we’ve also given them a spot at the top of the list.

Impspired , which was founded in 2019, publishes 6 online issues and 3 print anthologies per year. They’re looking for work that “shows care and attention to style,  language and form, and material that has been self-edited so that every word counts”. They prefer unpublished work but will consider previously published pieces. Send in your poetry and fiction (up to 4000 words). The editors tend to respond quickly – often in under a week!

Fiction on the Web is a one-man show and has been publishing short stories online since 1996! The publisher values quirky stories that have “strong plots, strong characters, and an evocative atmosphere” and prefers work that is between 1000 to 10,000 words long. He will consider previously published work. Genre fiction – sci-fi, fantasy, horror, crime – is welcomed.  The publisher aims to respond within a month (and usually succeeds) and will prioritise submissions from patrons and regular commenters.

Idle Ink reveals in the “strange and questionable”. Established in 2017, the magazine features poetry , fiction and essays (as well as art, articles, and reviews) in monthly online issues. Send in your prose of up to 5000 words or up to 3 poems. The editors try to make a decision within 30 days and usually do.

Fairlight Shorts is a weekly online series published by Fairlight Books. They’re looking to showcase fiction characterised by “originality, contemporary themes and superb writing”. They accept everything from flash to long-form fiction (up to 10,000 words). The editors will try to make a decision within 3 months and sometimes take a little longer.

Bandit Fiction publishes poetry (up to 50 lines per poem) and fiction and narrative non-fiction (between 250 and 3500 words) online as a part of their Read More Project. They will consider previously published work. The editors try to make a decision within 30 days but sometimes take a little longer.

En Bloc , established in 2021, publishes quarterly in print and digital formats. They’re looking for great  poetry and fiction and don’t have any particular style or word count limitations. They pay £35 per printed page as the work appears in the magazine. They don’t respond to all submissions so if you haven’t heard anything within a couple of months, assume your work was rejected.

Truffle is looking for “clever, happy, funny and entertaining fiction ” of up to 2000 words for their online magazine. The editors typically respond within a couple of months and tend to accept faster than they reject. If you’re in a hurry, you can pay £5 to hear back within 3 days.

Fictive Dream has been publishing stories online since 2016. They’re looking for fiction of between 500 and 2,500 words with “a contemporary feel that gives an insight into the human condition” to feature on their website. They aim to respond within a month and usually do.

Sepia was established in 2020 and publishes attractive online editions several times per year. You can send in your poetry (maximum 5 poems), fiction and creative nonfiction of up to 8,000 words. They’re open to submissions year-round and most of the time are able to get back to you within their target response time of 3 months.

Shooter has been publishing two themed print issues per year as well as running regular contests since 2017. You can send in poetry (up to 3 poems), short stories and creative non-fiction of between 2,000 to 6,000 words (so no flash). They pay £25 per story and £5 per poem upon publication. The submission deadline for their next issue on the theme of Out West (anything to do with western places and westward migration) is 9 May 2022. They generally send acceptances within a couple of weeks after the deadline; rejections may take longer.

Popshot Quarterly has been turning out high-quality print and digital editions since 2008. They accept poetry (between 12 and 40 lines) and fiction (between 100 and 3,000 words). All of their issues are themed. The deadline for their next issue on the theme of Joy is 1 March 2022. They don’t respond to all submissions – if you haven’t heard within 2 or 3 months, then you should assume it was a no.

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Top 15 Writing Magazines & Publications in 2024

• Writer's Digest
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