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A Submission Guide (Literary Markets)
Original list provided by Edie Matthews Please report errors in web content or dead or broken links to Richard Amyx. Why this list is the way it is and how to use it. (Don't ignore this. Just read it.) Text in quotes beneath a magazine's name is what the magazine has to say about itself. What is a little magazine, and why are little magazines important to novice writers? According to the Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition, 2001-05),
"little magazine [is a] term used to designate certain magazines
that have as their purpose the publication of art, literature, or social
theory by comparatively little-known writers. Little magazines are where novice writers often earn their first publication credits. Follow this link to read a short history of little magazines. [ Writing Index ] AGNI Samples of published material available, mostly in back issues. Detailed submission guidelines. Alaska Quarterly Review No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines, The Antioch Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Artful Dodge Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. The detailed submission guidelines do not specify a time period for submission, nor do they give an address to which submissions should be sent. But you might try Artful Dodge The Atlantic Monthly Snippets are available online; subscription is required to read entire
articles. Detailed submission guidelines. Bamboo Ridge Limited samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Bellingham Review Submissions accepted from September 15 through February 1. The website says "recent issues sample entries have been approved by the author for publication on this website." I didn't check them all, but I didn't find any links. Detailed submission guidelines. BOMB Magazine Samples of published material available. Submission guidelines: info@bombsite.com Boulevard Magazine Samples of published material available. Contest for emerging writers. (Submissions for current contest close December 15, 2006. Perhaps the contest is offered yearly?) Detailed submission guidelines. Bridge Magazine Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Callaloo Publishes essays, interviews, short fiction, poetry, and drama. Excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "The Chattahoochee Review is a nationally recognized literary magazine sponsored by Georgia Perimeter College. Our purpose, a tradition begun twenty-seven years ago, is to publish original writing of literary merit." Published quarterly. Samples of published material available. For detailed submission guidelines, click submissions link on the main page. Chelsea Literary Journal No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Chicago Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Colorado Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines are on the site but are not linkable. Conjunctions Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines are on the site but are not linkable. "The journal devoted exclusively to the creative nonfiction genre. . . . Creative Nonfiction is the first and the largest literary magazine to publish on a regular basis, high quality nonfiction prose (memoir, literary journalism, personal essay) exclusively." Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Denver Quarterly Accepts submissions (fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, and poetry) September 15 through May 15. Only samples of reviews available. Detailed submission guidelines. Descant Descant is currently accepting submissions of original, unpublished poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, art and photography for general and themed issues: Fashion — Fall, 2007 Excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. The international fashion magazine. The website is an adjunct to the printed magazine, and contains no submission guidelines or other information about the magazine per se. Editor: Robbie Myers Epoch Unsolicited submissions are accepted from September 15 to April 15. No samples of published material available, no table of contents, no back issues, no nothing on the website that gives a flavor of the magazine. Detailed submission guidelines. "Esquire is special because it's a magazine for men. Not a fashion magazine for men, not a health magazine for men, not a money magazine for men. It is not any of these things; it is all of them. It is, and has been for nearly seventy years, a magazine about the interests, the curiosity, the passions, of men." Samples of published material available. Submission guidelines are not on the website. Fence As of December 4, 2006 Fence is not considering submissions, and suggests checking back at the website for updates. "Field, a twice-yearly journal, aims to publish the very best of contemporary poetry and poetics." Literary magazine of Oberlin College. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Five Points Samples of published material available. (A number of the links through webdelsol.com are broken; some do work.) Detailed submission guidelines. Published biannually by the Michigan State University Press, Fourth Genre is a literary journal that explores the boundaries of contemporary creative/literary nonfiction. We welcome personal essays-including nature, environmental, and travel essays-memoirs, personal critical essays, and literary journalism of up to 8000 words. Samples of published work may be available. None were as of December 4, 2006, but essays in the current issue were available for purchase at a cost of $5.00 each. Detailed submission guidelines. Fugue The University of Idaho's literary journal. Samples of published material available (in past issues). Detailed submission guidelines. Georgia Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Gettysburg
Review Limited samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Glimmer Train Samples of published material available, sort of. Very limited excerpts. Writing guidelines, which will lead you to on-line submissions. Be sure to read the writing guidelines first. They contain a lot of information. GQ is a slick men's monthly. The on-line version of GQ is an adjunct to the print version, and, while it contains some of the GQ content, it has no submission information. Grand Street Granta Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Harper's Magazine Lots of samples of published articles, essays, and reviews; I didn't see any fiction on a quick look. Detailed submission guidelines. Harper's considers only unsolicited fiction. All other materials (articles, poetry) require a query. Harvard Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. The Hudson Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Indiana Review One poem in the current issue can be read; links to past issues are all broken as of December 5, 2006. Detailed submission guidelines. Literary Imagination Selections from the current issue are promised, but not there as of December 5, 2006. Detailed submission guidelines. The
Louisville Review No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "Described as an 'elegantly produced magazine that has discovered a whole new young audience,' lyric presents poetry by Americans and translations of both little-known and celebrated poets from around the world." Published twice yearly. No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "The Malahat Review, established in 1967, is Canada’s leading literary journal. Published quarterly, it features Canadian and international poetry and fiction as well as reviews of new books by Canadian writers." No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Manoa Brief excerpts of published material available Detailed submission guidelines. Manoa is not considering unsolicited work as of December 5, 2006. McSweeney's Copious samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines (for the quarterly). Just go to the main page and scroll down for links to submission guidelines for the internet tendency and other things. Michigan Quarterly Review Samples of published material available in back issues. Detailed submission guidelines. Missouri Review Extremely limited samples of published material in the form of images of printed pages. Detailed
submission guidelines (paper). Mizna Excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Nebraska Review TNR is currently in hiatus and will most likely be reestablished
within the next year. (Email correspondence with Anna Monardo, Associate
Professor and Chair, Writer's Workshop, The New Criterion Excerpts of published material available in back issues. Submission guidelines appear not to be available on the website. You can contact the editors by postal mail The New Criterion or by email. New England Review Samples of published material available Detailed submission guidelines. The literary journal of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. New Orleans Review, an international journal of contemporary poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, photography, film, and book reviews is published twice yearly by Loyola University in New Orleans. Limited samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. The New Yorker Although its reviews and events listings often focus on the cultural
life of New York City, The New Yorker has a wide audience outside
of New York. It is well known for its commentaries on popular culture
and eccentric Americana; its attention to modern fiction by the inclusion
of short stories and literary reviews; its rigorous fact checking and
copyediting; its journalism about world politics and social issues; and
its famous, single-panel cartoons sprinkled throughout each issue. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Published six times a year by the University of Northern Iowa, "the NAR is well-known for its early discovery of young, talented fiction writers and poets. But it also publishes creative nonfiction, with emphasis on increasing concerns about environmental and ecological matters, multiculturalism, and exigent issues of gender and class." The website is virtually devoid of information about the publication itself. It shows only two covers; there are no tables of contents or samples of published material. Detailed submission guidelines. (The page is, on December 5, 2006, empty. Perhaps they'll fill it in by and by. But there is contact information.) "Novel is interested in articles on the following topics: theory of the novel, narratives of race and ethnicity, the novel in an international context, the novel and the history of sexuality, the novel and mass visuality, the novel's place in cultural studies, agency in or of the novel." Published three times a year. No samples of published material available directly. For more information, see JSTOR. General and submission information. Ontario Review publishes original fiction, poetry, personal essays, drama, photographs, graphics, and interviews with prominent contemporary authors. Excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Orchid: A Literary Review Brief excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "Orion explores an emerging alternative world view. Informed by a growing ecological awareness and the need for cultural change, it is a forum for thoughtful and creative ideas and practical examples of how we might live justly, wisely, and artfully on Earth. . . . Orion also includes powerful visual images that blur the boundaries between the human and the natural, and challenge us to see our world from new perspectives." Published six times a year by The Orion Society and the Myrin Institute. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Writing and art from or about the South, published quarterly. Excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "The only community college journal in the United States." Samples of published material available. No submission guidelines provided. Query Ellen Shull only. "The Paris Review hopes to emphasize creative work—fiction and poetry—not to the exclusion of criticism, but with the aim in mind of merely removing criticism from the dominating place it holds in most literary magazines and putting it pretty much where it belongs, i.e., somewhere near the back of the book." Excerpts of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. The Pinch Limited samples of published material available (in current issue only). Detailed submission guidelines. Ploughshares Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "Post Road is an innovative, award-winning literary magazine publishing the best fiction, poetry, essays and criticism, work in translation, and author recommendations by writers." Published twice yearly. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines.
PRISM international Samples of published material available (full poems, fiction excerpts). Detailed submission guidelines. "The Southern Review publishes fiction, poetry, critical essays, interviews, book reviews, and excerpts from novels in progress, with emphasis on contemporary literature in the United States and abroad, and with special interest in southern culture and history." Published quarterly at Louisiana State University. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission information (in pdf files). "Begun in 1915 and located on the campus of Southern Methodist University, SWR is the third oldest, continuously published literary quarterly in the United States. We try to discover works by new writers and publish them beside those of more established authors." Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "StoryQuarterly is an annual magazine devoted to the short story. We publish contemporary American and international literature of high quality, in a full range of styles and forms—writing that stands up over time." Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Studies in the Literary Imagination Sample published article available. Detailed submission guidelines. As a special topics journal, Studies in the Literary Imagination does not accept unsolicited articles for publication. Sycamore Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "Terra Incognita Bilingual Cultural Association is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster cultural exchange and greater understanding among the variety of communities in which English and/or Spanish are spoken. . . . I publishes an annual print journal in English and Spanish, along with an online journal. For each issue, we present poetry, fiction and non-fiction, as well as art and photography." Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Third Coast Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Thought Magazine Samples of published material on line. Detailed submission guidelines (not considering contributions as of December 6, 2006). [Thought's website, though nicely done, is hosted on a Geocities freebie site, and the editor uses a Yahoo email address.] The Threepenny Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. TriQuarterly No samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Virginia Quarterly Review Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. Western Humanities Review continues to seek fresh and original works of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and literary scholarship. Published by the University of Utah. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. "Witness blends the features of a literary and an issue-oriented magazine to highlight the role of the modern writer as witness to his or her times. Each issue includes essays, fiction, memoirs, poetry and art. Witness publishes one issue each year devoted to a special subject of wide social concern." Published by Oakland Community College, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Samples of published material available. Detailed submission information. [Witness has two websites. The one linked above is hosted on the Oakland Community College website, and appears to refer to a print issue. Witness on line is hosted through webdelsol.com and appears to be one issue behind the print version. However, the submission guidelines appear at the online site. It looks like Witness needs to get its act all the way together. —RA 12/6/06] The Yale Review No samples of published material available. (The guidelines says that a sample issue is available at the publisher's website, but the link was broken on December 6, 2006.) Detailed submission guidelines. Zoetrope: All-Story Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. ZYZZYVA Samples of published material available. Detailed submission guidelines. (Note: open only to writers and artists living in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, or Hawaii.) Why this list is the way it is and how to use it. I wish I understood the precise provenance of this list. It's something like this: it was originally compiled as a graduate class project. The criterion for a magazine's being on it is that the magazine has published at least one story that was awarded a Pushcart Prize. In other words, the magazine demonstrates sound editorial judgment. When Edie first gave me the list to help me find possible markets for a short story I'd written, it was a Word document. I immediately hit the web to start checking the magazines to see which might be appropriate. Then I thought, "If I was really smart, I'd record all these links so I don't have to repeat the search process in case I want to do this again." And then I thought, "Why not tidy it up a bit and make it available to other writing students?" After looking at the websites for several magazines, I distilled the information necessary to make a decision whether or not to submit down to three essential items.
While I was compiling the information in this list I thought I might save you a little time by offering my opinion of some of the publications. To me, a few—one in particular—seemed laughably pretentious; some seemed deadly dull; some rock-solid and prestigious; some like they were having a lot of fun doing what they were doing; and a few like they were lamentably flaky. After a bit of reflection, though, I decided that your opinions about the markets you were submitting to were more appropriate to your quest than were mine, and remained silent. Except in a couple of cases where I thought it prudent to offer caution. I know that there are lots of lists of resources for writers out there on the web, but I don't think I've seen one that provides the essential information that this one does. Finally, I do hope it makes your job of finding markets for your writing a little easier.
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