Literary Magazines and Journals: Where to Read and Submit

Literary magazines and journals are the beating pulse of the publishing ecosystem — the place where short fiction, poetry, essays, and experimental work find their first serious audience. This page covers how to identify reputable publications, what the submission process actually looks like, and how to decide which outlets make sense for a given piece of writing.

Definition and scope

A literary magazine publishes short-form creative and critical writing, typically in issues released on a quarterly, biannual, or annual schedule. The category is broad enough to contain The New Yorker (circulation roughly 1 million) and a staple-bound zine with 200 readers — and both can matter enormously to a writer's career, depending on the moment.

The distinction between a "literary magazine" and a "journal" is mostly aesthetic. In practice, journals lean academic — often affiliated with universities, like Ploughshares (Emerson College) or The Kenyon Review (Kenyon College) — while magazines carry a slightly more commercial or independent flavor. The work published in both can be identical in quality and ambition.

Scope across the field is staggering. Duotrope, a submission tracking platform, lists over 5,000 active fiction and poetry markets at any given time. The market segments roughly into three tiers:

1. Top-tier national publications — The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, Tin House, One Story, AGNI, The Sun. These pay professional rates (SFWA-defined pro rate for fiction is $0.08 per word or higher, per the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association), accept unsolicited submissions from a tiny fraction of submitters, and carry significant reputational weight.
2. Mid-tier literary journals — Crazyhorse, The Missouri Review, Ninth Letter, Copper Nickel, Gulf Coast. Often university-affiliated, frequently competitive for emerging writers, sometimes offering modest payment or honoraria.
3. Small and micro presses — Online-only magazines, genre hybrids, themed zines, and identity-focused publications. Acceptance rates are often higher, payment is often in contributor copies or token amounts, and they serve a crucial function in publishing experimental or niche work that larger venues won't touch.

How it works

The standard submission process follows a predictable rhythm. A writer identifies a target publication, reads at least one full issue (more on this shortly), formats the manuscript to the publication's stated guidelines, and submits through whatever portal the magazine uses — Submittable accounts for the majority of submissions in the US market, though some publications use Duotrope's platform, their own web forms, or still accept email.

Response times vary from two weeks to eighteen months. The New Yorker does not acknowledge receipt; The Sun is known for exceptionally long queues. Most mid-tier journals respond within three to six months.

Simultaneous submissions — sending the same piece to multiple publications at once — are accepted by most venues and are considered standard practice for fiction and nonfiction. Poetry journals are more divided on this. If a piece is accepted while under simultaneous consideration elsewhere, the writer is expected to withdraw it immediately from all other queues. Failing to do so creates real professional damage.

Contests are adjacent to the regular submission pipeline. Publications like American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, and The Missouri Review run annual contests with entry fees (typically $15–$25 per submission), cash prizes, and guaranteed publication for winners. These function as fundraising for the magazine as much as talent discovery.

Common scenarios

The emerging writer building a record. A poet finishing an MFA sends work first to three or four mid-tier journals simultaneously. Accumulating 3–5 publications in respected venues before approaching book publishers or agents is the informal standard — though "informal" is doing real work there, since expectations vary widely by genre.

The short story writer targeting genre and literary audiences. Genre fiction markets (for science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing) have their own parallel ecosystem — Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons — with SFWA-recognized pro rates and submission practices that differ from the strictly literary world. A writer working in genre-adjacent literary fiction often submits to both tracks.

The essayist submitting creative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction — personal essay, lyric essay, memoir excerpt — has seen dedicated publication growth since Creative Nonfiction magazine (founded by Lee Gutkind in 1993) helped legitimize the category. Brevity, Ninth Letter, and River Teeth are among the venues specifically cultivating this form.

Reading as research. No credible submission happens without first reading the publication. Reading multiple issues reveals what a journal actually wants versus what its guidelines claim to want — two things that don't always align. This habit of reading like a writer is what separates targeted submissions from mass-market spray-and-pray.

Decision boundaries

Where to submit is a strategic question, not just an aspirational one. A 7,000-word experimental story is a poor fit for One Story (which publishes exactly one story per issue, in the 3,000–8,000 word range, and favors accessible narratives). Knowing the difference between a publication's stated word count ceiling and its actual aesthetic center of gravity requires reading, not just researching.

The submitting creative writing process also involves tracking rejections honestly. A standard rejection (form letter) tells a writer nothing about the work. A personalized rejection — even two sentences — signals genuine interest and warrants a follow-up submission to that venue.

Fee structures matter. Most reputable literary magazines charge no reading fee for general submissions. A non-refundable reading fee for a standard submission window (not a contest) is a signal worth questioning. Organizations like the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) maintain standards for member publications and offer a searchable provider network of vetted markets.

The broader ecosystem of creative writing workshops, conferences, and writing groups all feed into the submission pipeline — workshops produce finished work, conferences produce connections with editors, and peer groups help writers assess readiness before submitting. The full landscape of tools and pathways for writers is covered at the main resource index.