One thing I love is doing deep dives into different literary magazines. The sheer amount of creativity that gets poured into this industry on a daily basis does not get the credit it deserves.
Posting three lists a week of various sizes, on various topics, means I don’t always have the time to really explore what a magazine might be looking for. That’s why I enjoy making our Club Sub lists.
These are the lists for our $30/m members where they send us a piece of work and we cultivate a tailored list of magazines we think fit their piece. These lists take me about three hours to make. But it’s worth it. Each time I get to explore many new magazines and discover so many cool little quirks.
Today, I asked a Club Sub Tier member if I could share the list we created for them, and yay! They agreed.
So, how does this process go down?
We have a form where a writer can submit a piece each month, tell us how competitive they’d like to be, where it has been submitted before, whether they want contests, magazines, or both, and ask for any additional requirements.
People can choose 10 magazines with less information, or 5 magazines with more information. First, we read the story twice, make some notes, then get to searching.
We start with around 25 magazines by using our browse to filter down as much as possible. We open each double-check all of the guidelines, read them for a while, and slowly whittle our way down to 10ish.
Then, we make our list based on a blend of our research, statistics, and experiences with those magazines and their editors.
We often include honorable mentions or some other notes when we have them
If you’ve got any ideas on how these lists could be improved, please don’t hesitate to let us know. And if you’d like to give our highest Sub Club Tier a shot, here is where you can learn more:
And yeah, FYI we know this is kinda promotional. But also helpful. So just be aware…we’re aware. If you hate these lists and don’t want examples like this, feel free to shout at us in the comments.
5,000-word literary fiction story.
You mentioned that you like The Paris Review, Granta, and The Common in your form. These are all top-tier places that tend to publish less slush pile submissions. I'm not going to make any recommendations like The New Yorker or The Atlantic because a. similar mentalities toward slush pile submissions, and b. you probably know of them already. Instead, I tried to find some you may not have considered for this piece. You mentioned that your story is historical fiction. And, while it is, I think it shines as a 'literary' piece more. It feels modern, as though it could be happening now (even if based on historical events). In my experience 'The Common' is the most likely candidate but you're already aware of them. There is 'History Through Fiction' and a few that didn't meet your word count. So, I focused more on 'literary with a progressive cultural or international bend.'
My first choice would be Alien Magazine:
This is their Mission Statement:
Alien Magazine is a publication with the goal of creating an archive of work, as well as an innovative and supportive literary community, for outsiders. We look to expand the literary journal community and its readership by publishing nontraditional work. As we believe that all great art takes risks, we encourage you to do so as well.
Their submissions window this year is: May 22 - August 5 (though right now it says they're open to Nonfiction & Art)
Why I like them: They present work beautifully and professionally. I have liked them for a long time but never had anything to submit. Based on the themes at play in your story, I think it's right up their alley. They also pay $20 per piece and last I checked submission fees are optional for them.
They are quite competitive with a 1.11% acceptance rate but they accept simultaneous submissions and let you submit multiple pieces at a time.
My second choice would be 'The Sun'.
Here is what they look for in writing:
We’re looking for narrative writing and evocative photography from all over the world. Send us work that maps the human landscape, where the light catches on the faintest joy, where darkness sometimes threatens to overwhelm, and where ✗ never marks the spot because the truth is never so simple.
Why I like them: Well, that mission statement is pretty much dead-on with your story. There are so many complex layers to it with so much going on that it feels like seeing through the window of someone else's overwhelming experience.
They are open for submissions right now. They do charge a $2.50 submission fee. They are super competitive. We have them at a 2.5% acceptance rate but we only have 66 tracked submissions for them. The editors themselves set their acceptance rate at 0.1%. I still think it is worth it though. They accept simultaneous submissions, pay $200+, and are one of the few big-big fiction magazines that don't seem like total farts.
Third option: ANMLY
I chose them for two reasons:
1. "Anomaly is an international journal of literature and the arts. We provide a platform for works of art that challenge conventions of form and format, of voice and genre."
2. "Anomaly is committed to actively seeking out and promoting the work of marginalized and underrepresented artists, including especially people of color, women, queer, disabled, neurodivergent, and gender nonconforming artists."
Your story has an international bend as well as tackling themes around LGBTQ+. You also wrote the whole story in the present tense which is getting more in style but still somewhat unconventional.
Why I like them: They accept work from May 1 – August 1 and do charge a submission fee of $3 (but can apply to waive it if you can't afford it). We have them as a 10% acceptance rate but only 43 submissions have been tracked. Other places have them closer to 2%. They have a huge social media following and are quite active. They also nominate for Pushcart and Best of the Net.
Fourth Option: CRAFT
This is another highly competitive one (since the magazines you like are quite competitive, I tried to stick to the more competitive magazines for the main targets).
What I like about them: They accept fiction year round, pay well, and I've personally connected with one of their editors who is passionate about finding great work and it seems they hire people who aren't just there to scan a story and cash a check. They are progressive and seem to care for the writers they publish. We have them at a 1.43% acceptance rate with 93 submissions tracked which lines up with other places. They also accept simultaneous submissions so feel free to lump them in with a submission binge targeting the others. If you've got the funds, they also have the option to receive editorial feedback on your work and I know they put a lot of effort into this and hire some good people (though personally I never buy these sorts of things because: money) They also have a category for expedited submissions for free but note: "This fast-response category is open only to BIPOC writers and other historically mis- and underrepresented writers."
And the fifth magazine I'd recommend is BOOTH.
BOOTH is highly competitive with a 1% acceptance rate. I really like them because they're very open with their numbers. For example: "We typically see around 500-600 submissions per month, or close to 20 per day. Of these we accept around 50 titles per year, or approximately 1%."
Booth publishes a variety of things and is more lax in the 'literary or die' department. They host events and promote the writers they publish. They do charge fees but have a full breakdown on their site of what the money goes toward. They aren't open at the moment but their window is always September 1 to March 31. They accept up to 7500 so you're good there.
Why I like them: I've personally been both published and rejected by BOOTH and they were always professional. The editors were communicative leading up to publishing and their rejections were kind. And they pay $50 per story. They are progressive and run by an MFA program, so you're submitting to a place that evolves with the times and is on the lookout for engaging work (which is what I think you've got).
Honorable Mention Recommendations:
1. (Very competitive--like toss a weak snowball into hell and pray) The Gettysburg Review: Open till June 1st. "Aesthetically, we are open to most styles and approaches and are always interested in stories, whether more traditional or experimental, that are off-beat, penetrating, and surprising." They charge a fee but pay well. I think your work is really good and it tells an important story not many have heard. I don't think it's wild to take a shot at some of these really competitive magazines.
2. AFREADA - "AFREADA is a literary magazine featuring stories from writers and creatives across Africa. A fusion of the two words ‘Africa’ and ‘reader’, we live for the well-crafted narratives and effortless reads that speak to our daily realities as Africans at home and abroad." They present work so well. I really like their website. They are also popular on Twitter and your story hits dead on. They are open now and they pay. There is little data on them in terms of how competitive they are. Honestly, indie lit has been a bleakly Anglo-centric industry for much of the past 100 years so I wouldn't write off the lack of data as a reason not to send work in.
3. Cagibi - They don't have a word count but say they welcome 'Lengthier pieces.' Their mission statement is pretty spot on with your story: "CAGIBI is invested in sharing the universal human experiences to be found in works of prose and poetry set within places unfamiliar to readers; thus, our expressed interest in international—or world—literature, and works in translation." But I can't find any data on them anywhere so it's at your discretion.
This list looks super awesome and is the mirror image of my superhero-level (including wearing my undies on the outside of my outfit) ignorance of what's out there lit-mag-wise. I've got 3 stories I think are good, I'd love to get suggestions for each of them. Is there a bundle payment option? I'm currently PB&J (but snooty: homemade blackberry jelly and a quality crunchy peanut butter, only salt and peanuts, no weird oils or sugar)...
how do you guys always know exactly what I need?? your newsletters are the best part of my morning. thank you for this one in particular.