Welcome to our directory of literary journals and magazines accepting creative writing submissions. Whether you’re a poet, fiction writer, essayist, or work across multiple genres, this curated list connects you directly with publishing opportunities that match your work.
Each listing includes detailed information about the publication, submission guidelines, genre focus, and a direct link to submit your work. We’ve organized this resource to save you hours of research time, letting you focus on what matters most – your writing.
We understand that submission windows open and close quickly in the literary world. That’s why we continuously update this directory to ensure you’re seeing active, current opportunities. Our team regularly verifies each listing so you can submit with confidence.
Know of a journal we’re missing? Spotted outdated information? We welcome your input. Let us know about publications to add or suggest edits to existing listings. Have ideas for new features that would make this resource more useful? We’d love to hear from you.
Start exploring below to find literary journals and magazines that are the right fit for your creative work.
the engine(idling is an independent online literary journal founded and run as a one-person operation by Pennsylvania-based poet Danielle McMahon, whose own work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. The journal publishes themed issues of poetry and visual art — including collage, photography, drawing,… Find out more
The Gorko Gazette is an independent online humour publication founded in the mid-1990s by Wisconsin-born writer Colin "Raddy" Gee, who now operates it from southern Mexico. The Gazette is a proudly eccentric outlet devoted entirely to comedy, publishing fake news headlines, one-panel cartoons, spoof film reviews, humorous poetry, flash and… Find out more
Okay Donkey is an independent online literary magazine that has been publishing since 2018, specialising in the odd, the off-kilter, and the weird. The journal publishes flash fiction and poetry exclusively, with a strong preference for experimental, surreal, magical realist, and genre-bending work — writing that is funny, sad, or… Find out more
Luna Luna Magazine is an independent online literary journal founded in 2013 by writer Lisa Marie Basile, devoted to what it describes as "lush poetics, fever dreams, and the dark ecstatic." Originally a broader community publication covering identity, feminism, the occult, personal essay, and culture — and featured in outlets… Find out more
L'Esprit Literary Review is an independent, entirely non-profit literary journal founded in February 2022 — the centenary month of the publication of Ulysses — in deliberate celebration of the literary revolution of High Modernism. Edited by Jessica Denzer and operating as a sister publication to Indirect Books, the journal publishes… Find out more
Maudlin House is a Chicago-based independent online literary magazine and small press founded by Mallory Smart, serving as a bridge between experimental fiction and new form literature filtered through the lens of 21st-century indie and pop culture. Find out more
BRUISER is an independent online literary magazine with a distinctly anti-establishment ethos, publishing poetry, fiction, essays, criticism, film writing, visual art, photography, and columns with no genre restrictions and no rules. Find out more
Queen's Quarterly is one of Canada's oldest and most distinguished literary and intellectual journals, published continuously since 1893 out of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Find out more
West Trade Review is a quarterly literary journal founded in 2009 by Ken Harmon and based in Charlotte, NC. An imprint of Iron Oak Editions, a nonprofit independent press, the journal publishes contemporary poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction (personal essays and memoir), book reviews, visual art, and interviews. Find out more
Expat Press is an independent online literary magazine publishing fiction, poetry, essays, and miscellaneous writing. Operating since at least 2012, it has built a reputation as an outlet for raw, unconventional, and underground literary work, with a tone and aesthetic that sits outside the mainstream. The publication also operates a… Find out more
Salamander is a literary organization that publishes a biannual magazine of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and works in translation. It was founded in 1992 and aims to publish work by writers deserving of a wider audience at any stage in their careers as well as to focus intentionally on inclusivity and… Find out more
Kweli’s mission is to nurture emerging writers of color and create opportunities for their voices to be recognized and valued. By creating a community of Black, Indigenous and POC artists and programming based on artistic excellence and rigor, Kweli empowers writers to share stories that engage and impact our communities.… Find out more