Best Fiction Literary Magazines in 2025

Online magazine for Fiction,

Shorts is a free online magazine launched in February 2020 with the aim of bringing together writers and creative artists from all over the world. Shorts particularly encourages submissions from marginalised communities, and from new and emerging writers. Shorts was established in a time of growing isolationism on the part of the UK and the US, and aims to combat this by uniting global creatives and nurturing unheard voices. It is an LGBTQ+ friendly platform with a liberal outlook.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

American Chordata is a biannual magazine of bright voices in fiction, nonfiction essay, and poetry, as well as art and photography. We are founded on the belief that a good literary magazine can celebrate sophisticated design and earnest expression on the same page.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

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.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

Ninth Letter is a collaborative arts and literary project produced by the Creative Writing Program and School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Edited and designed by faculty and students as part of the core curricula of both programs, the journal's mission is to present original literary writing of exceptional quality, illuminated by cutting-edge graphic design.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

Ginosko: A Greek word meaning the recognition of truth from experience.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

Copper Nickel, the national literary journal housed at the University of Colorado Denver, was founded by poet Jake Adam York in 2002. Work published in Copper Nickel has appeared in the Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, and Pushcart Prize anthologies, and has been listed as notable in the Best American Essays anthology.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

The mission of the Awakenings is to MAKE VISIBLE the artistic expression of survivors of sexual violence. Awakenings is home to a multi-media art gallery featuring the artistic expressions of rape and sexual abuse survivors. By showcasing stories of survival, we are helping survivors find peace while simultaneously challenging the cultural taboos that prevent an honest discussion of sexual violence.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

An award-winning monthly literary magazine that focuses on strong writing and captivating stories (fiction and narrative nonfiction), regardless of genre or author pedigree.

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Print & Online magazine for Fiction,

We are excited by writing that is difficult to classify—whether specifically speculative, substantially surreal, or slightly strange. We’re interested in realist pieces that verge on the dreamlike or surreal; speculative stories that are almost realist; and, on top of that, any form of literary fantasy/science fiction/speculative fiction.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

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.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

From its inception in prohibition, through depression and war, in prosperity and peace, the Virginia Quarterly Review has been a haven for the best essayists, fiction writers, and poets, seeking contributors from every section of the United States and abroad. It has not limited itself to any special field. No topic has been alien: literary, public affairs, the arts, history, the economy. If it could be approached through essay or discussion, poetry or prose, VQR has covered it.

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Print & Online magazine for Fiction,

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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Print magazine for Fiction,

The Sun is an independent, ad-free magazine that for more than forty years has used words and photographs to evoke the splendor and heartache of being human. The personal essays, short stories, interviews, poetry, and photographs that appear in The Sun's pages explore the challenges we face and the moments when we rise to meet them.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

Invisible City is an online publication of the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco that publishes in the fall and spring. We seek work that encourages us to see the world from new perspectives and different angles, ones that we may not have previously considered or imagined.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

Salamander, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization that publishes a biannual magazine of poetry, fiction, memoir, and works in translation. It was founded by Jennifer Barber in 1992 with the aim of publishing a generation of writers reaching artistic maturity and deserving of a wider audience alongside new work by established writers.

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