Best Literary Magazines in 2025

Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry,

Founded in 1892 by the teacher and critic William Peterfield Trent, the Sewanee Review is America's oldest continuously published literary quarterly. SR has a long tradition of cultivating emerging talent: we published excerpts of Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor's first novels, and the early poetry of Robert Penn Warren, Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, and Christian Wiman.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction,

The Chicago Quarterly Review is a nonprofit, independent literary journal publishing the finest short stories, poems, translations and essays by both emerging and established writers. We're proud to have had work from our pages chosen for Best American Short Stories and the Pushcart Prize Anthology as we continue our mission to stimulate, entertain, and inspire.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Short Fiction,

We like stories that start quickly and have a strong narrative arc. Poems that are passionate about subject, language, and image are welcome, whether they are traditional or experimental, whether in formal or free verse (closed or open form). We publish all forms of creative nonfiction, from personal narrative to lyric essay to immersive journalism; we appreciate when an essay moves beyond the personal to tell us something new about the world.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry,

Ploughshares has published quality literature since 1971. Best known for our award-winning Ploughshares literary journal, we also publish Ploughshares Solos (digital-first long stories and essays) and a lively literary blog. Since 1989, we have been based at Emerson College in downtown Boston.

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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, Poetry, Non-Fiction,

Bard College's literary journal Conjunctions publishes innovative fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by emerging voices and contemporary masters.

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Print & Online magazine for Fiction, Poetry, Short Fiction,

From its earliest days in 1977 under the editorial direction of Isaac Asimov, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine has maintained the tradition of publishing the best stories, unsurpassed in modern science fiction, from award-winning authors and first-time writers alike.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction,

West Branch is a twice-yearly magazine of poetry and fiction, published by Bucknell University.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction,

Confrontation Magazine began operation in 1968 with the mission of bringing new talent to light in the shadows cast by well-known authors. Open to all submissions, each issue contains original work by famous and by lesser-known writers.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Non-Fiction,

We began as a free print pamphlet featuring just one short story. Now we're a pocket-sized monthly magazine — still free — with a handful of short stories and the occasional spot of nonfiction and poetry for the reading pleasure of London commuters. We aim to discover emerging writers and give them a platform to be read alongside stalwarts of the literary scene.

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Print magazine for Short Fiction,

PROMPTED is a celebration of the power of inspiration, and the places our imagination can take us with the slightest nudge. Each story is inspired by a one-sentence prompt, and written in a single week.

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Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction,

Published three times a year by the Georgia State University Department of English, each issue features poetry, fiction, essays, and interviews with the most compelling writers working today.

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Online magazine for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Scripts, Short 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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Print magazine for Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Scripts,

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, Poetry, Non-Fiction,

Founded in 1980, Sonora Review is one of the oldest student-run literary journals in the country. Former staff members include Antonya Nelson, Robert Boswell, Richard Russo, Tony Hoagland, David Foster Wallace, Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Tim Peterson, and Richard Siken. Work originally printed in Sonora Review has appeared in Best of the West and Best American Poetry, and has won O. Henry Awards and Pushcart Prizes.

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