Listings
The best way to find a journal to submit to is to see where your favorite writers have been published. Check the copyright or acknowledgments pages of short story and poetry collections to see where the work was first published. These listings will help you, too.
- Poets and Writers Magazine: Tools for WritersA searchable database of journals, presses, contests, and grants.
- Council of Literary Magazines and PressesA searchable database of small and independent journals and presses.
- Science Fiction and Fantasy MarketsAn extensive list of Science Fiction and Fantasy markets for short fiction, novels, and poetry.
- The Writer's MarketThe classic, most extensive set of listings for journals, presses, and more.
- Literary Journals at UCLAFind and browse through literary journals at UCLA and beyond.
Annual Anthologies
The Best American Short Stories 2013 by Call Number: PS651 .B46
Annual anthologies like the ones below can help you find journals that are a good fit for your work.
The Pushcart Prize XXXVII by Call Number: PS501 .P979
The O. Henry Prize Stories 2013 by Call Number: PZ1 .O11
Cover Letters and Manuscript Tips
These resources will help you make the best possible first impression on editors.
- How to Write a Cover LetterUse these guidelines to write a perfect cover letter for your manuscript.
- Manuscript Preparation (Fiction)This article is geared towards genre writers, but has lots of good advice for literary writers, too.
- Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript (Fiction)A succinct guide to formatting a fiction manuscript.
Simultaneous and Multiple Submissions
You'll often see notes like "no simultaneous submissions" or "no multiple submissions" in journals' submission guidelines. What do these terms mean?
Simultaneous submissions means that you're sending the same story or set of poems to multiple journals at the same time. Many journals technically forbid this practice, but in reality, no one takes it seriously (except in the Fantasy/Sci Fi markets). After all, journals can take months to respond to you, so it's not fair for them to have exclusive access to your work for all that time.
Multiple submissions means that you submit more than one story or set of poems to the same journal at the same time. This is a no-no. Wait for them to respond before you submit again.