20 Must-Read Online Literary Journals | Book Riot (2024)

20 Must-Read Online Literary Journals | Book Riot (1)

Lyndsie Manusos

Senior Contributor

Lyndsie Manusos’s fiction has appeared in PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other publications. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked in web production and content management. When she’s not nesting among her books and rough drafts, she’s chasing the baby while the dog watches in confused amusement. She lives with her family in a suburb of Indianapolis.

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We are in a renaissance for online literary journals. Especially in regards to the pandemic, reading online is the easiest and fastest way to digest the most current literature. It’s also becoming easier for writers and readers to find their niche journals, from dark literary fiction to genre fiction, varying in length from novelettes to drabbles (a short work of fiction precisely 100 words in length). If you have a domain, you can start a journal. If you have access to the internet, you can read it. And in a world of isolation and burnout, the online literary journal, especially for me, has been an essential source of community among editors, writers, and readers.

List Criteria

In compiling a list of online literary journals, I leaned heavily on those that are only online. Some may do a print anthology over a volume of issues. Yet for the most part, these journals publish exclusively via their website or through digital issues (PDFs, ebook, etc.).

I also wanted to showcase an array of genres and lengths, from flash fiction publications to those specializing in science fiction and fantasy. Some literary journals below feature multiple mediums, including art and photography. I was tempted to split the list into categories (speculative, flash, etc.) but so many online journals belong in more than category; they are chameleons of literature, pushing against restrictions and labels.

Finally, I wanted to highlight some online journals that debuted within the past year or two. These new online literary journals are making great impacts on the literary scene, featuring voices from the around the world, sometimes in more than one language, and giving voice to marginalized communities. Especially having debuted during a pandemic and featuring such astounding work, these particular journals deserve much gratitude and celebration.

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Online Literary Journals Are For Both Readers and Writers

The below roundup is by no means an exhaustive list of what’s all out there. If you’re a reader looking for new outlets to discover the latest in fiction, this will act as a jumping-off point. The same goes for writers. As you dive into creating worlds and characters, perhaps you’ll find a journal seeking precisely the work you write.

So, without further ado, I give present the below list in alphabetical order by name.

20 Must-Read Online Literary Journals

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Apparition Literary Magazine

Apparition Literary Magazine is an online speculative journal that publishes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction essays. Each issue is compiled around a theme, from Transfiguration, Contamination, Chance, to its latest issue: Wonder. Recently, Apparition has brought on talented guest editors, such as Premee Mohamed, Aigner Loren Wilson, and Maria Dong.

I had the honor of having a short story published in the Transfiguration issue in 2020. There is so much amazing work coming out of this magazine, with a staff that deeply cares for its writers and growing readership. I highly recommend Zebib K.A.’s story “Commodities” in the Justice issue, published in January 2021.

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Baffling Magazine

Let’s start off strong and bow down to that cover art. Baffling Magazine is a project of Neon Hemlock Press. It publishes quarterly, and features speculative flash work with a queer bent. Its first issue published in October 2020 featuring work by renown writers of speculative fiction, such as Nino Cipri and Izzy Wasserstein. Its first year of issues is forthcoming as a print volume with Neon Hemlock Press.

There are SO many brilliant stories just in the first four issues. I especially fell in love with Hailey Piper’s robot western “The Heart is a Spare Part” from Issue 4 and M.L. Krishnan’s “A Lamentation, While Full” from Issue 3.

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Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Those in an escapist mood with a taste for secondary world fantasy, BCS is the online journal for you. Even more specific, BCS is a nonprofit, SFWA pro-qualifying online literary journal that publishes “literary adventure fantasy: fantasy set in secondary-world or historical paranormal settings, written with a literary focus on the characters.”

For writers who enjoyed Alix E. Harrow’s brilliant novels The Once and Future Witches and The Ten Thousand Doors of January, she also published a brilliant story in BCS titled, “Do Not Look Back, My Lion.”

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Catapult

Catapult is an independent online literary journal publishing essays, fiction, poetry, and art. In 2020 it won the National Magazine Award for columns and commentary.

Since its inception, Catapult as grown and now publishes books and offers online classes. I can personally attest to how awesome the Catapult classes are, having taken a flash fiction online workshop with Lindsay Hunter.

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Clarkesworld Magazine

Clarkesworld magazine first published in 2006 and has been presenting monthly online issues ever since. In almost 15 years of publishing, Clarkesworld has accumulated many awards, including nominations and/or winning the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, BSFA, Sturgeon, Locus, Shirley Jackson, Ditmar, Aurora, Aurealis, WSFA Small Press and Stoker Awards.

It is a solid magazine for dipping into the very latest science fiction and fantasy, and it’s a pro-paying publication for writers looking to break into SFWA-qualifying markets.

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The Deadlands

For those of the gothic heart, I give you The Deadlands, a new online literary magazine publishing speculative fiction, non-fiction, and poetry surrounding the subject of death.

Issue 4 published in August, and I had the honor of having one of my own short stories included (a Bluebeard retelling where his ghost brides get revenge!). From ghostly stories, to stories of the afterlife, to an essay on being a mortician, The Deadlands will provide all the spooky, ethereal, haunting vibes readers crave.

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Electric Literature

Electric Literature is a well-known headquarters for those seeking quality online literature. It offers two online journals under its umbrella, from Recommended Reading, which publishes short fiction and novel excerpts with personal recommendations, to The Commuter, which caters to flash fiction, poetry, and graphic narratives.

Electric Lit began as a quarterly in 2009 and then became a nonprofit in 2014. All of Electric Lit’s content is free, and it has received numerous accolades, including selection in the Best American Short Stories, Essays, Poetry, and Comics, the Pushcart Prize, Best Canadian Short Stories, and The Best of the Small Presses.

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Flash Fiction Online

When one thinks flash fiction online literary magazine, FFO is often a favorite. First published in 2006, FFO publishes fiction from 500 to 1,000 words in length in just about every literary and speculative genre. In 2020, FFO had three stories listed in Best Small Fictions, and much of its work is widely shared on social media.

My most recent favorite flash story is a heart-wrenching piece by Aimee Ogden titled “The Songs Her Mother Used to Sing.”

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khōréō

khōréō is a quarterly magazine of speculative fiction and migration and seeks to feature voices of immigrant and diaspora authors. its focus is on stories, essays, and art as long as there is a speculative element.

The first issue published in February 2021 with much acclaim. From its most recent issue, I recommend the brilliant (and awesomely-titled) story, “Evelina, My Tentacles!” by Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas.

khōréō recently closed submissions for its next themed issue but will open again in October.

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Lolwe

Troy Onyango started the online literary journal Lolwe in 2020, with the mission to publish more Black writers, poets, and photographers in Africa and around the world.

In a profile in The New York Times, he explained that the name Lolwe comes from “Luo name for Lake Victoria, whose waters hug this city in western Kenya, and means ‘endless lake or water body’.” Lolwe recently opened for submissions for the month of August for its fourth issue, which will be guest-edited by Nsah Mala, Harriet Anena and Loic Ekinga.

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Mermaids Monthly

Do you like mermaids? Do you like anything and everything related to mermaids? Look no further, because you can find your mermaid lore fix with the recently-established Mermaids Monthly. Its tagline is “a magazine about mermaids. that’s it. that’s the shell.”

It recently published Issue 7 in July 2021, which revolves around the ever-popular selkie, with beautiful fiction, art, and poetry. Jennifer Mace’s brief but gorgeous poem “Seal Bride” is fantastic.

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Milk Candy Review

Milk Candy Review is a lovely online literary journal run by the talented flash writer Cathy Ulrich. MCR publishes fiction under 750 words and caters to “beautifully weird flash fiction.” I had the pleasure of having my own weird flash published here, though my favorite story in MCR is by another fellow Book Riot writer, Annika BarrantiKlein titled, “Anaphora (Ten Ways to Greet a Time Traveler).”

I highly recommend Milk Candy Review, both as an outlet for readers seeking to dive into flash fiction and for writers seeking a place to send work that may not quire fit at other venues.

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The Offing

The Offing is an online literary magazine that publishes a wide spectrum of literature and art, from micro fiction (“10 to 560-character works — or one to five tweets — in any genre”) to poetry, fiction, and essays/memoir. It actively seeks to feature underrepresented voices as well as challenge writers to use their fiction to experiment and provoke.

The recently-published micro “I feel like an adult when I worry about money,” by Raina Greifer is particularly stunning.

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SmokeLong Quarterly

Created in 2003, SmokeLong is one of the longest-running online literary journals, and recently published Issue 72. According to its website “The term “smoke-long” comes anecdotally from the Chinese, who noted that reading a piece of flash takes about the same length of time as smoking a cigarette.”

SmokeLong recently established two competitions in the past year, one for comedic flash fiction and one for micro fiction. They also publish global flash fiction, as well as flash in Spanish. One of my all-time favorite flash stories, which still resonates today, is the 2019 flash by Amber Sparks titled “Everything is Terrible but You Should Read This Story.”

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Strange Horizons

Strange Horizons is an online literary journal publishing weekly issues of and about speculative fiction. Founded in September 2000, Strange Horizons has since published critically-acclaimed speculative fiction, having been nominated or won Hugo, Nebula, Rhysling, Theodore Sturgeon, James Tiptree Jr., and World Fantasy Awards.

In addition to fiction, they also publish poetry, art, interviews, and reviews. In the August 23, 2021 issue, for the Writing While Disabled column, Kristy Ann Cox interviewed the great Nisi Shawl on upcoming projects, how disability informs and impacts her work, and how women and nonbinary folk often come to milestones one expects of a writer later in life because of all the marginalization. A necessary, important read.

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Sukoon: Arab-Themed Art & Literature

Sukoon‘s last-known issue was in Winter 2020, but it’s an important literary journal to feature nonetheless. It is an independent, online literary journal publishing Arab-themed art and literature in English, with an aim to show the diversity of Arab identity.

It was founded by the poet and writer Rewa Zeinati. According to its website, the name Sukoon is an Arabic word meaning stillness. “What we mean by Sukoon is the stillness found within as the artist follows his/her inner calling to express and create; a calling that compels the artist to continue on his/her creative path for the sole reason that he/she doesn’t know how not to.”

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Uncanny Magazine

One can’t do a list of online literary journals without mentioning Uncanny. A staple in the science fiction and fantasy community, Uncanny has racked up the nominations and awards year-to-year, publishing the most established and up-and-coming names in SFF.

One of my favorite stories in Uncanny (and it’s hard to choose because there are so many excellent stories) is the award-nominated “My Country is a Ghost” by Eugenia Triantafyllou from Issue 32.

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Uncharted

Uncharted launched in August 2021and has already published a collection of talented writers and stories, including “Evolution” by Paul Crenshaw. Additionally, its first judge for the inaugural Science Fiction & Fantasy contest is the award-winning author Ken Liu.

Uncharted is under the same umbrella company as other well-known online literary magazines, such as The Masters Review, Craft, and Fractured Lit. They, too, are all excellent online literary journals, but I wanted to highlight Uncharted for debuting this year. Uncharted publishes science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and thriller fiction.

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Words Without Border: The Online Magazine for International Literature

WWB was founded in 2003 and has published more than 2,700 writersfrom 140countries, translated from126languages. It has a monthly online magazine showcasing contemporary fiction, with the aim to introduce writers from around the world to the general public. Some major writers it’s published include Elena Ferrante, Mariana Enríquez, Svetlana Alexievich, and more.

In the latest monthly issue for July/August 2021, WWB featured Afro-Italian Women Writers.

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Wrongdoing Magazine

Last but certainly not least is the achingly beautiful Wrongdoing Magazine. Another debut on the list, Wrongdoing published its first issue in Spring 2021 and makes the offer to writers that if they’ve ever written work “so blatantlywrongfor most markets, then pretty please, do try us out.”

As an examples, Lindz McLeod’s fiction story “Heavenly Bodies” is about a woman who keeps the sun in a spare room. A haunting and sensual story.

Other Resources

If you’re looking to find more online literary magazines, or really any literary magazine, here are a couple resources to utilize:

The Submission Grinder

The Submission Grinder is run by Diabolical Plots (another fantastic online literary journal of speculative fiction) for writers to search for markets and track their submissions. It is completely free to use, and has a database of more than 11,000 markets.

Duotrope

Duotrope is another resource for searching and tracking submissions for writers, though it does require a monthly or yearly subscription. It lists more than 7,000 active markets (including literary agents, for those querying their longer projects) and features a new market every day for writers to discover.

Lit Mag News Roundup

Becky Tuck started The Review Review in 2008, providing information on literary magazines, interviews with editors, and calls for submissions. In 2019, she sold the site to Gonzaga University, which still continues its mission. Becky continues her good work and now offers a bi-weekly newsletter via Substack with news on all things literary magazine. You can read free content or sign up for a subscription to pay for premium content.

Finally, Book Riot continues to provide great content about varying genres, structures, and forms. You can read a couple of my own articles, such as a small roundup of flash fiction journals, definitions of speculative fiction and slipstream, and a roundup of 2021 speculative short story collections.

Support Your Favorite Online Literary Journals

One of the best ways to support online literary magazines — in addition to subscribing and donating — is sharing the work of their writers. Tweet, post, TikTok, etc. As I mentioned; this list is by no means exhaustive. If your favorite online literary journal was not listed, highlight that journal on social media. Share your favorite stories, essays, poetry, and art. Celebrate and applaud the work of these brilliant journals and give thanks to their hard-working staff.

Many literary journals are discovering and publishing the next great writers. By reading these, you may just discover the future of the literature.

20 Must-Read Online Literary Journals | Book Riot (2024)

FAQs

20 Must-Read Online Literary Journals | Book Riot? ›

The Rumpus is an online literary magazine founded by Stephen Elliott, and launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as original fiction and poetry.

What is the Rumpus website? ›

The Rumpus is an online literary magazine founded by Stephen Elliott, and launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as original fiction and poetry.

What do literary magazines feature? ›

A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters.

What magazines publish book reviews? ›

Book Review Outlets
  • Book Nerdection. Book Nerdection is a website offering services for book reviews, sponsored book listings, author interviews, and an abundance of content for both authors and readers. ...
  • VIDA Review. ...
  • Fugue. ...
  • Adroit Journal. ...
  • Bone Bouquet. ...
  • Asymptote. ...
  • Big Other. ...
  • Barrelhouse.

Where to submit creative writing? ›

National Undergraduate Literary Journals
  • Collision Magazine.
  • Green Blotter Literary Magazine.
  • Polaris Magazine.
  • The Allegheny Review.
  • The Albion Review.
  • Susquehanna Review.
  • Catfish Creek.
  • The Blue Route.

Who owns rumpus? ›

Rumpus is co-owned by Greenbird Media, who hold a 40% stake in the company. Earlier this year, Greenbird were acquired by Scottish media conglomerate STV.

Does the Rumpus pay? ›

Each month, we set aside $400. All eligible contributors are able to opt in for payment at the end of the month, and the money is divided between those writers who opt in.

What is the difference between a literary journal and a literary magazine? ›

A.: The majority of literary journals publish a mix of short stories, personal essays (nonfiction), and poetry. They might also include some visual artwork, interviews with authors, and book reviews. Though many literary magazines accept a wide array of genres, some specialize in one genre.

How much do literary magazines pay? ›

While a few literary magazines pay contributors—as much as five hundred to a thousand dollars for prose—most pay between fifty and a few hundred dollars for literary essays, poetry, and fiction, work that takes months to create. And many simply don't pay at all. Writing is creative. Publishing is business.

How many literary magazines are there? ›

Literary Magazines - Nearly 1,000 Journals and Magazines | Poets & Writers.

What are the coolest lit magazines? ›

In order: The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Granta, Zoetrope, The Paris Review, The Southern Review, ZYZZYVA Magazine, American Short Fiction, and McSweeney's. These are all successful American literary journals with high-profile contributors and outstanding reputations.

What is the most influential literary magazine? ›

  • 1 New Yorker. Since 1925 this magazine has published some of the best writers in the country. ...
  • 3 Paris Review. The Paris Review started in 1953 and is one of the best-known literary magazines in the world. ...
  • 4 New England Review. ...
  • 5 Granta. ...
  • 6 Harper's Magazine. ...
  • 8 Georgia Review. ...
  • 9 Southern Review. ...
  • 10 Virginia Quarterly Review.
Jan 12, 2023

What is the best company to publish your book? ›

The 8 Best Self Publishing Companies [2024] (Retailers and...
  • Kindle Direct Publishing (Retailer)
  • Apple Books (Retailer)
  • KOBO (Retailer)
  • Barnes and Noble Press (Retailer)
  • Draft2Digital (Aggregator)
  • BookBaby (Aggregator)
  • PublishDrive (Aggregator)
  • IngramSpark (Aggregator)
Jan 8, 2024

How much does one story pay? ›

One Story pays $500 and 25 contributors copies for First Serial North American rights.

What is a submission grinder? ›

The Submission Grinder is a donation-supported submission tracker and market database for writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Use our extensive and powerful search engine to find a home for your work. If you can't find a listing for a publisher you'd like to submit to, suggest a new market listing.

How much do harpers pay for fiction? ›

Harper's Magazine

The oldest general-interest magazine of its kind, Harpers accepts both nonfiction and fiction submissions. You can pitch to editor Rachel Poser via email. The average pay is reported at $0.70 a word.

Who started wild rumpus? ›

Timi Conley

In early 1991, he moved to Athens, GA to start a music career that now spans three decades. His accomplished musical projects include Wonderland Rangers, Kite to the Moon, Aqualove, and Fuzzy Sprouts. Restlessly creative, Timi started the Wild Rumpus Parade & Spectacle in 2009.

What is a rumpus in a house plan? ›

a room used for noisy activities, such as parties or children's games.

Who is the editor in chief of the rumpus? ›

Alyson Sinclair is the new owner of online literary publication the Rumpus, acquiring it from Marisa Siegel, its former managing editor and owner since 2017. Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn has been named editor-in-chief.

How to get published in Paris review? ›

Submissions. The Paris Review accepts unsolicited submissions of prose in February, June, and October and unsolicited submissions of poetry in January, April, July, and October. Submissions are accepted via Submittable until we reach capacity, as well as by mail (see the instructions below).

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