Katrina Parker Williams on "Submitting to Literary Magazines"

Submitting to Literary Magazines

Reprint with permission from author, Katrina Parker Williams

New and emerging writers interested in having their works published should consider submitting to literary magazines as an invaluable part of their writing goals. Writers need to understand the importance of submitting their poetry, fiction, and short stories to literary magazines. It is a successful method for marketing their works and for building a readership.

But they must adhere to the specific guidelines for submitting to literary magazines to avoid having their works promptly discarded in the slush pile. The submissions guidelines are there for a reason, and if they do not follow them, they are weeding out their chances of publication.

Before submitting work to literary magazines, writers should always check the submissions guidelines and follow them to the letter. Not doing so could mean their work does not get published, and that is the whole point of submitting in the first place, right? Also writers should make sure to familiarize themselves with the content and genre of works the literary magazine publishes to ensure their work fits in with the magazine’s theme.

I write on southern-themed topics, and when I submit to literary magazines, I focus on those that accept the type of works I produce. The few I am familiar with, either by submitting to them or having work accepted for publication, are listed below.

Barely South Review The new literary journal in electronic format housed in Old Dominion University’s MFA in Creative Writing program!

Charlotte Viewpoint A magazine showcasing long-form essays, memoirs, fiction, and poetry written by fellow citizens.

Clapboard House A Literary Journal–Artful Short Stories and Poems

The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature A webzine devoted to Southern cultural literature.

Glint Literary Journal The Literary Journal of Fayetteville State University. In print and online. The best fiction, non-fiction, essays and poetry on the web.

Meadowland Review An online literary journal comprised of a small group of writers and editors who share a commitment to providing a public space for thoughtful and original material. We welcome and encourage both emerging and established writers of short fiction and poetry.

Musacadine Lines: A Southern Journal A place for emerging and established writers to publish their work.

The Pedastal Magazine A webzine of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and interviews.

Storysouth A quarterly journal featuring the writings from the new south.

Umbrella Factory A small press determined to connect well-developed readers to intelligent writers and poets through virtual means, printed journals, and books. We believe in making an honest living providing the best writers and poets a forum for their work.

The Western Online The Western Online is dedicated to everything Western. We publish Western short stories, non- fiction articles and artwork.

http://www.newpages.com/http://www.duotrope.com/Duotrope’s Digest is another resource that contains a listing of 2875 markets to which writers can submit their works. The listings are categorized by genre, length, new, fledgling, paid, or unpaid, as well as many other categories. There are a list of submissions guidelines and links to the magazines’ websites. This is wonderful tool for a new and emerging authors to utilize, and it’s free.

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