Conference
Publishing in Literary Magazines
Registration has now closed
📚 Overview
Publishing in a literary magazine is a great way to build your online portfolio and grow as a writer. To get your work accepted, you need not only a compelling piece but also a strategic submission process and the ability to make a strong first impression.
In this one-day session, you’ll hear directly from magazine editors and learn what it takes to avoid the slush pile. Authors who have successfully published stories will also share their insights and submission tactics during panel discussions and Q&As.
If you want to break into publishing through literary magazines, sign up today for a comprehensive breakdown of how to hone your work, get it published, and start building an audience.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
✅ Exclusive Access
Managing editors at literary magazines as well as published authors will share their knowledge during presentations and panel discussions.
Each presentation will be followed by a live Q&A, giving you the chance to ask your questions. You’ll also receive a free entry to our short story contest, and a free copy of the latest issue of Prompted, our short story magazine.
Finally, if you’d like to work with a professional editor to polish your writing before submitting, you'll get post-event guidance on hiring an editor through Reedsy, plus $25 credit towards a collaboration.
Schedule
11:00 - 11:45 EDT
Submitting to Literary Magazines
There are hundreds of literary magazines out there that specialize in different genres, styles, and forms of writing. Once you’re ready to submit, it’s therefore important to do your research and find the magazines that are a good fit for your work. In the first session of the day, Joshua Bohnsack (Oyez Review) will walk you through researching literary magazines and best practices for submitting. You’ll leave with the tools you need to confidently submit your writing for publication!
12:00 - 12:45 EDT
Nailing Your Title and First Page
You only get one chance to make a strong first impression, and that starts with your title and first page. In this session, Aram Mrjoian (Michigan Quarterly Review) will teach you how to capture a reader’s attention from the get-go, what to consider when choosing your title, and what pitfalls to avoid for your opening page.
13:15 - 14:00 EDT
How I Started My Writing Career
During this author panel, we’re joined by writers David Restaino, Kate Doyle and Lara Ehrlich. Having appeared in publications like Joyland, LitHub, and Funicular Magazine, they know what it takes to have writing accepted to literary magazines. They have gone on to be shortlisted for numerous literary awards, publish short story collections, and serve as fiction editors for online journals. During this session, moderated by Rebecca van Laer, the panelists will share their best advice for getting started and lessons learned from years of writing for literary magazines.
14:15 - 15:00 EDT
Standing Out in the Slush + Q&A
The infamous ‘slush pile’ is a term that often gets thrown around, but how does it actually work? In this panel talk, we’re joined by Aram Mrjoian (Michigan Quarterly Review), Wynter Miller (Electric Literature), and Erin Vachon (SmokeLong Quarterly) to find out what editors at literary magazines really look for. This is a unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a literary magazine, and to ask managing editors of top magazines your questions.
Speakers
Joshua Bohnsack
Editor-in-chief of Oyez Review
Joshua Bohnsack is the publisher of Long Day Press and the editor-in-chief of Oyez Review, and has worked for TriQuarterly, Dalkey Archive Press, and others. Bohnsack is the author of the essay chapbook Atonality (MWC Press) and has had work in Fence, AGNI, The Rumpus, among others. He grew up on a farm and lives in Chicago where he teaches at Roosevelt University.
Aram Mrjoian
Managing Editor of Michigan Quarterly Review
Aram Mrjoian is a writer, editor, critic, and educator. He teaches creative writing at the University of Michigan, where he serves as the managing editor of Michigan Quarterly Review, and at the Rainier Writing Workshop. He is the previous editor-in-chief of The Rumpus and a 2022 Creative Armenia-AGBU Fellow. His debut novel, Waterline, is out now with HarperVia (June 2025).
Wynter Miller
Managing Editor at Electric Literature
Wynter K. Miller is the Managing Editor at Electric Literature, where she supports the publication of two literary magazines, and acquires and edits fiction.
Erin Vachon
Senior Reviews Editor for SmokeLong Quarterly
Erin Vachon is the Senior Reviews Editor for SmokeLong Quarterly and the Multigenre + Chapbook Editor for Split/Lip Press. They have served on the masthead at The Rumpus, Longleaf Review, and JMMW, as well as being an Editorial Panelist for Sarabande’s 2025 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. Their work appears in SmokeLong Quarterly, Black Warrior Review, DIAGRAM, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Pinch, Brevity, The Anarchist Review of Books, and more. They received an MA with distinction in English Literature from the University of Rhode Island.
David Restaino
Associate Fiction Editor at The Maine Review
David Restaino is a writer and freelance editor living in London, UK. He is the associate fiction editor at The Maine Review, and a submission reader for Kitchen Table Quarterly. His writing has appeared online and in print at Funicular Magazine, Horizon Magazine, Outcrop Poetry, Thread Magazine, Mulberry Lit, and elsewhere, and is forthcoming at First Page and Squid Literary. He was a quarter-finalist in Driftwood Press’s annual short story contest, runner-up in the Dillydoun Review flash fiction contest, and a 2024/2025 emerging writing fellow at the London Library. He is a PhD candidate with funding from LAHP at KCL.
Kate Doyle
Author
Kate Doyle is the author of the short story collection I Meant It Once, longlisted for The Story Prize and a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Award. Kate’s writing has been published in No Tokens, Electric Literature, Split Lip, Chicago Review of Books, Joyland, The Millions, Lit Hub, Wigleaf, ANMLY, and elsewhere.
Lara Ehrlich
Author
Lara Ehrlich is the author of the novel Bind Me Tighter Still (Red Hen Press, 2025) and the story collection Animal Wife, which won Red Hen Press’s Fiction Award judged by Ann Hood and was published by the press in 2020. Lara is also the host of Writer Mother Monster, a conversation series devoted to dismantling the myth of “having it all," and the founder and director of the creative writing center Thought Fox Writers Den in Stonington, Connecticut. She is the Writer in Residence at Connecticut College and lives in Connecticut with her family.
Rebecca van Laer
Author
Rebecca van Laer is the author of a novella, How to Adjust to the Dark. Her next book, Cat, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons series. Her creative writing appears in The New England Review, Joyland, The Florida Review, Bat City Review, and elsewhere. She’s worked at literary magazines including AGNI, Breadcrumbs, and TriQuarterly.