Best Fiction Literary Magazines in 2026

Print & Online magazine for Fiction,

Our editorial mission is to encourage writers, new and established, to take themselves as seriously as possible — to write with as much energy and daring as possible, and to connect their own deepest concerns with the broader social and political environment; that is, to write, while it happens, a history of the present day. We welcome submissions from all writers. If you are considering sending work, please start by reading an issue or two. The best submission guidelines are those implied by the magazine itself.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

One of the oldest quarterlies in the nation, Cimarron Review publishes work by writers at all stages of their careers, including Pulitzer prize winners, writers appearing in the Best American Series and the Pushcart anthologies, and winners of national book contests. Since 1967, Cimarron has showcased poetry, fiction, and nonfiction with a wide-ranging aesthetic.

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Print & Online magazine for Fiction,

Able Muse predominantly publishes metrical poetry and poetry translation complemented by art and photography, fiction and non-fiction including essays, book reviews and interviews with a focus on metrical and formal poetry. We are looking for well-crafted poems of any length or subject that employ skillful and imaginative use of meter and rhyme, executed in a contemporary idiom, that reads as naturally as your free verse poems.

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Print magazine for 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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Print & Online magazine for Fiction,

Dedicated to publishing fine fiction, nonfiction, plays, screenplays, poetry, literary cartoons, photography and art, The Southampton Review opens its pages to writers from across the globe whose work is compelling. Our pages are equally devoted to emerging and established writers and artists.

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Print & Online magazine for Fiction,

A Public Space seeks work that is brave and unexpected. We are interested in writing that uncovers the extraordinary in the everyday, provides a rare glimpse, exposes an unexpected truth, or puts forth a daring hypothesis.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

The Sun is an independent, ad-free magazine that for more than forty years has used words and photographs to evoke the splendor and heartache of being human. The personal essays, short stories, interviews, poetry, and photographs that appear in The Sun's pages explore the challenges we face and the moments when we rise to meet them.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

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

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Online magazine for Fiction,

Outlander is a digital zine and online platform that celebrates the awkward, the eccentric, and the weirdly beautiful. While its website is always open for submission, it also releases four themed issues throughout the year. Outlander is additionally home to THE LAB, an interview platform that amplifies the voices of upcoming creators.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

Founded in 1948, The Hudson Review is a quarterly magazine of literature and the arts published in New York City. It has a distinguished record of publishing little-known or undiscovered writers, many of whom have become major literary figures. Each issue contains a wide range of material including: poetry, fiction, essays on literary and cultural topics, book reviews, reports from abroad, and chronicles covering film, theatre, dance, music and art.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

State of Matter is on a quest to define what Speculative Fiction means from a South Asian perspective. We publish fiction and poetry from international authors, with a keen eye for South Asian writing.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

Based in Central Texas, The Raven Review is a literary magazine that publishes poetry and short fiction that explores the human experience through dark, atmospheric writing. Since 2019, the magazine has been publishing both seasoned and newbie writers with the explicit goal of helping them gain exposure.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

The mission of New Letters magazine, its radio companion, New Letters on the Air, and BkMk Press, is to discover, publish and promote the best and most exciting literary writing, wherever it might be found. We publish and serve readers and writers worldwide. In recent years, New Letters has won a National Magazine Award, the industry's highest honor, plus multiple Pushcart Prizes, and is reprinted often in Best American anthologies.

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Print magazine for Fiction,

We publish a wide range of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations, photography, and work in emerging forms by both established and emerging writers. Work from our pages has been consistently selected to appear in the anthologies Best American Essays, Best American Short Stories, Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, and The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories.

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Online magazine for Fiction,

Shorts is a free online magazine launched in February 2020 with the aim of bringing together writers and creative artists from all over the world. Shorts particularly encourages submissions from marginalised communities, and from new and emerging writers. Shorts was established in a time of growing isolationism on the part of the UK and the US, and aims to combat this by uniting global creatives and nurturing unheard voices. It is an LGBTQ+ friendly platform with a liberal outlook.

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