Hi, I was wondering if someone here might be familiar with the lit-mag scene, specifically the lit mags dealing with edgy work, avant-garde work. I know there are hundreds of literary magazines, most of which don't last longer than a few months. If I'm not mistaken the ones with the best reputations and longest histories are those affiliated with universities. My question is this: which one specifically is so widely respected that it instantly seals the reputations of writers it publishes as up-and-coming talents? Needless to say said mag should accept submissions from the public. The only one I know about is Pank Magazine, which is supported by Michigan Technological University. I am not sure what sort of a reputation it has; based on the professionalism I'd guess it's fairly good. It costs $3 to submit a short story, which makes sense - the fee cuts down on spam, yet isn't high enough to qualify as a scam. Thanks! Nick
Pretty cheeky, isn't it. I only know a couple of sci-fi and fantasy mags, but I'm not sure if there much prestige with them... I'd still love to be published by them, even though I've never submitted.
No, it is not rather like an advertisement. I asked for information and contributed what I know. Isn't that how forums are supposed to work? You share information with each other to help each other out. If you were paying any attention, you would have noticed that I stated quite clearly that I do not know what kind of a reputation Pank Mag have. I happened to come across it and was impressed by the quality of the some of the contributions, and the fact that it has come out regularly as clockwork, but I have no idea if the people who were published by it went on to have careers as writers or if they were subsequently published by more mainstream publications. If you have nothing to contribute to my thread, as in names of other literary magazines worth looking at, please just stay out of the thread.
imo, it's not at all 'professional' to charge a submission fee... duotrope lists literary magazines along with all other kinds and provides all pertinent info... it does cost a minimal fee now, but is well worth it, if you submit your writings on a regular basis...
I regularly read and submit to literary magazines. Most magazines either demand a small (~ $3-6) submission fee for the purposes of keeping the magazine running, or a nominal fee for contest submissions that (usually) include a one-year subscription (or at least complimentary issue). The best way to determine if a given market is the right one for your work (in this case, "avant-garde") is to read the magazines and decide for yourself. Would your work make sense in this literary magazine? Will you be satisfied if your work is published in a given market? From what you wrote, Smokelong Quarterly, Paper Darts and Memorious might be up your alley. You can also follow most literary magazines on Twitter, which will lead you to more magazines that you didn't know about.
I don't think that publication in any magazine will instantly earn you the "up-and-coming talent" moniker. But you do have it right: many of the most prestigious literary magazines (for example, The Missouri Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Prairie Schooner, Ploughshares) are either university-run or university-old. Finding your way into a couple of these magazines will certainly gain you notice.
Finally, the kind of reply I was looking for. I was beginning to lose hope. Thank you for this information, Anthony. I will check out each one of these. So there is no shortcut to instant literary fame? Bummer. I suppose I was imagining there might exist something like the literary equivalent of Sundance. Still, I could use some practice, and it might be fun to explore these microcosms one by one, so I'll tackle them with gusto.
correction: mea culpa!... i was erroneously referring to 'regular' magazines when i said 'legit' ones don't charge a submission fee, not the literary journal type, which is the subject of discussion here...
The only magazine shortcut to literary fame I can think of is The New Yorker. All I can say is good luck getting anything more than a rejection letter from them as it's virtually impossible to get a short story published there. But if you somehow manage to get one through the cracks you've pretty much made it. In the meantime you might have to settle for less commercial magazines. There is no need to be too hungry for 'fame', that will naturally come to you if you are worthy of it. This is a good chance to hone your craft. If your writing is good then it should not matter where it is published. As for your question regarding a magazine that publishes edgy work: I was recently asked to review a short story/poetry publication that focuses on finding new talent with a focus on creative fiction that is on the grittier side. Judging by the stories I have read from their current issue (The Rag: Issue 5) the quality is very good, so you know it is a decent place to be published. The magazine pays $2-300 per piece and that is about the most you can expect to be paid for a story. Hope that helps.
Geist magazine, published in Vancouver, covers Canadian writing, and seems to include many short stories from unpublished writers. I'm not sure what they do with non-Canadian submissions, but I've never seen anything on the site that prohibits such things. I first ran across a copy of their paper magazine while I was in a coffee shop in Michigan several years ago, and was very impressed. The quality of the stories in Geist is always high, pretty much error-free and totally readable. I'm not a short story writer and have never tried submitting to them, but they're worth a look. (I have no idea if or what they pay for submissions.) They also seem to go for non-mainstream, edgy material, as well as more traditional stuff. They have an online presence, as well as a paper mag.
I just checked out Geist, "Fact + Fiction, North of America". Love that. Does this mean they won't accept work from a yank amateur?
I just checked out Geist, "Fact + Fiction, North of America". Love that. Does this mean they won't accept work from a yank amateur? sounds like it's for polar bears only, since there's no country or humans living north of north america...
yes, i know it said 'OF'... as you can see, that's what i quoted... but you missed my point, which is that since canada is part of the continent named 'america'.................. ummm... that's 'american' subtle humor... [at least that's what i meant it to be ]
How can you expect a Canadian to appreciate it without the superfluouus 'u'. You have to humour them.
Pank is a good magazine. I'm not sure how one would instantly seal their reputation as an upcoming talent. I've been in some of the best alongside big names and I haven't experienced any kind of "instant" recognition. However, The Savage Kick Magazine is a 200 page yearly magazine put out by own publisher Murder Slim Press and it carries some kudos. They have published Dan Fante and NY Times best-seller Seymour Shubin. And Mark SaFranko, too. Another one I've been in a few years ago that carries kudos is 3:AM Magazine. Just about all those writers considered talent on the underground literary scene have been published by them, or otherwise want to be. I'm not sure if Dogmatika is still going. But that was another one. Maybe Needle Magazine, too. There are really quite a few. As someone already suggested, Twitter is a good way to find them. The underground lit scene is buzzing with life at the moment. Another brilliant one is Open Wide Magazine. For me, I think there is kudos in having been published in the above magazines. But instant fame and recognition has evaded me thus far, I am afraid. So on that score, I cannot advise.
