Most literary journals are open only for a window of time each year. Sometimes it is a very long window. Sometimes it is more than one window. But it can be frustrating to visit their website and realize that they just closed to submissions.
It can be particularly hard during the summer when the majority of journals are closed to submissions. This list features only literary journals that are always open to submissions.
All reviews contain links to the literary journal.
200 CCs
A new online publication, 200 CCs publishes one 200-word story each week. Though short, the stories in 200 CCs aren’t vignettes. Rather, they’re complete, condensed narratives. Read our full review here.
Strangelet
Exploring universal truths from the decks of starships, the mouths of dragons, and the kitchen sinks of miraculously ordinary humans, Strangelet is a unique literary universe. Read our full review here.
Michigan Quarterly Review
An interdisciplinary journal publishing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as critical essays addressing social, cultural, political, and literary topics. Eclectic, thought provoking, and refined, Michigan Quarterly Review aims to spark the intellect of its bright-minded readers. Read our full review here.
Failbetter
An online journal of prose and poetry launched in 2000 with the aim of publishing writing that’s as unique as the writers who make it. It’s a writer’s journal, driving experimentation by fueling writers with author interviews, blog posts about the writing life, and discussions about the contemporary literary community. Read our full review here.
Smartish Pace
Smartish Pace is a print literary journal that focuses on publishing quality poems by emerging and established poets. It takes them about 8 months to respond to most submissions.Read our full review here.
SOFTBLOW
An online literary journal based out of Singapore that publishes only English language poetry. They publish work by three poets every month. SOFTBLOW usually publishes 3-5 poems per poet, and they are placed on the same page, underneath the author’s biography. Read our full review here.
Maudlin House
Maudlin House is an e-journal that publishes one new issue every month. They publish flash fiction, fiction, videos, art, and poems. They are not averse to publishing genre work. They are particularly interested in publishing work that explores the human condition. Read our full review here.
Bartleby Snopes
An online literary journal that publishes two stories per week. They also publish a semi-annual print edition that includes selected stories that they have previously published online. Read our full review here.
After The Pause
They publish each issue on the electronic magazine site Issuu. They publish poetry, flash fiction, and visual art. Read our full review here.
The Missouri Review
The Missouri Review is a literary journal that has been around for over 30 years and they publish four quality print issues a year. Digital editions are now also available. They publish short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Work that first appeared in The Missouri Review has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, Best American Travel Writing, Best American Poetry, The O. Henry Prize Anthology, and The Pushcart Prize. The Missouri Review is based out of the University of Missouri. Read our full review here.
Haiku Journal
Founded over four years ago, Haiku Journal publishes traditional haiku poetry. Because they want every poem to “appear clean” in honor of the tradition, poems are published with an emphasis on minimalism. This means that published poems will remain untitled, though appropriately attributed to the poets. Read our full review here.
