Written by Emily Harstone June 15th, 2020

19 Approachable Literary Journals

If you are just starting to submit your work to literary journals, or perhaps you just want to avoid rejection, this list is for you.

All of the literary journals in this list accept around half of what is submitted to them. So the odds of your work being accepted just went up.

These are not the most prestigious journals; publication in them, in all likelihood, will not change your writing life in any way, but they are not a bad place to start if you are new to submitting your writing.

Make sure to read the guidelines before submitting to know if your work fits. Just because they are approachable, doesn’t mean that they will accept angry poetry when they only publish nature poetry!

Not all literary journals in this list are currently open to submissions, but most are. It is also important to note that this information is subject to change. Sometimes a journal that was once easy to get into no longer is, so if you are seeing this list long after it was published, please keep that in mind. The list is in no particular order.

All of the information used to ascertain if the market is approachable or not was found through research done at the websites Duotrope and The (Submission) Grinder.

50-Word Stories

As their name suggests, they publish only 50-word stories. They read submissions every month between the 1st and the 15th. They publish around 50% of what is submitted to them.

Anti-Heroin Chic

Anti-Heroin Chic publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction. They are no longer permit simultaneous submissions.

Ekphrastic Review

An Ekphrastic work is writing or art about another work of art. The Ekphrastic Review publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. They accept a little under half of what they receive.

Otoliths 

An online journal of visual poetry, poetry, short fiction, essays, and art, they accept over half of what is submitted to them.

Children, Churches, and Daddies

They bill themselves as “The UN-religious, NON-family oriented literary and art magazine”. They publish poetry, prose, and art work online.

Academy of the Heart and Mind

Their mission is to help emerging writers. They accept over 60% of what is submitted. They publish poetry, art, prose, and creative non-fiction online.

Writing in a Women’s Voice

An online poetry journal that publishes over 50% of what is submitted to them. They do not respond if they are not interested. 

Down in the Dirt

Down in the Dirt publishes fiction and poetry. They have an acceptance rate of 70%.

CafeLit

A UK based fiction journal that publishes almost 80% of what is submitted.

The Cabinet of Heed

This online literary journal has an over 70% acceptance rate, and publishes fiction, poetry, and visual art. 

101 Words

The title spells out exactly what they are looking for, flash fiction that are exactly a 101 words. They accept almost 90% of what they receive, but only select work makes it into their anthology. Authors whose work are selected for the anthology are paid 10 dollars. 

The Poet 

They accept almost 100% of what is submitted to them.

Grand Little Things

A journal of mostly formal poetry. They accept over 50% of what they receive.

 

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