Where to publish your writing for the first time
15+ beginner-friendly magazines to submit to.
You’re reading Soft Hobbies, a weekly newsletter for artists in all mediums, with a special focus on writers. Here you’ll find resources to nurture your creativity, advice to overcome perfectionism, and inspiration to make time for art. I’m Auzin, a Seattle-based fiction and poetry writer. Feel free to visit my author website or check out my socials.
Greetings to the 1,429 softies who subscribe to this newsletter! Thank you for being here.
I’ve been published a couple dozen times and have multiple poetry chapbooks and zines out in the world, but sometimes I still think of myself an “emerging writer.” It’s such a nebulous term — what takes someone from emerging to established? Will I feel comfortable claiming “established” after I have a traditionally published book? Or maybe I would feel established if writing creatively became my full-time job? I’ve already been asked to speak at a university, been nominated for independent writing awards, and have a steadily growing reader base here, on my newsletter. Maybe I’m already an established writer and don’t need to ruminate on the matter anymore.
Regardless, if you’re in the stage before “emerging,” this post is for you. If you’ve never been published before, it can be confusing to learn how and where to get started. Both the independent and traditional publishing worlds are obscure, niche, and constantly in flux. Getting published at all requires a certain amount of grit, because you will experience rejection, often in a cold and impartial way. You could also experience dizzying heights of pride, validation, and/or joy when your submission gets accepted!
I’ve written before about different approaches to getting your first publication. In today’s article, I’ve done the prospecting work for you — collecting over 15 literary magazines that could be good venues for your work. I used the powerful, comprehensive filters on Chill Subs’ Browse feature to narrow down this list.
The literary magazines fit these criteria:
They are currently open for submissions. This could change if you’re reading this article later on, so always check their submissions page.
They permit simultaneous submissions. Here’s an explanation of what those are.
It’s free to submit. Yay!
They have been active for at least 5 years. I am wary of younger magazines because you never know if they’ll last, and then your work could disappear without warning. Running a lit mag is very hard and usually unpaid labor.
They have masthead information available, so you can see who’s steering the ship.
They have an acceptance rate of 30% or over (according to Chill Subs’ metrics). This is a very high acceptance rate. For context, the New York Times has an acceptance rate of 0.01%.
All these criteria and more are filterable on Chill Subs, which in my opinion is the best tool for writers who want to get individual pieces published online. And it’s completely free to use many of their features! I use their Browse, Tracker, Submitter’s Passport, and Prose Formatter tools regularly. I’m also a paid member, which gets me access to better tools and curated collections of markets. If you’re interested, you can use my code AUZIN for a 10% discount on a membership. Chill Subs didn’t pay or ask me to talk about them, I just really like them and have for years :’)
Note: The following markets are not necessarily appropriate for full-length manuscripts. If you’re trying to publish a book, this isn’t the right post for you. I’m also not covering how to submit; I won’t be giving advice on cover letters, author bios, or queries. If you want me to cover any of those topics in the future, I’d be happy to!
Before you submit your work to a magazine, I recommend reading at least one of their back issues. If the venue doesn’t do “issues,” read a handful of pieces published on their website. Be honest with yourself: is your work is a fit for them in style, tone, and genre? If so, get your piece(s) as polished as you can, follow the submission guidelines for formatting, and send off your work. Then settle in for the most painful part — waiting for a response.
Keep reading for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and hybrid markets.
Great literary magazines for unpublished poets
Name: Corvus Review
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 91 days
Theme: “Spooky, unsettling, and bizarre.”
Name: Across the Margin
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 15 days
Theme: “Across the Margin strives to publish only the best in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and we enthusiastically tout an open door policy. “
Name: Agapanthus Collective
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 30-80+ days
Theme: “At the Agapanthus Collective, we’d like to see works from voices never heard, particularly those of people of color, women, and the queer community.”
Name: Corporeal Lit Mag
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 17-60 days
Theme: “The mandate of Corporeal is to host work that explores, explains, and/or troubles our experiences of embodiment; that is, the having of a body.”
Name: Vagabond City Literature
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, but poetry closes on May 31st, 2026
Reported response time: 42-58 days
Theme: “This is a world in which the loudest voices are the marginalized. This is a world of poetry, prose, art, reviews, and interviews that fits outside the mainstream literary scene, yet still of significant literary merit.”
Exciting markets for unpublished fiction writers
Name: Wild Willow Magazine
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, but closes on June 16th, 2026
Reported response time: 14-58 days
Theme: Currently for Hispanic writers only, on the theme of Ceiba trees. “Formerly The Minison Project, Wild Willow Magazine is a literary magazine founded by Melissa Ashley Hernandez that intertwines nature and the human experience, showcasing the wonderful, weird, and wild aspects of the human condition. We publish quarterly, exploring rotating themes of trees, herbs, fruits, and flowers.”
Name: 101 Words
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 76 days
Theme: “We accept fiction stories that are exactly 101 words.”
Name: Flora Fiction
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 55-90 days
Theme: Current theme is Unfolding. “Flora Fiction is a collective of creative muses and inspiration. From original writing, to photography and illustration, there’s always something to be discovered.”
Name: Bewildering Stories
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 17-28 days
Theme: “Bewildering Stories is a weekly Internet webzine devoted to speculative and experimental writing as well as “mainstream” literature. All genres are welcome in both fiction and non-fiction.”
Name: Mind Matters
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 14 days
Theme: “Our mission is to empower teens and young adults by sharing authentic mental health stories, creative expression, and accessible resources that foster connection and self-understanding.”
Name: For Page & Screen
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Opens on July 1st, 2026
Reported response time: 76 days
Theme: “‘'For Page and Screen’ began as a single-person blog run by writer/filmmaker Sarah Edmonds. We have since expanded to include a variety of voices from all different kinds of storytellers. Our goal is to explore the creative process. To find similarities and differences in how we tell stories across genre and form.”
Welcoming venues for unpublished creative nonfiction or hybrid work
Name: The Daily Drunk
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Will re-open in 2026
Reported response time: 7-21 days
Theme: “The Daily Drunk seeks film, TV, music, video games, and all pop culture-related submissions of previously unpublished fiction, nonfiction, poetry, lists, reviews, quizzes, and comics.”
Name: 5 Minutes Lit
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 60 days
Theme: “Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words.”
Name: Unlikely Stories
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 56-65 days
Theme: “Unlikely Stories is an electronic magazine of literature, art, and culture that attempts a direct engagement with society and sociopolitical issues. We believe that art and philosophy are synonymous, and that they are the appropriate source of all social activism and political thought.”
Name: Pomona Valley Review
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, but closes on June 30th, 2026
Reported response time: 38-180 days
Theme: “PVR is an online, annual literary arts journal which publishes short fiction, poetry, and art on a selective basis by new and established authors.”
Name: Another New Calligraphy
Website / CS stats
Open for submissions: Yes, always open
Reported response time: 90-100 days
Theme: “Another New Calligraphy seeks work exploring the human experience, our internal worlds, and life among others; these complex systems are often clearest in our slightest moments.”
You guys, this actually took a mega long time and I’m tired out now, so I really hope this list is helpful! If so, please share it with your writer friends, followers, and family. If you need help getting your pieces publication-ready, I offer editing services at $40/hr and can provide a free quote based on the length and genre of your work. Just email me at auzin1994@gmail.com or reply to this email in your inbox.
Coming soon to Soft Hobbies: another free writer tools roundup, how to get “enough” validation as an artist, where to get your independent journalism, and another in-person arts & crafts event in the glorious Seattle summertime!
Softly yours,
Auzin
I love how these are so different in terms of what they’re looking for! Good variety :)
Chill Subs is SUCH a great resource that I had never heard of, thank you!!!! My goal this year is to start submitting to lit mags, but it's been super overwhelming putting together a list of magazines to even see if my writing is a good fit.