What We Read
Twenty-Five Literary Journals Agents Peruse to Find New Writers
Twenty-five literary journals agents peruse to find new clients.
In addition to reading countless books, queries, and manuscripts, many literary agents also read or browse literary journals to find new clients. After all, journal editors are often the first to discover and publish talented new writers. “The writing is selected and edited with love, and when I come upon a fresh new voice in the pages of a journal, I can feel that love, the care that has been taken to elevate a writer who is perhaps just beginning their career,” says Stephanie Delman at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. “If that piece conveys a continuity and depth of voice, if I connect with the writer’s prose and their imagination in just a few thousand words, then I know I’ll want to see more from them.”
We asked the agents featured in “Who We Are” to share which publications they read outside of major newspapers and magazines. The journals are worth reading in their own right, of course, but they can also give you a stronger sense of an agent’s taste. And when you’re ready, submitting to these magazines might result in a publishing credit that will catch an agent’s eye.
The Adroit Journal
Who reads it: Stephanie Delman
What it publishes: poetry, prose, art Submissions: Currently open. theadroitjournal.org
A Public Space Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin What it publishes: poetry, fiction, essays,
multigenre work
Submissions: October 15 to April 15. apublicspace.org
BOMB
Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, essays, criticism, art, interviews
Submissions: Open in the fall for poetry and fiction; the editors do not accept submissions in other genres. bombmagazine.org
Catapult
Who reads it: Amy Elizabeth Bishop, Stephanie Delman
What it publishes: fiction, nonfiction Submissions: Currently open.
catapult.co
Electric Literature
Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin, Stephanie Delman, Sarah Fuentes
What it publishes: poetry, flash fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, essays, graphic narrative
Submissions: Currently closed. electricliterature.com
Granta
Who reads it: Sarah Bolling, Kiele Raymond
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art Submissions: Open in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from October 11 to November 11. Art submissions are closed. granta.com
Guernica
Who reads it: Sarah Fuentes
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, short-form nonfiction (news, reviews, commentary), long-form nonfiction (essays, memoir, reportage, interviews)
Submissions: Open year-round. guernicamag.com
Indiana Review
Who reads it: Stephanie Delman
What it publishes: poetry, stories, nonfiction, translation, visual arts
Submissions: Currently closed. indianareview.org
Joyland
Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin, Stephanie Delman, Kiele Raymond
What it publishes: short fiction, novel excerpts, essays Submissions: Open year-round. joylandmagazine.com
Kenyon Review
Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin, Stephanie Delman
What it publishes: poetry, flash fiction and essays, short fiction and essays, excerpts from larger works, translations of poetry and prose, plays, book reviews
Submissions: Open on September 15. kenyonreview.org
The Missouri Review
Who reads it: Kiele Raymond
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, nonfiction Submissions: Open year-round. missourireview.com
n + 1
Who reads it: Sarah Bolling, Stephanie Delman
What it publishes: fiction, essays, criticism,
translation
Submissions: Open year-round. nplusonemag.com The Nib Who reads it: Chad Luibl What it publishes: political and nonfiction
comics
Submissions: Open year-round.
thenib.com
One Story
Who reads it: Sarah Bolling, Chad Luibl
What it publishes: fiction
Submissions: January 15 to May 31, September 8 to November 14. one-story.com
The Paris Review
Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, nonfiction Submissions: During February and September. theparisreview.org Ploughshares Who reads it: Stephanie Delman What it publishes: poetry, fiction, nonfiction,
translation
Submissions: June 1 to January 15.
pshares.org
Slice
Who reads it: Sarah Bowlin
What it publishes: poetry, flash fiction, short stories, nonfiction, art
Submissions: Currently closed. slicemagazine.org
The Southern Review Who reads it: Chad Luibl What it publishes: poetry, fiction, nonfiction,
translation
Submissions: Fiction from September 1 to December 1; poetry, nonfiction, and translation from September 1 to January 1. thesouthernreview.org
The Sun
Who reads it: Stacy Testa
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, personal essays, interviews, photographs
Submissions: Open year-round. thesunmagazine.org
Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern
Who reads it: Amy Elizabeth Bishop
What it publishes: fiction, nonfiction Submissions: Currently closed. mcsweeneys.net
Triangle House Review
Who reads it: Kiele Raymond
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, essays, criticism, art, art-adjacent writing, interviews
Submissions: Open year-round. triangle.house/review True Story Who reads it: Chad Luibl What it publishes: essays Submissions: Open year-round. creativenonfiction.org/true-story
Virginia Quarterly Review
Who reads it: Sarah Fuentes
What it publishes: poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, criticism, reportage, historical and political analysis
Submissions: July 1 to July 31. vqronline.org
Waxwing
Who reads it: Amy Elizabeth Bishop
What it publishes: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translation, criticism, interviews
Submissions: August 1 to April 30. waxwingmag.org ZYZZYVA Who reads it: Sarah Fuentes What it publishes: poetry, fiction,
essays, art
Submissions: September 1 to November
19. zyzzyva.org