Hello.

I'm a new member, so please forgive me if this question is an old favourite.

I am currently writing lit. fiction short stories, and have been looking for mags/ outlets which actually PAY (even small sums, I'm not proud!!)) for submissions.

Can anyone suggest any, or a source giving information on these?

Thanks in advance of your many replies(I hope!!)

Elizabeth.

please define 'lit. fiction', because my understanding is that it is fiction, which is written down, making the expression something of a pleonasm.

The only other definition I'm aware of is the discriminatory 'mine is written better' concept that some fiction qualifies as classy.

Apologies for the lack of usefulness I'm displaying. I am not typical of the users on this site

Site Expert Becca is a bit of an... expert in this regard when it comes to quality short fiction, and also check out some of our magazine interviews. The magazines themselves vary massively of course from brand new, we'll-take=anything, to long established seriously literary. And have a search of the constantly updated Directory as well.

Elizabeth,

Welcome to WriteWords!

It's funny you should ask as, at the moment, I am trying to put together a comprehensive list. I find that if you put 'literary magazine' or something like that into Google for a search, you'll probably come up with links that have lists of magazines, and you can work from there.

Or you can find the site for a few good lit zines, and then look at the other magazines where the contributors have had their work published, as this biographical information is often included.

I am organising my magazine data into a spreadsheet so that I can work from it in the future.

Good luck!

Anne Marie

Elizabeth, welcome to WW.

I would advise you to ignore IB’s comments apart from this:

I am not typical of the users on this site

It’s one of the rare occasions when I find myself agreeing with him. We all love him really but he hates us!

Good luck with your new career.

Dee.

Welcome to WW Elizabeth.
You could do worse than google Canadian short story mags as they are serious about the business of short story writing. Danforth Review would be one of those.
Trouble is really that more info about what you write is needed, in that there are literary mags for dark fiction such as Carriage House Review and Strange Horizens, and lit. mags. for other genres. As a general rule it's better if you are interested in 'literary' mags to check outside the UK.
Mslexia has quite literary writing sometimes, and that's modern and for women. The same could not be said of Quality Women's Fiction. Then there are the very dry introverted mags like the Stand and the Strand. I'm at work at the moment, so when I have a sec I'll see if I can dig out some more.
After all that though, the only real way you can know a mag is the one for you is to get a copy or read some of their stories online. And always, always hesitate if you think the publisher/editor is publishing badly written stuff. OK, you might be published in there, but don't forget if you make it known in your writer's biography someone's going to wonder. On the other hand you could ignore what I've just said, I once tried to send something to a mag called 'Dead Things' because their website was a laugh and the title made me laugh. Unfortunately they'd closed it because they'd just had their first baby.
So if you can say something about the kind of things you write, WW members might be able to suggest good mags.
Becca.

Thank you all (except insane bartender!!lol) for your advice.

I used the term "lit. fic." mainly to indicate that I couldn't really see a market for it in women's magazines ( I know they pay for publications ) and because I tend to use metaphor/symbolism/complex language and syntax/subtextual implication, in my work.

( Sorry if that sounds very pompous!)

My writing isn't self consciously intellectual or inaccessible, however (Yes, I have read some stories that are like that!!) and I think that both my themes and my writing style are pretty accessible, on the whole.

I hope this information helps?


Regards to all,

Elizabeth.

Do you write within any particular genre, Elizabeth? That info would help me source mags for you.
Becca