I Just Love Them! - Best Lit Mags of 2025

Out of 4,960 votes, these lit mags came out on top in 2025 as the best 'je ne sais quoi' lit mags.

The mags in this list are competitive and publish physical print editions, so you get the satisfaction of seeing your work in print: pocket-sized, book-like, tangible. Way cooler than you'd expect.

Reputable Lit Mags with Print Issues

Publications with pieces chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. Recognition of exceptional quality across poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Lit Mags Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

A curated selection of publications that regularly submit work to this prestigious annual anthology showcasing 50 poems from emerging writers.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best New Poets

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

All-time most competitive literary magazines. Getting published in these is a significant achievement for any writer.

Most Competitive Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the all-time most competitive poetry literary magazines. These legendary publications are where only the best poetry gets through.

Most Competitive Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

Explore the most popular literary magazines of all time. These long-established publications are a staple in the literary world for writers of all genres.

Most Popular Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the all-time most popular poetry literary magazines. These outlets have maintained a significant presence in the world of poetry.

Most Popular Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the all-time most submitted-to poetry literary magazines. These publications have consistently attracted a high volume of poetry submissions.

Most Submitted-To Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the most submitted-to poetry literary magazines this year. These publications have consistently attracted a high volume of poetry submissions.

Most Submitted-To Poetry-Only Literary Magazines This Year

Verse-centered publications with poems chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. These journals have consistently identified poems that stand out in this intensely competitive field.

Poetry Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

Online journals that specifically champion poetry for Best of the Net consideration.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Focuses specifically on poetry journals with established histories of Pushcart nominations.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Beloit Poetry Journal

Summer Open Reading Period Guidelines



The current reading period will run from July 1 through July 31 (midnight, Eastern time zone).



Note about open reading periods: We can receive 800 fee-free submissions per month. Once we've received 800 in the month of the open reading period, submissions will close.
We seek unpublished poems or translations of poems not already available in English. (If you submit translations, please also include the poems in their original language.)
We are willing to consider simultaneous submissions, but we ask that you notify us immediately (by leaving us a message (not a note) in Submittable) if a poem is accepted elsewhere.
In keeping with our mission statement, we do not consider or publish material generated using AI or LLMs. All submissions must be the poet’s or translator’s own work.  We ask that writers be transparent in their cover letters or notes regarding any element of their submission that borrows from an external source, is created in collaboration with others or has been developed using technologies.
Limit your submission to five poems OR a single long poem. (Yes, we enjoy long poems!)
Submit no more than one manuscript during any submission period.
We seek to emphasize the poems themselves, so we use no contributors' notes, but feel free to send us a note if you want to tell us something about yourself.
Please wait to query us until eight months have passed.
Before you send work, please familiarize yourself with the BPJ by buying an issue or browsing our website archive.
If you're not already a BPJ subscriber, please consider subscribing today, which you can do via an add-on payment (and at significant savings over regular prices) along with your fee-free submission. Subscriptions help support the magazine financially, but they also let us know that the work we're doing—and the work you're doing!—is important to readers. Thanks in advance for your support!

Summer Open Period

Beloit Poetry Journal invites submissions for  The Chad Walsh Chapbook Series
Open to any poet writing in English, regardless of publication history
$2500 prize, 50 author copies (perfect bound, full-color cover), and an in-depth editorial consultation
Winning chapbook distributed to every BPJ subscriber and sold separately (print run of approximately 1,500)
BPJ editors will read all submissions and select a manuscript for publication
Submissions open October 1–November 30, opening and closing at midnight Eastern Time
Results announced in late winter/spring
Selected manuscript published in spring/early summer
Guidelines
Submit (via Submittable) a manuscript of 20-35 pages of poetry (including the table of contents and acknowledgments page); each poem should begin on its own page.
Reading fee of $20 per entry. You may submit additional manuscripts by paying an additional reading fee for each. A limited number of fee-free entries are available to poets for whom the reading fee presents a hardship. (Email us at bpj@bpj.org for details.)
Submitters paying the $20 fee may purchase a 1-year subscription to the BPJ for only $15, nearly half off the regular subscription price. (An additional shipping charge applies to international subscribers.). The subscription will begin with the winning chapbook, published in spring/summer.
While individual poems may have appeared in periodicals, online, etc., the manuscript as a whole must be previously unpublished.
Include a table of contents; if applicable, include an acknowledgements page that lists where poems appeared previously.
We welcome simultaneous submissions; you may simply withdraw your manuscript (via Submittable) if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.
At this time we aren’t considering translations or multi-author chapbooks.
During the contest period, we can’t consider changes to manuscripts, though there will be time for editing before the selected chapbook is published.
In keeping with our mission statement, we do not consider or publish material generated using AI or LLMs. All submissions must be the poet’s or translator’s own work.  We ask that writers be transparent in their cover letters or notes regarding any element of their submission that borrows from an external source, is created in collaboration with others or has been developed using technologies.
We follow CLMP Guidelines for contests and are committed, in all we do, to the highest ethical standards. If you are a close personal friend, family member, student (outside of brief, one-off workshops), or if you have engaged the editing/consultation services of any BPJ editor, or if you are a former or current intern or staff member of the BPJ, please refrain from submitting. Email us at bpj@bpj.org if you have questions about eligibility.

Beloit Poetry Journal

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Chad Walsh Chapbook Series

Appears in collections