Career Builder - Best Lit Mags of 2025

Out of 1,762 votes, these lit mags came out on top in 2025 as the best lit mags for advancing writers' careers.

We're not in it for the money, but it certainly helps. These nonfiction magazines pay at least $200 per acceptance.

Nonfiction Lit Mags That Pay $200+

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

The top nonfiction lit mags in our database, ranked by how many users have bookmarked them.

The Ultimate List of Places to Submit Your Nonfiction

These high-quality poetry magazines nominate for Pushcart and pay. For real!

Top-Tier Pushcart-Nominating Poetry Mags (That Pay)

I mean, that just about covers everything. These 9 lit mags are the perfect places to send your work about growing up, grieving, or faith.

Where to Send Your Writing About Girlhood, Grief, or God

Story-focused publications with works chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. Less than 5% of nominated fiction typically makes the anthology.

Fiction Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Specialized publications that recognize exceptional brief fiction through Pushcart nominations.

Publications with verse selected for America's foremost poetry anthology. These journals consistently publish poetry representing the most significant contemporary verse across styles and approaches.

Lit Mags Featured in Best American Poetry Anthologies

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

Lit Mags Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

Journals that forward outstanding nonfiction to this respected anthology series founded in 1986. These publications identify exceptional essays that might reach the broader readership BAE provides.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best American Essays

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

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

BASS represents the most mainstream recognition for short fiction in America. These journals serve as the initial screening layer for potential inclusion in this widely-read collection.

Literary Mags That Nominate for Best American Short Stories

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

Most Competitive 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

Essay-focused publications with works selected for Pushcart Prize anthologies. These journals have repeatedly identified nonfiction that resonates with Pushcart editors and readers.

Nonfiction Magazines Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

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

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

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Bennington Review

Please send no more than thirty double-spaced pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained essays.
If submitting flash essays, please submit up to three pieces of up to 1000 words each as one document in a single file.
Feel free to submit your work to other magazines simultaneously. However, please do not send us multiple submissions — wait to send a second time until you've heard back from us.
Also, if the work you are submitting is already slated for publication as part of a forthcoming book, please be sure to let us know and share the forthcoming book's publication date in your cover letter.

Nonfiction

Please send no more than 30 double-spaced pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained stories. 
If submitting flash fiction, please submit up to three pieces of up to 1000 words each as one document in a single file.
Feel free to submit your work to other magazines simultaneously. However, please do not send us multiple submissions — wait to send a second time until you've heard back from us.
Also, if the work you are submitting is already slated for publication as part of a forthcoming book, please be sure to let us know and share the forthcoming book's publication date in your cover letter.

Flash Fiction

Please send no more than 30 double-spaced pages per submission; any excerpts from a longer project must work as self-contained stories. 

If submitting flash fiction, please submit up to three pieces of up to 1000 words each as one document in a single file.

Feel free to submit your work to other magazines simultaneously. However, please do not send us multiple submissions — wait to send a second time until you've heard back from us.

Also, if the work you are submitting is already slated for publication as part of a forthcoming book, please be sure to let us know and share the forthcoming book's publication date in your cover letter.

Fiction

Please send no fewer than three and no more than five poems per submission. Poems should be single-spaced, unless either the work is in one-line stanzas or the poem requires additional space between lines.
Include all poems as one document in a single file. Feel free to submit your work to other magazines simultaneously. However, please do not send us multiple submissions — wait to send a second time until you've heard back from us.
Also, if the work you are submitting is already slated for publication in a forthcoming book, please be sure to let us know and share the forthcoming book's publication date in your cover letter.

Bennington Review

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