UNC Wilmington's Department of Creative Writing

I Just Love Them! - Best Lit Mags of 2025

A biannual magazine that seeks to reimagine place. Published by UNC Wilmington's Department of Creative Writing. AWP Small Press Publisher Award winner | ASME Award for Fiction Finalist.

Ecotone’s mission is to publish and promote the best place-based work being written today. Founded in 2005 at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, on the traditional and ancestral territory of the Waccamaw, Catawba, and Cape Fear People, the award-winning magazine features writing and art that reimagine place. Our authors interpret this charge expansively. An ecotone is a transition zone between two adjacent ecological communities, containing the characteristic species of each. It is therefore a place of danger or opportunity, a testing ground. The magazine explores the ecotones between landscapes, literary genres, scientific and artistic disciplines, identities, and modes of thought. 

Writing of place must include the perspectives of historically and currently marginalized writers and artists. We welcome work by people who have been underrepresented in literary publishing and in place-based contexts, including writers and artists who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, people with disabilities, people who are gender-nonconforming and LGBTQIA+, people with low access to wealth, people from rural places, and women. We understand that there can be no environmental and climate justice without racial justice, and we are dedicated to helping build and maintain a supportive and inclusive literary community for all. Our editorial team will continue to explore how we can improve our efforts.

In March 2022, Ecotone received the AWP Small Press Publisher Award. Since 2020, the magazine has been a finalist for the Whiting Literary Magazine Prize (2021), the ASME Award for Fiction (2020), CLMP’s Firecracker Awards (2020), and the AWP Small Press Publisher Award (2020). Among our contributors are winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, as well as MacArthur, Guggenheim, and NEA fellows. But we’re equally excited to honor new voices. Work first published in the magazine is featured in the Pushcart Prize anthology, Poetry Daily, The Best American Essays, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Poetry, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and The O. Henry Prize Stories, among others.

No database exists for fiction agents' reading habits, so we asked every agent, editor, and writing-adjacent human we could until we got enough answers.

Fiction Magazines That Will Make Agents Notice You

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

We asked literary agents which magazines they actually read. They answered with this list of publications—not comprehensive, but damn close.

Lit Mags Agents Love (We Asked)

Who said that poets don't make money? Okay, we don't. But sometimes we do. Start with these amazing magazines paying highly competitive rates.

Lit Mags Paying Big Bucks for Poetry

What's dumb money for poetry? Anything substantial. These magazines pay at least $200, often more, for poems.

Lit Mags That Pay Dumb Money for Poetry

From pastorals to climate fiction, these magazines specialize in writing about Earth and humanity's relationship with the natural world.

Magazines for Earth Writing

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

Digital publications chosen for Best of the Net. These journals demonstrate consistent excellence in identifying digital fiction that deserves wider recognition and readership.

Fiction Magazines Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

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

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

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

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Digital publications advancing very short fiction for Best of the Net consideration.

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Digital publications with work selected for inclusion across genres. These journals consistently publish online work of exceptional quality that stands out in the digital literary landscape.

Lit Mags Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

Publications with narratives under 1,000 words selected for this anthology series. These journals consistently identify short-short fiction, exemplifying the artistry possible in compact narratives.

Lit Mags Featured in Best Small Fictions Anthologies

Publications with stories selected for America's oldest prestigious short fiction award, established in 1919. Editorial committee selections only.

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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

Best Microfiction, edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke, celebrates the art of the extremely brief narrative. These publications have editorial teams with particular sensitivity to the craft.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Microfiction

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

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

Essential publications that nominate short fiction for the O'Henry Prize anthology, one of America's most venerable literary awards. Established in 1919.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the O'Henry Prize

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

Digital publications chosen for Best of the Net. These journals consistently publish digital essays and memoirs that exemplify the best of what's possible in online creative nonfiction.

Nonfiction Magazines Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

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

Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

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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.

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

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Digital publications with poems chosen for Best of the Net. These journals consistently identify exceptional verse that represents the highest quality of poetry published online.

Poetry Mags Featured in Best of the Net Anthologies

Ecotone

Valentine’s Day

This reading period, we seek poems that think with or live within or respond to place and/or the climate crisis, including questions of environmental justice. This engagement can be subtle or super-clear. Experimentation with fixed forms (new or old), meter, and/or other poetic constraints is also welcome.
Upcoming issues: Ecotone is most actively acquiring for the following issues: issue 40 (unthemed) and issue 41 (delight). Find calls for work on our Upcoming Issues page. We will consider work submitted this reading period for all upcoming issues, both themed and unthemed.
How to submit:
*Please send a single file containing three to five poems. 
*Do not include identifying information within the manuscript or in the filename. (E.g., don't paste your cover letter in as the first page of the file, and don't include your name in the header or footer.)
*Please include a brief cover letter in the cover-letter field, addressed to the editor(s) of your genre. Be sure to mention the title(s) of the work you are sending.
*Send only one submission during a given reading period, either poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. Multiple submissions sent during this window, regardless of genre, will not be read.
*If you need to withdraw part or all of your submission, which you should do immediately if it is accepted elsewhere, do so by withdrawing or adding a message in Submittable; do not email the editors. Submittable's notes function is visible only to you; be sure to use the message option to withdraw single poems. Do not query us about your submission unless there is a need—for instance, if the work you submitted will appear in a forthcoming collection.
*We do not consider revisions to work once submitted. We offer editorial support to all our contributors upon acceptance.
*Ecotone's online submissions fee is $3. After submitting your work online, you'll get a confirmation email with a discount code for $3 off a subscription or renewal. The fee is waived for current subscribers; we also accept submissions by post (see our general guidelines for details). 
*If you'd like to subscribe while submitting, you may do so on this page minus the amount of the fee—or, even better, subscribe here, then send your work using the no-fee subscriber submissions option in Submittable. Subscriptions will begin with issue 38, our twentieth anniversary issue.
Thanks for thinking of Ecotone. We look forward to reading your work!

Poetry

This reading period, we are considering fiction that engages with or lives within place and/or the climate crisis, including questions of environmental justice. This engagement can be subtle or super clear.
Upcoming issues: Ecotone is most actively acquiring for the following issues: issue 40 (unthemed) and issue 41 (delight). Find calls for work on our Upcoming Issues page. We will consider work submitted this reading period for all upcoming issues, both themed and unthemed.
How to submit:
*Fiction submissions should be double-spaced, no more than thirty pages in a standard twelve-point font, with pages numbered. (Most prose we publish is shorter than the upper limit given here.) The editors are also interested in seeing briefer stories—minimum 2,500–3,000 words—one per submission.
*Do not include identifying information within the manuscript or in the filename. Don't paste your cover letter in as the first page of the file, and don't include your name in the header or footer.
*Write us a note, won't you? Include a brief cover letter in the cover-letter field, addressed to the editor(s) of your genre. Be sure to note the word or page count and the title of the work you are sending.
*Multiple submissions sent during this reading period, regardless of genre, will not be read. Please send only one submission in a given reading period, in either poetry, fiction, or nonfiction.
*If you need to withdraw your submission, which you should do immediately if it is accepted elsewhere, do so by withdrawing in Submittable; do not email the editors. Do not query us about your submission unless there is a need—for instance, if the work you submitted will appear in a forthcoming collection; for this purpose, be sure to use the message option, as Submittable's notes function is visible only to you.
*We do not consider revisions to work once submitted. We offer editorial support to all our contributors upon acceptance.
*Ecotone's online submissions fee is $3. After submitting your work online, you'll get a confirmation email with a discount code for $3 off a subscription or renewal. The fee is waived for current subscribers; we also accept submissions by post (see our general guidelines for details).
*If you'd like to subscribe while submitting, you may do so on this page minus the amount of the fee—or, even better, subscribe here, then send your work using the subscriber submissions option in Submittable. Subscriptions will begin with issue 38, our twentieth anniversary issue.
Thanks for thinking of Ecotone. We look forward to reading your work!

Fiction

For this reading period, we are glad to consider all nonfiction that engages with place, whether subtly or overtly. We are particularly interested in personal essays and other narratives that engage with the climate crisis and/or with the natural and social sciences—ecology, natural history, sociology, and other fields, not limited to Western contexts and modes of doing science.
Upcoming issues: Ecotone is most actively acquiring for the following issues: issue 40 (unthemed) and issue 41 (delight). Find calls for work on our Upcoming Issues page. We will consider work submitted this reading period for all upcoming issues, both themed and unthemed.
How to submit:
*Nonfiction submissions should be double-spaced, no more than thirty pages in a standard twelve-point font, with pages numbered. (Most prose we publish is shorter than the upper limit given here.) The editors are also interested in seeing briefer works of nonfiction—minimum 2,500–3,000 words—one per submission.
*Do not include identifying information within the manuscript or in the filename. Don't paste your cover letter in as the first page of the file, and don't include your name in the header or footer.
*Write us a note, won't you? Include a brief cover letter in the cover-letter field, addressed to the editor(s) of your genre. Be sure to note the word or page count and the title of the work you are sending.
*Multiple submissions sent during this reading period, regardless of genre, will not be read. Please send only one submission in a given reading period, in either poetry, fiction, or nonfiction.
*If you need to withdraw your submission, which you should do immediately if it is accepted elsewhere, do so by withdrawing in Submittable; do not email the editors. Do not query us about your submission unless there is a need—for instance, if the work you submitted will appear in a forthcoming collection; for this purpose, be sure to use the message option, as Submittable's notes function is visible only to you.
*Ecotone's online submissions fee is $3. After submitting your work online, you'll get a confirmation email with a discount code for $3 off a subscription or renewal. The fee is waived for current subscribers; we also accept submissions by post (see our general guidelines for details).
*We do not consider revisions to work once submitted. We offer editorial support to all our contributors upon acceptance.
*If you'd like to subscribe while submitting, you may do so on this page minus the amount of the fee—or, even better, subscribe here, then send your work using the no-fee subscriber submissions option in Submittable. Subscriptions will begin with issue 38, our twentieth anniversary issue.
Thanks for thinking of Ecotone. We look forward to reading your work!

Ecotone

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