A nonprofit, quarterly literary magazine dedicated to featuring the best in Southern writing while documenting the complexity and vitality of the American South.

The Oxford American Literary Project, Inc., is a nonprofit arts and media organization.
We produce live events, a podcast, multimedia stories, and publish the quarterly
Oxford American magazine in alliance with the University of Central Arkansas (UCA).

MISSION
To explore the complexity and vitality of the American South through exceptional writing, music, and visual art. 

Founded in 1989 by Marc Smirnoff in Oxford, Mississippi, the magazine has become a prominent platform for Southern literature, art, and culture. Over the years, it has featured works by renowned authors such as William Faulkner, Margaret Walker, James Agee, and James Dickey. The magazine is particularly noted for its annual Southern music issue, which includes a complimentary CD showcasing the region's diverse musical traditions. In 2016, the Oxford American received the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, underscoring its commitment to high-quality journalism and storytelling. Currently, the magazine operates under the Oxford American Literary Project, a nonprofit organization, and maintains a partnership with the University of Central Arkansas. Its editorial offices are located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Oxford American continues to serve as a vital voice in Southern literature and culture, offering readers insightful narratives and artistic expressions that reflect the complexities and richness of the region.

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

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

Publications with nonfiction in BAE, the premier American essay anthology. These journals consistently publish thought-provoking, beautifully crafted nonfiction defining contemporary essay excellence.

Lit Mags Featured in Best American Essay Anthologies

Publications with stories in America's most visible short fiction. These journals consistently publish fiction that represents the highest levels of contemporary American short storytelling.

Lit Mags Featured in Best American Short Story 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

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

Oxford American

A city, a story; a fantasy, a reality. From jazz to bounce, from Cajun fiddle to sludge metal. With over three hundred years of musical history, it’s bound to get complicated.
The Oxford American is dedicating our 28th annual Music Issue to exploring and celebrating the music of New Orleans, Louisiana. Inimitable and enigmatic, the city has nurtured some of the most foundational artists in American music: jazz piano pioneers like Jelly Roll Morton and Sweet Emma Barrett; accordionist Amédé Ardoin, the Black Creole father of Zydeco; Mahalia Jackson and her irrepressible voice.
We’re interested in stories that engage New Orleans’s past while keeping their finger on the pulse of its present. What might make New Orleans a contender for the Black music capital of America? Is the idea of such a place antiquated? How was Houston music affected by people moving there from New Orleans after Katrina? How do the genres and grooves that New Orleans has exported to the rest of the world, from Juvenile to Sissy Nobby to EyeHateGod, still live within the city? What venues are too local for the tourists, and why?
We want to push past the conventional narratives of New Orleans music to find hidden truths. We want to know what’s happening today on its many venerable stages; we want to glimpse what it has in store for the future. How are musicmakers in New Orleans, like Leyla McCalla, Flagboy Giz, or Twisted Teens, mining their city’s long past? Where do ghosts, figurative or literal, show up in New Orleans’s sounds?
Recent headlines have reported that New Orleans must be abandoned to the rising seas, but we don’t believe that’s true. We want to hear perspectives on life and music in the city in the midst of climate change, learn what New Orleanians really need, and share stories of the work they’re doing to meet the challenge of a changing world.
We’re seeking reported features, personal essays, short stories, short dispatches and meditations, poems, music criticism, and liner notes for tracks on the vinyl LP that will accompany the issue. For fiction, poetry, and personal essays, full drafts may be submitted; for reported nonfiction work, please send us a pitch.
We will be accepting submissions for this project through Submittable only. Submissions will remain open until Friday, July 31st, or until we reach 300 submissions. Multiple submissions are not allowed; if submitting multiple works, please include them in a single submission. The Oxford American does not accept or review submissions created with the use of generative AI.
We’ll be accepting submissions on a rolling basis, and deadlines will fall through the late summer and early fall. The issue will be on newsstands in late November. Compensation will depend on the length and complexity of the story; all writers will be paid.
We look forward to hearing from you!

New Orleans Music Issue: Call for Submissions — Fiction

New Orleans Music Issue: Call for Submissions — Nonfiction

New Orleans Music Issue: Call for Submissions — Poetry

We are seeking dispatch pitches for digital-first publication. Dispatches identify and draw attention to the space where “policy meets people,” centering human impact and celebrating counter-narrative. At 500 to 2,000 words, this series offers the flexibility to respond to current events as they happen with adequate speed and requisite attention. The OA seeks stories of the American South that are neglected by national news media.<div><br></div><div>We’re looking for reported, narrative-driven pieces that respond to what is happening in the communities you’re based in or connected to, with a hyper-focus on extraordinary stories that are specific to locales.</div>

Oxford American

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Dispatches

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