I Just Love Them! - Best Lit Mags of 2025

HONK! Silly Goose Press is a very flocking serious literary magazine obsessed with craft-forward whimsy. HONK!

Silly Goose Press is a very serious literary magazine obsessed with craft-forward whimsy. Born of love, friendship, and a shared desire for community, SGP values expression, creativity, and honesty. Our goal is to promote creatives who explore the magical within the mundane and the mundane within the magical.
Write, Write, Goose!


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

Mixed bag of competitive, accessible, and good-vibe magazines. All love publishing emerging writers and can be trusted with your work.

Lit Mags Every New Writer Should Know

Basically what it says in the title. Our top most bookmarked fee-free lit mags that nominate for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize (and Don’t Charge Fees)

They told us personally or put it in their guidelines. These magazines actively want to be the first to publish you.

These Lit Mags Want to Be Your First Publication

We asked, you guys answered. Here are the community's spring 2026 favorites for you cool kids, weird kids, very serious adults, etc. 

Want to check out Parts 1 & 2? We've un-paywalled them for you guys, so get them before they're gone.
Part 1: https://www.chillsubs.com/lists/cool_kids_3
Part 2: https://www.chillsubs.com/lists/Cool_kids_2

Where The Cool Kids Are Submitting Their Writing: Part 3

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

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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.

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

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

These magazines have the fastest response times, so you won't be left hanging for months. No more endless waiting. Just, you know, regular waiting.

Literary Magazines with the Fastest Response Times

Explore the all-time most competitive speculative fiction literary magazines. These magazines are revered in the fiction world for their editorial rigor.

Most Competitive Speculative Fiction 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

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

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.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

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

Silly Goose Press

I received an encouraging and insightful rejection letter from Parker Dean and the Flock. The brief suggestions offered give real help and direction for a piece that has struggled to emerge. Grateful in spades.

<div>Silly Goose Press is an online literary magazine that has an obsession with craft-forward whimsy. We look for the magic in the mundane and the mundane in the magical.</div><div><br></div><div>Fiction Guidelines:</div>- up to 3k words of prose! (but we love flash, too!)<div>- writing should be double spaced</div><div>Things we especially like:</div><div>- Atmospheric stories</div><div>- Strong, witty characters </div><div>- A twisty turny plot </div><div>- A unique voice and perspective</div>

Silly Goose Press Issue Eight!

Silly Goose Press is an online literary magazine that has an obsession with craft-forward whimsy. We look for the magic in the mundane and the mundane in the magical.<div><br></div><div>Nonfiction Guidelines:</div><div><div>- up to 3k words (or flash! yay flash!)</div><div>- writing should be double spaced </div><div>Things we especially like:</div><div>- lyrical essays, memoir, narrative, research essays, funky-wunky things</div><div>- beautiful, long, convoluted, and mixed metaphors</div><div>- stories about that one weird night you had in college</div><div>- steamy, lustful yearning</div><div>- LGBTQIA+ stories &lt;3</div><div>- fairytale endings (especially if there is an animal involved)</div></div>

Silly Goose Press is an online literary magazine that has an obsession with craft-forward whimsy. We look for the magic in the mundane and the mundane in the magical.<div><br></div><div>Hybrid worlds we especially like:</div><div>- mixed media and collages
- comic strips (especially if there’s a dog)
- experimental fanfic (only one bed, am I right?)
- grocery lists with hidden poetry
- a series of intricate puzzles resulting in Nicholas Cage having to steal the Declaration of Independence
- recipes for BIG pots</div>

<div>Silly Goose Press is an online literary magazine that has an obsession with craft-forward whimsy. We look for the magic in the mundane and the mundane in the magical.</div><div><br></div><div>Art &amp; Photography Guidelines:</div>- please send a selection of up to 10 of your finest photos or art works
- title each piece individually (though if you want to add an overarching title, we'd love to see it)
- please include an Artist Statement about each piece
- submit your work as JPG/PNG format in the highest quality possible

<div>Silly Goose Press is an online literary magazine that has an obsession with craft-forward whimsy. We look for the magic in the mundane and the mundane in the magical.</div><div><br></div><div>Poetry Guidelines: </div><div>- send us up to 5 poems, keeping to a max page count of 12</div><div>- poems may be formatted to your heart's desire, but know that sometimes websites are VERY SILLY GEESE and we will have to fuss around a bit</div><div>Things we especially like:</div><div>- sappho/sapphic reads/sapphic words/you get the picture</div><div>- glitter-gel-pen poetry</div><div>- prose poems OR really good line breaks</div><div>- the sonnet</div><div>- yearning/wanting/desiring/pining/riiiight, you get me</div><div>- fabulism :D</div><div>- close reading Taylor Swift lyrics for the lore</div><div>- queer-girl friendships</div><div>- having a crush that almost kills ya</div>

<div>The Sturgeon Moon is set to rise on Thursday, August 27, and we want to leave her an offering. We’re looking for your midnight moonlit mythologies, your odes to the Great Lakes goddesses, your meditations and manifestations, your rites and rituals, and your love letters to the never-topped muse, The Moon. Open to all genres (there’s no one way to worship a Sturgeon Moon after all) and for two weeks only.</div><div><br></div><div>See our Sturgeon Moon Guidelines page for more details!</div>

SGP Mini: Offerings to the Sturgeon Moon

The Sturgeon Moon is set to rise on Thursday, August 27, and we want to leave her an offering. We’re looking for your midnight moonlit mythologies, your odes to the Great Lakes goddesses, your meditations and manifestations, your rites and rituals, and your love letters to the never-topped muse, The Moon. Open to all genres (there’s no one way to worship a Sturgeon Moon after all) and for two weeks only.<div><br></div><div>See our Sturgeon Moon Guidelines page for more details!</div>

Silly Goose Press

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