An independent, ad-free online magazine founded in 1997 that focuses on place by publishing a mix of award-winning contributions, including poetry, nonfiction, fiction, editorials, interviews, reviews, recommended reads, artwork, and community/regional case studies.

With a focus on place, climate, and justice, Terrain.org is an independent magazine of literature, artwork, commentary, and design founded in 1997.

Contributions to in Terrain.org are of the highest quality, by a variety of contributors for a diverse, informed, and progressive audience. Contributors range from icons in the field of nature writing, such as Wendell Berry, Jane Hirshfield, Camille T. Dungy, and Joy Harjo, to essential new voices that are changing both writing and place itself, such as Aisha Sabatini Sloan, José Angel Araguz, and Joe Wilkins. Likewise, our critically acclaimed series—including Letters to America, A Life of Science, and Pam Houston’s Twenty Words During Lockdown—respond in real time to the most urgent social and environmental justice issues of the day. The works Terrain.org publishes on a rolling schedule merge literary and graphic art with science and activism in a beautiful, interactive design.

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

Magazines for Earth Writing

Forgot about National Poetry Month? Don't miss these reading periods before April ends. Here are all our favorite lit mags closing on April 30th / May 1st for that sweet, sweet last-minute sub rush.

Where to Submit for National Poetry Month (at the Eleventh Hour)

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.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

The ultimate ranking of the world's liveliest indie literary magazines, curated by author and editor Charlie Fish. These are the passion projects; the kaleidoscopic cutting edge.

FISH List of Lively Indie Literary Magazines 2025

FISH List of Lively Indie Literary Magazines 2026

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

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Lit Mags Featured in Pushcart Prize Anthologies

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

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

Most Competitive Literary Magazines of All Time

Uncover the most competitive literary magazines this year. These are the publications where getting published is a significant achievement for any writer.

Most Competitive Literary Magazines This Year

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

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

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

Terrain.org

The Sowell Collection at Texas Tech University, in partnership with Terrain.org and Texas Tech University Press, invites book-length manuscript submissions of essays, memoir, longform journalism or other nonfiction in English on themes about and related to the natural world by writers who have published no more than one book in any genre.
We are especially interested in submissions that explore the relationship between human communities and nature and may be informed by scientific inquiry and/or personal experience.
The Sowell Emerging Writers Prize will accept submissions in nonfiction, poetry, and fiction on a rotational basis and in that order: nonfiction in 2025, poetry in 2026, fiction in 2027, and so on.
We are also partnering with the Spring Creek Project, an initiative of the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts at Oregon State University, to offer a residency at the Lopez Cottage on the McKenzie to the winner of the Sowell Emerging Writers Prize to continue their manuscript or a related writing project. The cottage, which belonged to writers Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney, is on a 37-acre property near Finn Rock, Oregon, and is managed by the McKenzie River Trust. The winner will receive $1,000 toward travel expenses (separate from and in addition to the prize honorarium) and up to two weeks in residence at the Lopez Cottage in 2026. If the winner cannot accept the residency, we will offer it to finalists.
The Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community and the Natural World at Texas Tech University holds the personal and professional papers of prominent American writers on the natural world. The Sowell Collection was established in 2001 when it acquired the papers of National Book Award–winning writer Barry Lopez. Since then, the Collection has acquired the papers of some thirty American writers including Rick Bass, David James Duncan, Gretel Ehrlich, William Kittredge, J. Drew Lanham, Bill McKibben, Susan Brind Morrow, Gary Nabhan, Robert Michael Pyle, David Quammen, Pattiann Rogers, and others.
Submission Details

  Submissions open on Terrain.org's Submittable portal: September 15
  Deadline for submissions: November 15
  Manuscripts should be at least 192 pages (i.e., book length and not a chapbook)
  Please include an Acknowledgements page if essays or portions of the manuscript have been previously published elsewhere
  The winner will receive book publication by Texas Tech University Press, a $1,000 honorarium by Texas Tech University Press, a residency of up to two weeks at the Lopez Cottage on the McKenzie, and $1,000 toward travel expenses for the residency by the Spring Creek Project
  The reading fee is $25
  Finalists will be announced in February 2026, and the winner will be announced by the end of February
  Manuscripts that do not win the prize may still receive consideration for publication at Texas Tech University Press

Submissions must be previously unpublished (publication of excerpts or individual essays in literary journals and magazines is acceptable, as are portions that contain previously published chapbooks up to 28  pages). All forms of nonfiction are eligible (essays, memoir, longform journalism, etc.), as are hybrid forms and work with images.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please withdraw your manuscript promptly if it is accepted elsewhere for publication.
Include a bio of fewer than 100 words in your cover letter. The Sowell Emerging Writers Prize encourages underrepresented voices to submit their work for consideration.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

Sowell Emerging Writers Prize (Nonfiction Book Manuscript)

Submit 1-5 poems per entry. Combine all poems into a single document. For poetry, we are seeking the single best poem or set of poems. The entire submission must not exceed 7 pages. Poems must contain only the poem title(s) and poem(s) without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer).

Terrain.Org Annual Contest

Submit one essay or article, up to 5,000 words total, or up to 2 flash essays, up to 1,000 words each, per entry. Essays must contain only the essay title and essay itself without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer). We will consider all nonfiction, but are most interested in creative nonfiction, including personal essays, lyric essays, memoir, literary journalism, and other literary forms.

Thank you for your interest in submitting nonfiction to Terrain.org. You may view our full submission guidelines at terrain.org/submit/regular-submission-guidelines.
Submit one essay, article, flash essay series, community case study, or other piece up to 5,000 words plus your cover letter (if not pasted below) in a single document.
Note: If you are submitting an excerpt of a published book, please do not submit here but instead email your query to us at info@terrain.org. We do not publish excerpts that are already published online, but consider all other excerpts.
Creative nonfiction, personal essays, photo essays, articles, flash essays, case studies, and other essays need not follow any particular style. Accompanying resource links, graphics, and sidebars are encouraged. Photos or other graphics may be inserted into the document, but if accepted will be requested as separate files.
View our recent nonfiction at www.terrain.org/category/nonfiction.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

Nonfiction General Submissions

Thank you for your interest in submitting to Terrain.org's ARTerrain gallery and artist feature.
Please submit your ARTerrain narrative or query in a single document, which may included embedded images or links to images (as well as links to video/audio). Up to 20 images may also be uploaded with your document. The images should be no less than 1600 pixels wide, when possible.
View our recent ARTerrain features at www.terrain.org/category/arterrain.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

ARTerrain Submissions

Thank you for your interest in submitting a Letter to America to Terrain.org, open once again for submissions.
Please submit your prose, poetry, visual art-based, video, or other Letter to America (generally up to 1,500 words) in a single document. Photos or other graphics may be inserted into the document, but if accepted will be requested as separate files. 
View our recent Letters to America at www.terrain.org/category/letter-to-america. And learn more about our Dear America project, plus find an amazing array of Letter to America teaching resources, at www.terrain.org/dear-america.

Letter to America Submissions

Thank you for your interest in submitting fiction to Terrain.org. You may view our full submission guidelines at terrain.org/submit/regular-submission-guidelines.
Note: If you are submitting an excerpt of a published book, please do not submit here but instead email your query to us at info@terrain.org. We do not publish excerpts that are already published online, but consider all other excerpts.
Submit one story, flash fiction series, novel excerpt, radio play, or other fiction piece up to 5,000 words plus your cover letter (if not pasted below) in a single document.
Photos or other graphics may be inserted into the document, but if accepted will be requested as separate files.
View our recent fiction at www.terrain.org/category/fiction.
We do not accept previously published fiction except as excerpts of published books. In that case, please do not submit here, but query us at info@terrain.org.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

Fiction General Submissions

In collaboration with the Washington State Poet Laureate, Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), Humanities Washington, and Olympia Poetry Network, Terrain.org seeks poems that engage the natural world by residents or former residents of Washington State ages 21 and younger. Here in the age of the Anthropocene, we must give our attention to the non-human world, and so we will publish ecopoetry with a strong sense of place by Washington youth.
Submissions open April 22, 2026 and close December 31, 2026. Poems will be published between August 2026 and April 2027, with the goal of publishing a new poem or poetry set in the series at least monthly and at most every other week. Contributors will receive an honorarium of $100 following publication.
Submitted poems need not follow any particular form. Poem/image combinations are also considered—please submit photos or other graphics in the document containing the poem(s). If accepted, we will request the images as separate files.
Poems may not be previously published and may not appear online, including social media. We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT.
Submit between 1 and 3 poems in a single document in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, or .pdf format only.
Please include a brief cover note with:
If your poetry is accepted for publication, we will give you the option to publish with your full name or your first name only and with or without your photograph in your accompanying bio.
Terrain.org is the world’s first online literary journal of place, with a distinguished history of publishing award-winning ecopoetry. View our poetry at www.terrain.org/category/poetry.
Learn more at www.terrain.org/submit/words-woods-wellness.
Questions? Email Linnea Ingalls at linnea.ingalls@arts.wa.gov.

Words, Woods, and Wellness

Thank you for your interest in submitting poetry to the Terrain.org 17th Annual Contest, judged by Todd Boss. You may view our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
$20 entry fee per poem set (up to 5 poems). $1,000 grand prize. $200 for finalists. All poems are considered for publication.
Submit 1-5 poems per entry, maximum of 7 pages total. Combine all poems into a single document that does not contain your name or contact information.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
For poetry, we are seeking a single poem or set of poems to select as the contest winner. Submitted documents must contain only the poem title(s) and poem(s) without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer/summary).
All poems must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are just fine; please notify us by sending a message through Submittable if you are withdrawing a single poem.
View our recent poetry at www.terrain.org/category/poetry.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

Poetry Contest Submissions

Thank you for your interest in submitting nonfiction to the Terrain.org 17th Annual Contest, judged by Lia Purpura. You may view our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
$20 entry fee per essay/article or set of 2 flash essays. $1,000 grand prize. $200 for finalists. All submissions are considered for publication.
Submit one essay or article, up to 5,000 words total, or 2 flash essays, up to 1,000 words each, per entry. Essays must contain only the essay title and essay itself without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer/summary). We will consider all nonfiction, but are most interested in creative nonfiction, including personal essays, lyric essays, memoir, literary journalism, and other literary forms.
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
View our recent nonfiction at www.terrain.org/category/nonfiction.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

Nonfiction Contest Submissions

Thank you for your interest in submitting fiction to the Terrain.org 17th Annual Contest, judged by Joe Wilkins. You may view our full submission guidelines at www.terrain.org/submit/contest-guidelines.
Submission deadline: Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
$20 entry fee per story or 2 flash fictions. $1,000 grand prize. $200 for finalists. All submissions are considered for publication.
Submit one story, up to 5,000 words total, or 2 flash fictions up to 1,000 words each, per entry. Stories must contain only the story title and story itself without the author name or contact information (including in the document header/footer/summary).
We do not accept submissions created by or with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
View our recent fiction at www.terrain.org/category/fiction.
Submittable is now requiring email validation. If you have difficulty validating your email, you may complete the form at www.submittable.com/help/submitter.

Terrain.org

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Words, Woods, and Wellness

Appears in collections