Great Editor(s) - Best Lit Mags of 2025

The first online literary journal with an explicit focus on writers who produce creative texts in English as their second or non-native language.

Tint Journal is the online literary journal for writers who produce creative texts in English as their second or non-native language.

By choosing English as their means of communication, these writers provide their English reading audience with an immediate take on their values, ideas, and beliefs. They bridge borders and blend cultures without the third party of the translator and offer the purest and deepest understanding of their fiction and nonfiction worlds. 

Tint showcases original fiction and nonfiction creations by ESL writers including short prose, flash as well as poetry. In view of the diverse backgrounds of our contributing writers, any subject matter which does not violate our values of acceptance and inclusivity is welcome. The journal also features audio recordings of the writers reading their work.

Additionally, English writers of any kind are asked to contribute interviews with and profiles of ESL writers, as well as reviews of pieces written by ESL writers.

short stories

In Conversation

Tint Journal is dedicated to non-native English writing. Writers have to have learned or acquired the English language after being fluent in another language

Out of 7,067 votes, these lit mags came out on top in 2025 as having the best lit mags editors around.

Flash fiction meets speculative worlds. Science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, futuristic—anything that transcends reality in very short form.

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Quality magazines publishing magical realism that also nominate for prizes, accept simultaneous submissions, and maintain under 20% acceptance rates.

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

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Publications with ultra-short stories under 400 words selected for this anthology series. The definitive collection for the microfiction form.

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

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

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Tint Journal

You have been fluent in a language other than English before you acquired/learned English? You write your creative nonfiction or flash nonfiction pieces in English? Then submit your non-native English creative writing until November 30, 2025 to be considered for Tint's Spring '26 issue (#15)!
 
 What kind of submissions does Tint Journal accept? 

  We exclusively accept submissions by writers who write creatively in English as their second, foreign or non-native language (exophonic writers).
  In view of the diverse backgrounds of our contributing writers, any subject matter which does not violate our values of acceptance and inclusivity is welcome. For text examples, see our current issue or visit our archive.
  Please submit only previously unpublished pieces. If you have a previously published piece that fits our mission, please contact us via info@tintjournal.com.
  Translations will not be accepted. It should be an original creation in English as your foreign language. However, the work can feature words or passages in the writer’s original language or other languages.
  We prefer doc and docx files. In case your submissions requires special formatting, we also accept pdf files.
  Please name your document [Category*]_[Last Name]_[Title], e.g. Fiction_Miller_The Rose, or Flash Fiction_Miller_The Rose.
  Provide your submission with a title page, indicating your 1. name, 2. first language/mother tongue(s), 3. second or foreign language(s), 4. nationality (= state(s)/region(s) you associate yourself with), 5. category*, 6. title of your piece, 7. word count, 8. contact information (your email address), and 9. day of submission.
  Put page numbers on all pages following the title page.


 Does Tint Journal accept simultaneous and multiple submissions?

  Feel free to submit your text for Tint Journal also to other magazines/calls. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately via email at info@tintjournal.com.
  Submit one piece per category at a time, but feel free to approach us in the future with new work.


 How long should my submission be?

  For longer personal essays (nonfiction) submissions, please submit one text between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
  For flash nonfiction submissions, please submit one text that does not exceed 800 words.


 
If this form of submission represents an obstacle to you, please contact the journal at info@tintjournal.com.
* Categories: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Nonfiction, Flash Nonfiction, Poetry.

Calling: Visual Art for Literary Magazine

border/lands (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art)

Where do you encounter patches in your life? What is in need of mending; what truly wants to be combined, reorganized, transfixed in the spaces you inhabit and in the scapes you witness? What is integrated, what integrates, and how does the process of enmeshing change pars and totum, the old, the new? What remains, and what is modified?

We’re not looking for keywords in your texts, and we’re open to finding the theme “Patchwork” as an undercurrent or a central idea in your submissions. What we’re interested in are the different approaches towards this theme from the many regions and voices of our planet, from the patchworks within one individual being to the patchworks that are the governing forms of our human condition.

Please carefully review our submission guidelines at https://tintjournal.com/submit/submission-guidelines to meet Tint Journal’s formal criteria. Submissions are received until May 31, 2025 (midnight CEST) via email at submissions@tintjournal.com or via Submittable. 

Calling: Texts on ESL Writing (Reviews, Interviews, Profiles)

Where do you encounter patches in your life? What is in need of mending; what truly wants to be combined, reorganized, transfixed in the spaces you inhabit and in the scapes you witness? What is integrated, what integrates, and how does the process of enmeshing change pars and totum, the old, the new? What remains, and what is modified?

We’re not looking for keywords in your texts, and we’re open to finding the theme “Patchwork” as an undercurrent or a central idea in your submissions. What we’re interested in are the different approaches towards this theme from the many regions and voices of our planet, from the patchworks within one individual being to the patchworks that are the governing forms of our human condition.

Please carefully review our submission guidelines at https://tintjournal.com/submit/submission-guidelines to meet Tint Journal’s formal criteria. Submissions are received until May 31, 2025 (midnight CEST) via email at submissions@tintjournal.com or via Submittable.

(Prose Poetry)

PATCHWORK

Calling: Creative Nonfiction and Flash Nonfiction by non-native English writers (ESL)

Submissions for our In Conversation section on ESL writing (book reviews, interviews, profiles, other related articles) are received year-round. 

Review our submission guidelines: https://tintjournal.com/submit/submission-guidelines)

Please contact our In Conversation editors Chiara and Andrea at inconversation@tintjournal.com to propose your idea or receive access to our ideas pool, and for the further submission process.

In Conversation on ESL Writing

You have been fluent in a language other than English before you acquired/learned English? You write your short stories or flash stories in English? Then submit your non-native English creative writing until November 30, 2025 to be considered for Tint's Spring '26 issue (#15)!

 We exclusively accept submissions by writers who write creatively in English as their second, foreign or non-native language (exophonic writers).

  In view of the diverse backgrounds of our contributing writers, any subject matter which does not violate our values of acceptance and inclusivity is welcome. For text examples, see our current issue or visit our archive.
  Please submit only previously unpublished pieces. If you have a previously published piece that fits our mission, please contact us via info@tintjournal.com.
  Translations will not be accepted. It should be an original creation in English as your foreign language. However, the work can feature words or passages in the writer’s original language or other languages.
  We prefer doc and docx files. In case your submissions requires special formatting, we also accept pdf files.
  Please name your document [Category*]_[Last Name]_[Title], e.g. Fiction_Miller_The Rose, or Flash Fiction_Miller_The Rose.
  Provide your submission with a title page, indicating your 1. name, 2. first language(s)/mother tongue(s), 3. second or foreign language(s), 4. nationality (= state(s)/region(s) you associate yourself with), 5. category*, 6. title of your piece, 7. word count, 8. contact information (your email address), and 9. day of submission.
  Put page numbers on all pages following the title page.



Does Tint Journal accept simultaneous and multiple submissions?

  Feel free to submit your text for Tint Journal also to other magazines/calls. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately via email at info@tintjournal.com.
  Submit one piece per category at a time, but feel free to approach us in the future with new work.



How long should my submission be?

  For short story (fiction) submissions, please submit one text between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
  For flash fiction submissions, please submit one text. It should not exceed 800 words.


 
If this form of submission represents an obstacle to you, please contact the journal at info@tintjournal.com.
 
* Categories: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Nonfiction, Flash Nonfiction, Poetry.

Calling: Poetry by non-native English writers (ESL)

You have been fluent in a language other than English before you acquired/learned English? You write your short stories or flash stories in English? If so, submit your non-native English creative writing on the theme of nurture until May 31, 2026 to be considered for Tint's Fall '26 issue (#16)!
We exclusively accept submissions by writers who write creatively in English as their second, foreign or non-native language (exophonic writers).
For our 16th issue, we are looking for submissions on the theme of nurture. To find out what we are looking for, see our theme description on our website.
Please submit only previously unpublished pieces. If you have a previously published piece that fits our mission, please contact us via info@tintjournal.com.
Translations will not be accepted. It should be an original creation in English as your foreign language. However, the work can feature words or passages in the writer’s original language or other languages.
We prefer doc and docx files. In case your submissions requires special formatting, we also accept pdf files.
Please name your document [Category*]_[Last Name]_[Title], e.g. Fiction_Miller_The Rose, or Flash Fiction_Miller_The Rose.
Provide your submission with a title page, indicating your 1. name, 2. first language(s)/mother tongue(s), 3. second or foreign language(s), 4. locale (= state(s)/region(s) you associate yourself with), 5. category*, 6. title of your piece, 7. word count, 8. contact information (your email address), and 9. day of submission.
Put page numbers on all pages following the title page.
Does Tint Journal accept simultaneous and multiple submissions?
Feel free to submit your text for Tint Journal also to other magazines/calls. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately via email at info@tintjournal.com.
Submit one piece per category at a time, but feel free to approach us in the future with new work.
How long should my submission be?
For short story (fiction) submissions, please submit one text between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
For flash fiction submissions, please submit one text. It should not exceed 600 words.
If this form of submission represents an obstacle to you, please contact the journal at info@tintjournal.com.
* Categories: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Nonfiction, Flash Nonfiction, Poetry.

Short and Flash Fiction by non-native English writers (ESL)

You have been fluent in a language other than English before you acquired/learned English? You write your short stories or flash stories in English? If so, submit your non-native English creative writing on the theme of nurture until May 31, 2026 to be considered for Tint's Fall '26 issue (#16)!
We exclusively accept submissions by writers who write creatively in English as their second, foreign or non-native language (exophonic writers).
For our 16th issue, we are looking for submissions on the theme of nurture. To find out what we are looking for, see our theme description on our website.
Please submit only previously unpublished pieces. If you have a previously published piece that fits our mission, please contact us via info@tintjournal.com.
Translations will not be accepted. It should be an original creation in English as your foreign language. However, the work can feature words or passages in the writer’s original language or other languages.
We prefer doc and docx files. In case your submissions requires special formatting, we also accept pdf files.
Please name your document [Category*]_[Last Name]_[Title], e.g. Fiction_Miller_The Rose, or Flash Fiction_Miller_The Rose.
Provide your submission with a title page, indicating your 1. name, 2. first language/mother tongue(s), 3. second or foreign language(s), 4. locale (= state(s)/region(s) you associate yourself with), 5. category*, 6. title of your piece, 7. word count, 8. contact information (your email address), and 9. day of submission.
Does Tint Journal accept simultaneous and multiple submissions?
Feel free to submit your text for Tint Journal also to other magazines/calls. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately via email at info@tintjournal.com.
Submit one piece per category at a time, but feel free to approach us in the future with new work.
How long should my submission be?
For poetry submissions, please submit one poem at a time. If the poem has subsections, mark them clearly in your document. A poem should not exceed four C4, A4 or Letter pages in length.
If this form of submission represents an obstacle to you, please contact the journal at info@tintjournal.com.
* Categories: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Nonfiction, Flash Nonfiction, Poetry.

Poetry by non-native English writers (ESL)

You have been fluent in a language other than English before you acquired/learned English? You write your short stories or flash stories in English? If so, submit your non-native English creative writing on the theme of nurture until May 31, 2026 to be considered for Tint's Fall '26 issue (#16)!
We exclusively accept submissions by writers who write creatively in English as their second, foreign or non-native language (exophonic writers).
For our 16th issue, we are looking for submissions on the theme of nurture. To find out what we are looking for, see our theme description on our website.
Please submit only previously unpublished pieces. If you have a previously published piece that fits our mission, please contact us via info@tintjournal.com.
Translations will not be accepted. It should be an original creation in English as your foreign language. However, the work can feature words or passages in the writer’s original language or other languages.
We prefer doc and docx files. In case your submissions requires special formatting, we also accept pdf files.
Please name your document [Category*]_[Last Name]_[Title], e.g. Fiction_Miller_The Rose, or Flash Fiction_Miller_The Rose.
Provide your submission with a title page, indicating your 1. name, 2. first language/mother tongue(s), 3. second or foreign language(s), 4. nationality (= state(s)/region(s) you associate yourself with), 5. category*, 6. title of your piece, 7. word count, 8. contact information (your email address), and 9. day of submission.
Put page numbers on all pages following the title page.
Does Tint Journal accept simultaneous and multiple submissions?
Feel free to submit your text for Tint Journal also to other magazines/calls. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately via email at info@tintjournal.com.
Submit one piece per category at a time, but feel free to approach us in the future with new work.
How long should my submission be?
For longer personal essays (nonfiction) submissions, please submit one text between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
For flash nonfiction submissions, please submit one text that does not exceed 800 words.
If this form of submission represents an obstacle to you, please contact the journal at info@tintjournal.com.
* Categories: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Nonfiction, Flash Nonfiction, Poetry.

Creative Nonfiction and Flash Nonfiction by non-native English writers (ESL)

We are an online literary journal dedicated to publishing creative work by non-native English writers. We are currently looking for visual art on the theme of nurture by artists of any linguistic background to accompany our stories, essays, and poetry.
Submit your artworks until May 31, 2026, to be considered for Tint's Fall '26 issue (#16)!
Submit hi-resolution files of your visual art (paintings, illustrations, drawings, photographs, ...) to accompany our ESL stories, poems and essays.
Give each artwork a title. The file should be named [Artist's Last Name]_[Title], e.g. Munch_The Scream.
We prefer PNG, JPG or JPEG files.
Submit up to three pieces at a time, but feel free to approach us in the future with new work.
If this form of submission represents an obstacle to the writer, please contact the journal at info@tintjournal.com.

Tint Journal

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