Journal Submission Journal 2/17/20
I mostly stuck to the Discovery tab in Submittable and scrutinizing any magazines I wasn't familiar with in Entropy Mag's Where to submit post. February 2020 isn't long for this timeline, so it's good to keep an eye out for upcoming deadlines. I also had been riding high over the fall and early winter with sending out those $3 submissions but now I am having to choose them very carefully and limiting myself to only a few. I'm trying to save up some money to go to the AWP San Antonio conference in March but not sure if the $ will work out, unfortunately.I received two personal responses this morning from journals I'd only previously gotten form rejections from, and I did also rediscover a journal I'd submitted to back in 2006, but not since. However, my streak of rejections in a row is over 20, so for you folks that are relatively or entirely new to submitting, keep that in mind. For every poem most literary journals accept, they reject 200, or even far more, many of them perfectly fine and even good—just not right for the publication at the time. There are a myriad of reasons why that might be, but it's just the fact of the matter. There is certainly a fair amount of luck in the submission game—but having a good, well crafted product which you're selling is also vital. Following will be a few journals I've discovered recently and a few classics.
Lists:
Entropy Mag's list of where to submit is a great resource and I definitely combed through it quite a bit this last month.
Submittable Discover Tab. Good for upcoming deadlines.
Journals
San Joaquin Review: This is CSU Fresno's MFA program's literary journal. They seem to like people with a connection to California or central California but it doesn't look to be a requirement. They accept all genres, have a few samples on their website and have a March 1st deadline.
Rubbertop Review: This is University of Akron's MFA program's print literary journal, they accept all genres and although their website says the deadline is Feb. 15th, their submittable page is open until March 1st.
Camas, The Nature of the West: This journal is definitely specific people living and writing about nature in the american west. Their current call is for a theme that "interrogate what it means to live in this modern moment, when it seems that we’re running out of time". Specifically, they want pieces responding to this Martin Luther King quote:
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”The William and Mary Review: This journal is College of William and Mary’s long-running literary and artistic print magazine. They lean toward the more accessible. They have a March 1st deadline.
Heavy Feather Review: This unconventional journal runs multiple features with regular publication on their website. They aren't your home for basic, straightforward, 'pretty' poetry. Right now they have submission calls open for Bad Survivalist, Haunted Passages and #NoMorePresidents. Read the descriptions and some pieces in the feature before you decide if you'd like to submit.
Salamander: This is Suffolk University's print literary magazine that's been publishing since 1992. They publish really good work and are often included in the year end 'best of' anthologies. They have an April 1st deadline.
Lake Effect: This is Penn State—Behrend's long-running print journal. I have more than a couple issues on my journal shelf (well, bookshelves. I have a problem, haha) They accept all genres and have rolling submissions.
Five Points: This is Georgia State University's premiere print literary magazine. Quite well known and a staple of the 'best of' anthologies, know that competition is extremely keen, also their submission fee is high. But, the journal is spectacular, so it's worth giving it a shot if the you have a budget for submissions. They do charge a $3 submission fee for flash fiction, and a whopping $4.75 for fiction and poetry—and that's 3 poems only. Probably the highest fee in a journal that I recommend submitting too, but even then it's with that caveat.
Sycamore Review: This is Purdue's acclaimed print literary journal. They also charge a fee, a flat $3 for all genres (art is free). They have a March 31st deadline.
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I'd love to hear other journals you fine folks have found recently, or are your favorites too! And if this post or my blog in general has been helpful, I'd really appreciate any donations you might be able to spare. I'm trying to raise money to go to the AWP conference in San Antonio in the beginning of March and any little bit you can spare will help. I'll definitely report back with articles about cool stuff I saw, read and learned. But likely, it'll be just the usual keep on, keepin' on.
