Below are 10 really amazing small/independent online literary magazines that take submissions from poets of all ages, experiences, backgrounds, and styles. It's time to give back and thank the editors of many of these wonderful magazines, along with the hundreds of others that could've easily been on this list. I just listed 10 that I am most familiar with, but feel free to comment your own suggestions below! Give thanks to your favorite editors, publishers, magazines, and journals. Show them some love this February!
10. Drunk in a Midnight Choir
(Photo Credit: Drunk in a Midnight Choir Facebook Page)
DMC is a very new literary magazine with some of the best voices today adding to their choir. It's a little funky, a little jazzy, but ultimately, it's unique and original. DMC is most definitely one of my favorite magazines to read. The editor is absolutely phenomenal. Even rejection letters sound sweet and understanding. This literary magazine has personality! Check out their website.
9. Piker Press
(Photo Credit: The Piker Press Facebook Page)
Piker Press is another awesome, organized, fun to work with literary magazine that makes every author feel valued, appreciated, and accepted, regardless of style. They know how to publicize work, how to promote their authors, and how to keep authors coming back time and time again. Check out their website.
8. Muzzle Magazine
(Photo Credit: The Muzzle Mag Facebook Page)
Muzzle, by using their own words, is "revolutionary" in its content and style. They keep their publication current, vibrant, and full of new and exciting styles, topics, and artists. Muzzle also takes submissions year round. If you have new and exciting poetry, I would recommend pressing their submit button and saying hello. Check out their website.
7. Gravel
(Photo Credit: Gravel Submittable Page)
Gravel is really neat in that it is produced by grad students in the MFA program at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. As students, they keep the content youthful, fun, and filled with character. They have a blog, a Twitter, a Facebook, and of course, their website.
6. The Offing
(Photo Credit: The Offing Facebook Page)
The Offing is a phenomenal magazine for loads of reasons, but a few of those reasons are: 1.) They pay their authors! 2.) They make sure that underrepresented minority groups are represented and heard in their magazine. 3.) They accept various forms of creative writing. And 4.) It's a great place for new or emerging writers to test the waters! You can check out their website.
5. Silver Birch Press
(Photo Credit: Silver Birch Press Facebook Page)
Silver Birch Press is dear to my heart because I've had a long relationship with the editor of the press. I've been submitting to SBP for a couple of years now and even when my work isn't accepted, I'm always encouraged to try again. This press is also really neat because there is always a theme to base the submissions around. Sometimes it can be tricky to submit if you aren't sure what the editor is looking for in terms of subject matter. Silver Birch Press gives you some awesome ideas as to what to submit and when! Check out their website.
4. Voicemail Poems
(Photo Credit: Voicemail Poems Facebook Page)
Voicemail Poems is completely unique from the rest of the magazines on this list in that there is an oral component to the submissions. The process works by having the author both call and leave a voicemail recording of the poem and submitting the text onto Voicemail Poems' Submittable page. It's so much fun to listen to, read, and submit poems to this awesome magazine! Check out their website.
3. Wyvern Lit
(Photo Credit: Wyvern Lit Facebook Page)
Wyvern Lit recently did a Haunted themed issue. Wyvern Lit has an Etsy shop with Wyvern Lit merchandise. Wyvern Lit's profile photo creature is eating its own tail. Pretty much, once submissions reopen, you should go to the Wyvern Lit website and check them out!
2. VerseWrights
(Photo Credit: VerseWrights Facebook Page)
VerseWrights is another literary magazine very near and dear to my heart. Upon submitting my own work to the magazine, the editor not only sent me a personalized acceptance letter, but also was interested to know me as a person. When editors take the time to get to know their writers, that stands out immediately as something to be remembered when submitting again. He was interested in who I was as a student, as a poet, as a twenty-something female. The amount of care that is taken in getting to know each of his writers carries over into his work on the website as publisher and editor. What a fantastic magazine to read and to submit to. Check out their website.
1. Yellow Chair Review
(Photo Credit: Yellow Chair Review)
Finally, Yellow Chair Review is perhaps one of the youngest literary magazines out there, but is so extraordinary in everything it does. From the awesome publisher/editor to the incredible staff to the themed submissions to the author copies of their first anthology to having weekly contests, I love this magazine. I fell in love with this magazine from the very beginning-- the very first Rock the Chair contest and the very first Yellow Chair Review Issue. Submissions are currently open for YCR and I highly recommend checking out their website. You won't regret it!
