Literary Magazine Rankings

Below are links to literary magazine rankings. We care about these because they help us determine which magazines are routinely publishing high-quality work. We want to tailor our submission methods to publish our work in the best places possible.

We lean heavily on Pushcart Prizes as our guide. Every print and online journal can submit up to six pieces of work across poetry, fiction, and non-fiction in any combination to showcase their best work for the previous year. It is the standard for the community.

There ain’t no shame in the Best American Series, but it includes some magazines that are hard to get into without an agent (we’re looking at you, New Yorker) and other lip glossy mags that can tip the scales toward the already-made-its and away from us underdogs. We include Best American as a tiebreaker factor, but a Best American score is unlikely to shine light on overlooked magazines.

Pushcart Prizes

Pushcart Prize for Poetry

Pushcart Prize for Fiction

Pushcart Prize for Non-Fiction

Best American Awards

Best American Short Stories

Best American Poetry Series