Does anybody know which major print magazines still accept short story submissions?
And when I say "major print magazines" I am referring to those glossy things with too many advertisements and some new hot model/actor on the cover and you can find on every newsstand, book store, or waiting room. You know, like magazines most people have heard of and maybe even have a subscription to?
Magazines like: Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Details, Maxim, Black Book, GQ, etc...
Maybe I'm ignorant, but I assumed that at least SOME of these outlets still regularly published fiction. Even if it is only from major known authors. But after some research (and maybe I need to do more) I found that the only magazines that do are The New Yorker and Playboy.
But I also found that Glamour and Esquire have an annual short story contest. Which is great.
But does anyone else know of major print magazines that regularly publishes fiction?
And if so, do they accept submissions?
As far as I know, none of those markets, including Playboy, take unsolicited submissions. The biggest circulations I know of that DO (in theory) take unsolicited submissions are TNY, The Paris Review, etc. but they are nearly impossible as well, like <.01% acceptance rate. At Duotrope just look for those markets that pay professional rates, .05 a word or higher, and see what you can find. There aren't a ton, but there are some great places for sure.
In addition to The New Yorker, I think Harper's Magazine also accepts unsolicited story submissions, although your chances of acceptance in either magazines are almost zero unless you're "somebody."
Yeah. I found 131 places that pay pro (.05+) or semi-pro (.01-.05) a word at Duotrope. Only 68 are pro.
In that list are Hitchcock, Analog, Ellery Queen, Cinncinati Review, Clarkesworld, Electric Literature, Esquire (who knew), F&SG, Georgia Review, Harper's, Kenyon Review, Missouri Review, TNY, TPR, Ploushares, A Public Space, Shock Totem, Subtropics, The Sun, Tin House, VQR, and Zoetrope. Those are the places I know fairly well. A mix of lit and genre here, obviously. I don't think ANY of these has an acceptance rate of higher than 3%, more like 1% or less than 1%. But a ton of great magazines and journals here.
Just found this one tonight by doing a Google search. Suprisingly, Good Housekeeping accepts unsolicited stories (though the submission guidelines don't state if it's fiction or nonfiction) 500 word max. Here's the link if anyone's looking: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/about/good-housekeeping-contributors-guidelines
Dan,
If you don't mind shelling out about $30 (and we all do!), duck into your local Barnes and Nobel and grab a copy of 2012 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market. This is usually found in the writing/reference section. In this you'll find mass information regarding all current magazines (both print and online), plus publishers and agencies soliciting work. It's also a very good publication in explaining what each magazine (many are unversity presses, though the big ones like Harper's and The New Yorker are there as well) is looking for, plus whether they pay or not, word count and theme requirements, how to query, websites, etc. I recently used it to send out a few shorts myself. Keeping my fingers crossed despite the odds!
You can also subscribe to the online Writer's Market--the benefit being it's updated fairly often. I'm not sure that genre writers would benefit more from WM than from duotrope, unless of course you're well-known or have an agent.
I really like the database at pw.org -- it's under the header "Tools for Writers" and I'm fairly sure they've had the capability to search by print/online, paid/contributor copies/no payment, genre, etc. But I've been extremely lazy about submitting lately, so I haven't used them in a while -- check it out, though, it's a great resource.
Cosmopolitian does print fiction monthly, but it's modern bodice ripper stuff. I don't know about GQ, but Esquire regularly features fiction, and even sponsor some writing contests from time to time. Like Richard said, they don't accept unsolicited submissions, but they DO publish fiction.
i find any sort of printed guide to writing is usually out of date the moment it hits the streets. i use Duotrope.com for all of my submissions. beyond magazines, journals, and websites, hit up Querytracker.net to find publishers that are open to direct submissions if you have a manuscript/collection, or are looking for an agent. Duotrope does cover some presses as well. most authors get their stories into places (like Playboy) through their agents.