Online Markets

Online or electronic literary journals are now important markets for writers. Print journals have a heavy financial load to carry, what with their need for paper, printing and postage. Online journals publish varied forms and word lengths, have shorter response times, and most "publish" more issues than traditional journals — that all adds up to more opportunities for emerging writers. And the best ones, like the Barcelona Review and Blackbird, compete with any bound journal. Of course, the same guidelines apply for online as print journals. Read back issues so you get a sense of what they publish and follow its submission guidelines.

Below you'll find links to student-generated market sheets that rate online publications for the emerging writer. The ranking is based on quality of work, experience of contributors, quantity of prose published, guidelines, design, etc. (Based on those criteria, publications more open to the emerging writer are ranked higher.) Once you review our two-cents, you can click right to the journal's home page and make your own decision.

It goes without saying but we'll say it anyhow; the views expressed in our market research are those of the student reviewers and do not represent the opinions of the Fiction Writing Department, or Columbia College Chicago. The research can help you narrow down your search for a suitable home for your prose.


3:AM - Bi-weekly British journal that isn't put off by lack of experience
www.3ammagazine.com
PDF Market Sheet

Anderbo - Cleanly designed site lets its readers focus on the writing
www.anderbo.com
PDF Market Sheet

Barcelona Review - Trilingual magazine crosses all kinds of borders
www.barcelonareview.com
PDF Market Sheet
PDF Market Sheet

Big Ugly Review - Ironically, a big beautiful journal
www.biguglyreview.com
PDF Market Sheet - Issue 7

Blackbird - Online journal of Virginia Commonwealth University
www.blackbird.vcu.edu
PDF Market Sheet

Blood Lotus - So much more than just an awesome name
www.bloodlotus.org
PDF Market Sheet

Blood Orange Review - Precise, fierce, unusual, oh, and seedless.
www.bloodorangereview.com
PDF Market Sheet - Vol. 3, Issue 3

Brevity - Make it short and sweet, and it better be the truth.
www.creativenonfiction.org/brevity
PDF Market Sheet

Carve - It's what we talk about when we talk about great fiction.
www.carvezine.com
PDF Market Sheet - Vol. 9, Issue 4

Catalonian Review - A new and promising zine
www.catalonianreview.com
PDF Market Sheet - Vol. 3

Chiaroscuro - Let out your inner goth with this journal of dark writing.
www.chizine.com
PDF Market Sheet

Copperfield Review - The most current of historical fiction.
www.copperfieldreview.com
PDF Market Sheet - Vol. 7, Issue 4

Dark Sky - A story a week gives emerging writers plenty of shots
www.darkskymagazine.com
PDF Market Sheet

Del Sol Review - Publishing arm of Web Del Sol champions the newbie
www.webdelsol.com/Del_Sol_Review
PDF Market Sheet

Dogzplot - Online quarterly, flash posts biweekly
www.dogzplot.com
PDF Market Sheet
PDF Market Sheet

Elimae - Minimalist site has put the focus on stories for over a decade
www.elimae.com
PDF Market Sheet

Failbetter - Well-respected quarterly journal
www.failbetter.com
PDF Market Sheet

Feathertale Review - A home for humor writing with a snarky edge
www.feathertale.com
PDF Market Sheet

Flash Me Magazine - Flash fiction of all genres, but keep it clean, punk
www.wingedhalo.com
PDF Market Sheet

Flashquake - Get under your desk for some great reading!
www.flashquake.org
PDF Market Sheet

Front Porch - Crisp journal from Texas State U's MFA program
www.frontporchjournal.com
PDF Market Sheet

Hobart - Monthly updates keep this professional journal fresh
www.hobartpulp.com
PDF Market Sheet - Feb. 2008 Issue

Identity Theory - An ambitious and frequently updated online journal
www.identitytheory.com
PDF Market Sheet

Juked - Anything but a fake-out, this magazine satisfies.
www.juked.com
PDF Market Sheet

Necessary Fiction - This weekly magazine is a must.
www.necessaryfiction.com
PDF Market Sheet

Opium Magazine - Online venue for humorous flash fiction
www.opiummagazine.com
PDF Market Sheet
PDF Market Sheet - Issue 6

Our Stories - These folks put a focus on emerging writers
www.ourstories.us
PDF Market Sheet

Painted Bride Quarterly - A perfect marriage of awesome and prose
www.pbq.drexel.edu
PDF Market Sheet

Pindeldyboz- Over 1,000 stories by over 600 authors in only 7 years
www.pindeldyboz.com
PDF Market Sheet

Smokelong Quarterly - Among the upper tier of flash publications
www.smokelong.com
PDF Market Sheet - Issue 25
PDF Market Sheet - Issue 23


StorySouth - Publishes stories of the New South, even longer ones
www.storysouth.com
PDF Market Sheet

Thieves Jargon - New content daily gives newcomers a great chance
www.thievesjargon.com
PDF Market Sheet - Issue 162

Word Riot - A strong venue for strong writing with discussion forums
www.wordriot.org
PDF Market Sheet

Words on Walls - Quirky quarterly that publishes lyrical short fiction
www.wordsonwalls.net
PDF Market Sheet