The Publishing Lab

“No writer is an island and no enterprise delineates the contours of the actual landscape in which your writing will be read better than the Publishing Lab. Year in, year out, the participants in the lab are researching, interviewing, analyzing what's going on in both commercial and literary publishing. If every writer possessed the knowledge this Lab is collecting, we'd have a much healthier industry.”

"Columbia College Chicago has this pretty impressive Publishing Lab. If you’re new to the writing/publishing game, it’s an invaluable resource."

“I think the publishing lab is a wonderful resource for students to use when getting their work published. They are sure to get an inside look at how publishing works.”


The Publishing Lab is a student-managed resource center run by the Fiction Writing Department at Columbia College designed to assist writers in finding homes for their stories. Our market research cuts down the amount of time writers need to weed through magazines, presses, and gargantuan/costly writing guides by steering them toward magazines and publishers that match their sensibility and experience.

Since 2001, the lab has been a place to start researching both the art and commerce of a writing career. Our Web portal is an extension of the valuable student-generated market research we house for Columbia students. Our target audience is emerging writers, but market research transcends experience. All writers can benefit. Browse the sources in the right hand column to begin your research. Good luck.


LATEST UPDATE: Lab Scientist Stephanie Velasco sat down with Donna Seaman, one of Chicago's high literati. You've probably heard her on the radio reviewing books, or read her reviews in Booklist or the Chicago Tribune or the Los Angeles Times, or on the stage at Story Week having a conversation with a world-class author. In our latest Publishing Lab Interview, Donna dishes about the state of publishing, what it means to be a writer, and revolution.

And don't forget our newest features. We've got video interviews with editors who can help shine a light on the process they go through to decide what makes it into print (or online) and what doesn't. And throw in, for good measure, the first Publishing Lab Interview with playwright Rose Martula, a Columbia College Fiction graduate recently named "1 of 50 playwrights to watch" by Dramatists Guild Magazine. Her 23-point list of writing tips are geared toward playwrights, but a great kick in the pants for anybody contemplating a writing career.