Thank you ! I came to Substack seeking good journalism -being totally disillusioned by mainstream media and I follow several who address the most serious issues of our times,which are deeply troubling.
It was so refreshing then to find your post which I shall now count as an antidote to all the doom and gloom!
I appreciate the article. But, while I don't know how things are in Portland or know much about how the magazine distribution industry works, my experience in recent years is that here in Manhattan most bookstores, even independent ones and stores near universities, do not carry litmags. (The exceptions that I know of are McNally Jackson and one of the Barnes & Nobles). Aside from subscriptions and ordering online, the only way I've been able to buy print issues is at the two exceptions mentioned and at litmag booths at events like the Brooklyn Bookfair.
I do want to hold a book or magazine in my hands, just me and the story on the couch, no glass between us. You’ve renewed that desire with this piece that’s so well written I couldn’t put it down.:)
I’m so happy to read this and other than Granta (which I know and have read) was delighted to be introduced to new lit mags that I can hopefully find where I live. I crave the physical experience too.
Thank you. I had given up on lit mags and poetry as being too esoteric for the last few years. Print mags ( I’ve been published in a few, very few, ) impress me as legitimate and real. Online mags still come off as something of a toy world ( and i’ve been published in a few as well). Perhaps its the fuddy duddy tangible thrill of getting something in the mail, in my hands with no password required.
Thanks for this round up Jessica. I've been meaning to read Granta. I agree with you about print mags and their read and re-readability. I found it helpful to my own writing to come back to essays and stories that struck me. Plus many print lit mags are works of art - this winter's Black Warrior Review in particular.
Wonderful article - this makes me feel excited about reading more in 2025, and wanting to dive into my TBR pile (now two full shelves of novels and poetry collections) rather than just being mocked/judged by it.
Some of the most beautiful books are literary mags--- Rattle, Passager, Cutbank, The Tahoma Review, the Master's Review, Rhino, The Cincinatti Review, American Short Fiction, The Iowa Review. Have fun!!!!!
I love lit mags in print, but I do appreciate when they have at least a few pieces available to read online. If I can't sample the work, I'm unlikely to buy a full issue because I don't know if it'll be up my alley.
Look forward to these reader round-ups you've been doing.
I've subscribed to a few print mags off and on over the years, and when most lit mags were print and I was searching for markets, would get a lot of sample copies to check out. I still have a bunch of them. There used to be one that I was reading through again recently, Quick Fiction, one of the early proponents of what's now called flash. Keeping in that vein, the only print mag that I subscribe to now is Blink-Ink, a nicely packaged quarterly of 50-word pieces.
I don't get out much anymore, other than work, but the one magazine I'll buy if I see a copy is Cricket. I had a great aunt who got me on the early bird subscribers list when it first started being published 50+ years ago. Every year she'd renew my subscription for my birthday. As I hit my teen years, she'd ask if I wanted to continue the subscription. I think I was 16 before I finally decided to it was time to grow up.
Cricket still has the most amazing stories for the preteen early teen crowd. I kept every issue I had for the longest time, for when I could pass them on to my kids. Turns out I never did (by choice) but I clung to those issues because it was such a big part of my childhood.
That magazine is a huge reason I wanted to be a writer. It's now one of my dream places to have a story published in.
Thank you ! I came to Substack seeking good journalism -being totally disillusioned by mainstream media and I follow several who address the most serious issues of our times,which are deeply troubling.
It was so refreshing then to find your post which I shall now count as an antidote to all the doom and gloom!
I appreciate the article. But, while I don't know how things are in Portland or know much about how the magazine distribution industry works, my experience in recent years is that here in Manhattan most bookstores, even independent ones and stores near universities, do not carry litmags. (The exceptions that I know of are McNally Jackson and one of the Barnes & Nobles). Aside from subscriptions and ordering online, the only way I've been able to buy print issues is at the two exceptions mentioned and at litmag booths at events like the Brooklyn Bookfair.
My heart is filled with hope. There IS recognition for great writing beyond the proscriptive drivel that otherwise gets published. THANKS!!
I do want to hold a book or magazine in my hands, just me and the story on the couch, no glass between us. You’ve renewed that desire with this piece that’s so well written I couldn’t put it down.:)
I’m so happy to read this and other than Granta (which I know and have read) was delighted to be introduced to new lit mags that I can hopefully find where I live. I crave the physical experience too.
Of course the best solution to the tired, legacy lit journals, is new energetic open-minded lit journals! Thanks for this!
Haha
Thank you. I had given up on lit mags and poetry as being too esoteric for the last few years. Print mags ( I’ve been published in a few, very few, ) impress me as legitimate and real. Online mags still come off as something of a toy world ( and i’ve been published in a few as well). Perhaps its the fuddy duddy tangible thrill of getting something in the mail, in my hands with no password required.
Thanks for this round up Jessica. I've been meaning to read Granta. I agree with you about print mags and their read and re-readability. I found it helpful to my own writing to come back to essays and stories that struck me. Plus many print lit mags are works of art - this winter's Black Warrior Review in particular.
Thanks for this column.
Wonderful article - this makes me feel excited about reading more in 2025, and wanting to dive into my TBR pile (now two full shelves of novels and poetry collections) rather than just being mocked/judged by it.
I love lady churchills rosebud wristlet !!
Some of the most beautiful books are literary mags--- Rattle, Passager, Cutbank, The Tahoma Review, the Master's Review, Rhino, The Cincinatti Review, American Short Fiction, The Iowa Review. Have fun!!!!!
I love lit mags in print, but I do appreciate when they have at least a few pieces available to read online. If I can't sample the work, I'm unlikely to buy a full issue because I don't know if it'll be up my alley.
Lately, I've loved nat raum's poem "c-ptsd as witcher senses" in Allium, where they talk about their complex PTSD through the lens of the video game The Witcher: https://allium.colum.edu/fall-2024-poetry/nat-raum. I've also been a long-time fan of The Ex-Puritan (formerly The Puritan), and Todd Dillard's recent poem "My Daughter Asks Me to Write an Honest Poem" is a stunner: https://ex-puritan.ca/my-daughter-asks-me-to-write-an-honest-poem-and-whats-new.
Look forward to these reader round-ups you've been doing.
I've subscribed to a few print mags off and on over the years, and when most lit mags were print and I was searching for markets, would get a lot of sample copies to check out. I still have a bunch of them. There used to be one that I was reading through again recently, Quick Fiction, one of the early proponents of what's now called flash. Keeping in that vein, the only print mag that I subscribe to now is Blink-Ink, a nicely packaged quarterly of 50-word pieces.
I'm all for print!
I don't get out much anymore, other than work, but the one magazine I'll buy if I see a copy is Cricket. I had a great aunt who got me on the early bird subscribers list when it first started being published 50+ years ago. Every year she'd renew my subscription for my birthday. As I hit my teen years, she'd ask if I wanted to continue the subscription. I think I was 16 before I finally decided to it was time to grow up.
Cricket still has the most amazing stories for the preteen early teen crowd. I kept every issue I had for the longest time, for when I could pass them on to my kids. Turns out I never did (by choice) but I clung to those issues because it was such a big part of my childhood.
That magazine is a huge reason I wanted to be a writer. It's now one of my dream places to have a story published in.