This past year I have had the opportunity to lead a number of virtual writer’s workshops that focus on publishing short stories. During these workshops I received several questions from aspiring authors, including how to balance work life with writing life and how to beat writer’s block. But one of the most common questions was how to find short story publications that are open to submissions. I regularly post SUBMIT HERE! entries that promote magazines and websites open for fiction or poetry. However, in this post I’m going to list (in no particular order) six of the best resources you can use to find publications interested in your work.

Some things to keep in mind

• These resources are just a guide, as always it is up to us to perform our own research to make sure they are legitimate.
• Keep in mind, some publications temporarily close for a few (or several) months out of the year. Always double check to make sure the publication you are sending to is currently open.

The List

1. Duotrope: This fantastic resource can help you find both publishers and literary agents. It offers custom searches so you can find places that are are looking for your exact sub genre. You can also search based on pay, whether or not they accept simultaneous submissions etc. Prices are $5.000/month or $50.00/year but it is definitely worth it.
2. Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America: This site includes a list of respected sci-fi/fantasy publications that pay very well. These markets can be difficult to get into. Furthermore, many of them are non-simultaneous markets, meaning if you submit to one they don’t want you submitting to any other publications until you hear back from them. The vast majority of these publications are only interested in stories with speculative elements.
3. Perpetual Folly Pushcart Prize Literary Magazine Rankings: Here is a list of publications that might be more on the literary side (although some will accept genre fiction). It sounds like some (even the creator of the list) questions the formula used to create the exact ranking. However if you’re just looking for a list of solid, respected publications this is a great resource.
4. Submittable: Once you start submitting short stories, you will notice that many go through Submittable. This site can also help you find short story publications, with an extremely extensive lists of markets that are open to a vast variety of work.
5. Poets & Writers: They offer you an extensive list of publications which you can narrow down by genre and subgenre. I’ve found that many of these tend to be on the literary side. However I have found a few genre publications in here as well.
6. Your Public Library: If there are some authors whose work is similar to your own, check out their short story collections. Furthermore, if you’re writing mystery stories check out this collection, if you’re writing sci-fi/fantasy check out this collection and if you’re writing literary check out this collection. Collections list the publications their stories originally appeared in. You can then submit your own work to these markets.