10 Lit Mags We Love!
Split Lip Magazine is turning ten! Our anniversary has us reflecting on our mission. One of the things we care about the most is supporting the literary community. To us, this means loving on other literary magazines! Yay lit mags! We believe lit mags are a vital and beautiful part of our world. Not only do they support the work of emerging and emerged writers and artists, but they also nourish humanity, help us think about what it is to be human, challenge us, expose us to diverse viewpoints, make us cry (in a good way), and bring us joy.
Some of the greats have closed in the last few years–Tin House, Glimmer Train, Midwestern Gothic, Bird’s Thumb, jubilat, and Sink Review. And more recently, the iconic Conjunctions announced that it was losing its funding only to announce days later that funding would be restored (phew!); Alaska Review has lost its institutional funding but is still carrying on independently so please donate; and after almost twenty years, The Believer is folding this spring. We are sad to see so many wonderful magazines in jeopardy or shutting their doors, but today we want to CELEBRATE the many that are still going strong. We encourage you to support them by reading and subscribing, donating, volunteering, and submitting work even if it involves a small fee to help cover costs.
As Bradford Morrow, the Editor of Conjunctions, said in a tweet on Friday announcing that the journal will carry on: “There is nothing little about ‘little magazines’ and nothing small about ‘small presses.’ These are the fertile proving grounds where so many writers can freely share their innovative voices and visions.”
To show our appreciation of “little magazines” and because it’s our tenth birthday, our staff got together to talk about ten lit mags we love:
Youngseo Lee: A Velvet Giant is amazing—the work they publish is so funky and also often slightly unhinged but in the best possible way. As a genreless literary journal, they actively ask submitters not to tell them the genre of their works, and I think this allows for so much interesting stuff to happen in the spaces between genres. “Red Forever” by Lauren Burgess must have been the piece that made me fall in love with this journal, and these two pieces by Matt Mitchell and visual literature by Monica Ong blow my mind. And “I haven’t been able to write a poem since someone on the internet said “never love a bipolar. They are not lovers. They are incapable of feeling love” by Tyler Raso might be my favorite piece in the world.
Nicole Markert: I love Muzzle Magazine because it was one of the first literary magazines I began reading consistently when I began seriously pursuing poetry writing. I found most of my current favorite poets in this magazine, and I love the voice-driven work they publish. I always look forward to their issues. Some of my favorite pieces include “4th of July and Trans on the Brooklyn Side” by Kayleb Rae Candrilli, “Back-pedal” by Olivia Gatwood, and “Yeezus’ Wife” by Jameka Williams.
Milo Todd: I love Foglifter Journal (and Foglifter Press). I’m a prose editor for Foglifter Journal these days, but I loved them long before. Even in the arguably liberal world of writing, it’s rare to find an all-LGBTQ+ journal. Since it started seven years ago, it’s gone on to win numerous awards, champion queer and trans voices (with extra focus on BIPOC writers), and curate amazing writing and fantastic cover art. It was the first literary journal where I felt seen and centered rather than feeling like I was an afterthought or an identity that was just being ticked off a list. It’s a wonderful space to submit your queerest work without explanation or apology. I recommend reading every single thing they’ve ever published.
Tyler Orion: The Offing is one of the few lit mags I read really consistently, and I am always so impressed by the quality of every piece, as well as the range of voices and styles that they publish, including established and emerging writers. I love that they publish the traditional set of genres—fiction, essay, poetry—but they also have a number of cross genres categories such as micros, Insight (the meeting of essay and art, literature and culture), Wit Tea (humor), Enumerate (lists), Back of the Envelope (science and nature), Comics, and more. All curated in an aesthetically beautiful site that feels like a walk through an art gallery.
Amy Stuber: So many magazines to love! It’s a tie for me right now between Joyland (always exciting and really electric-seeming content, and I love the idea of place-based writing tied to geographic regions) and Ninth Letter. But in the interest of supporting print mags, which I think are really struggling right now, I’m going to say Ninth Letter. I love the fact that issues are a collaborative effort between the Art & Design and Creative Writing Departments at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. This means that each issue is a beautiful, highly designed art object and a book that’s full of exceptional writing. I appreciate that they champion “literary experimentation” and also get behind “emerging” authors very regularly. They also maintain an active online presence by putting up twice-a-year web editions in addition to their print issues.
Ra’Niqua Lee: The Bitchin’ Kitsch is one of my favorite journals. For one thing, peep the name—complete coolness—but the main reason I love the journal is the lead editor Chris Talbot-Heindl’s commitment to uplifting marginalized voices. Every issue of the B’K includes stellar work. Two of my favorites are Mordecai Martin’s “Mother Tongue” in vol 12.2 and Cree Nichelle Pettaway’s “Fragility” in vol 12.3.
Maureen Langloss: I love Orion Magazine, which is also having an anniversary this year. FORTY YEARS!! Check out its cool mission: “Orion magazine invites readers into a community of caring for the planet. Through writing and art that explore the connection between nature and culture, Orion inspires new thinking about how humanity might live on Earth justly, sustainably, and joyously.” In these times of climate change, supporting a literary space like Orion seems more important than ever. Orion’s print issues are visually stunning, with spectacular artwork/design. I even enjoy the way the pages feel! I can always count on finding beautifully-wrought essays that will teach me something new or challenge my thinking, as well as poems and stories I want to share. I was particularly blown away by the “Bodies of Nature: Survival lessons from disabled communities” issue, which features SLM’s own Tyler Orion’s “Wild Embodiment,” as well as a fascinating piece entitled, “A Blind View on Magazine Layout,” by Georgina Kleege, who is blind and guest edited the images for the issue.
Susan Lerner: I’ve been a fan of Terrain.org for years and am inevitably pulled into the tender, vivid essays they feature. I admire the way the magazine’s flexible and expansive boundaries allow for so many types of place-based writing, which is an obsession of mine. There is always something new, different, and unexpected on their site, and for that I am grateful. Here’s an old favorite by Lucy Brian, a list essay that explores the tedium and otherworldliness of the days following a child’s birth: “After Birth: The Postpartum in Seven Takes.”
Nicole Tsuno: I love HAD/Hobart After Dark. It’s not a hyperbole to say there’s really no magazine like it. There’s so much excitement generated around the irregular submission calls which translates into 1) pieces that authors are extremely passionate about and 2) a community eager to see others succeed. This is especially important because the literary community can be hard to break into. HAD doesn’t gatekeep; it gives so many readers and writers a reason to be inspired. Some of my favorites are “The Summer of Pokemon Go” by Luke Larkin, “Rod The Ice Cream Man” by Kelle Schillaci Clarke, “Why I am Bisexual” by Brooke Kolcow, and “Why I Scream/Cry/Breakdown/Scare The Neighbors/You/Myself” by Brittney Uecker.
Star Su: I love Jellyfish Review because they consistently publish pieces that make me fall in love with flash fiction all over again. Some of my favorites are “Benches are for People” by Caroline Kim, “Black Cake” by María Alejandra Barrios, and “Ravenous” by Samantha Xiao Cody. They’re off-kilter, wondrous, and stay with me long after I finish reading. Jellyfish is also one of the most delightful lit mag accounts to follow on Twitter. I can’t explain, just follow them.