Fast. Quick. Flash.
Whatever you use to describe a quick response to a writer’s submission.
As writers, we are looking for magazines that will respond fast.
Preferably one that will respond to your submission within a month.
For some, it is a literary magazine that responds in days or less than a week.
Not necessarily does it has to be an acceptance. Well, acceptance depends on the quality of your writing and the taste of the magazines.
You don’t want to wait for six months with the hope of an acceptance only to get a rejection.
If we are going to get a rejection we might as well get it now and move on with our writing.
While most journals would allow you to do simultaneous submissions ( submitting the same piece to multiple literary magazines). Most writers do not do simultaneous submission because when you get an acceptance from one magazine and you submitted that same piece to ten other magazines you would have to withdraw your writing from nine other magazines.
This is assuming you have an efficient means of tracking these submissions.
So the question is what is fast?
For this writing fast is any magazine that accepts writing within a month ( four weeks).
The response time for each magazine is given.
How did I get the data?
The data is from the submission grinder. From other writers noting the duration of their submission.
Note
Before we proceed, these response rates might change due to different reasons.
- No submission period. If the magazine is not accepting submissions at the time you submit you might not get a response. Ensure you check their reading period.
- Take note that the time is average and the time may vary depending on the number of submissions the magazines get.
Why Submit to Fast Response Literary magazines
- Fast feedback loop
As a growing writer, you want to be told if your writing was accepted and not held in suspense for a very long time.
- Small audience
Most of these magazines have a small audience when compared to the big names out there
- Less competition
With a small audience, it means your work has less competition as not many people are submitting to these magazines.
- High chance of acceptance
When your work is read and not just skimming the first line.
You have a greater chance of being accepted.
Let’s dive into the 20 best literary magazines with a quick response time.
1. Bright Flash Literary Magazine
Bright flash literary magazine is a magazine for flash fiction and short fiction
Response Time: Within 30 days
2. Stone Poetry Quarterly
This is a literary magazine for poetry. The magazine publishes a variety of well-crafted poetry.
Response Time: Within 7 days.
3. Mobiu: The Journal of Social Change.
Mobiu magazine is looking for fiction, art, and poetry with a social theme.
Response Time: Within 7 days.
4. Redeft Review
Redeft Review is a literary magazine that is looking for poetry.
When I submitted my work to this magazine I got a response within 24 hours.
It was a rejection.
But I quickly moved past the rejection. Instead of spending days waiting with uncertainty.
Response Time: 1 to 7 days.
5. The Dark Fiction
The Dark Fiction magazine publishes monthly. They are looking for fiction in the Horror and Dark Fantasy genres.
Stories should be within 2000-6000 words.
Response Time: 1 – 48 hours.
6. The Penn Review
The Penn Review was founded in 1951 ( University of Pennsylvania). It is one of the premium literary magazines.
Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Visual Artwork.
Response Time: 1 to 2 days.
7. Riggwelter Press
Riggwelter Press is a creative online literary journal founded by Jonathan Kinsman in 2017.
The magazine has been nominated for the pushcart prize and best of the net.
8. Smokelong Literary Magazine
Smokelong is a literary journal that publishes flash fiction, fiction, nonfiction
They pay $50 if your story is accepted.
Response Time: within 14 days (two weeks)
9. Thrush Poetry Magazine
Thrush Poetry Magazine is an award-winning literary magazine dedicated to poetry.
They are looking for “electric poems that move them”.
Some of the works from this magazine have won Pushcart and Best of the Net.
Response Time: within 5 days.
10. Moon Park Review
Moon Park Review is an online literary Magazine.
Some of the works published in the magazine are winners, finalists, or long list of the Best Small Fiction, Best of The Net, etc.
They publish flash fiction, prose, poems, and hybrid forms.
Response Time: within 7 days.
11. Metaphorosis
Metaphorosis is a speculative literary magazine
They Publish Science fiction and Fantasy Prose.
Stories within 2000-6000
Response Time: 24 hours to 2 weeks.
12. Radar Poetry
Radar Poetry is a poetry literary magazine.
The magazine has been nominated for and won the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best of New Poets.
The magazine has a dedicated submission period.
Response Time: within 60 days.
13. The Jelly Fish Review
The JellyFish Review is a flash fiction magazine which means they are dedicated to publishing flash fiction only.
Stories 1000 words or less.
Response Time: within 7 days.
14. Eunoia Literary Magazine
Eunoia is a Singapore-based online literary journal committed to sharing.
They publish Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction.
Response Time: within 7 days
15. McSweeney’s
McSweeney’s is a nonprofit company in San Francisco.
It has a daily (literary) humor website.
Response Time: within 7 days.
16. Ghost Parachute
Ghost Parachute is a literary magazine looking for stories within 1000 words.
They do nominate their published works for Best of Small Fiction.
Response Time: within a week
17. The New Verse News
The New Verse News “presents politically progressive poetry on current events and topical issues.
Response Time: Within a month
18. Bending Genres
Bending Genres is a creative online literary journal with some of its writing winning the Pushcart Prize, Best of Microfiction, and Best of Small Fiction.
They Publish unusual fanciful Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction.
Response time: within a week
19. Daily Drunk
Daily Drunk publishes daily pop culture writing.
Response Time -;1-15 days.
20. The Zodiac Review
Zodiac Review is a literary magazine that was launched in 2011 by Brian Wright and Daniel VanTassel to help new, emerging, and established writers of literary/genre fiction.
They also have an average acceptance rate of 7%.
They promise a response time of five days.
Genre:Flash Fiction ( 300 to 1000 words), Prose poetry,
Fiction- hybrid, slipstream,genre-bending fiction
Conclusion
It is great when your work quickly finds a home.
With these twenty fast response literary magazines you should be getting a quick response when you submit your works( poetry and prose).
Feel free to let me know of any magazines you know have a fast response time but are not on this list.
We have looked at 20 quick-response literary magazines.
Which of these magazines are you going to submit to first?
Let me know in the comments section.
I would love to hear from you.