6 magazines accepting international submissions for fiction, poetry, and everything in between
thedailystar.net – Tuesday January 30, 2024
To help save you the effort and to hopefully nudge you a little to submit your work, here are a few magazines around the world accepting international submissions for this year.
One of the few vital ways for a writer to build on their skills is to practise, and one way to grow your portfolio as well as your readership is to submit your work to magazines around the world to make sure your writing is reaching new audiences across the globe.
It can be scary to put yourself out there, to think that someone might be reading something you poured your heart and soul into and not like it. But this year, I urge writers to work on your pieces, be brave and share your work with magazines who can help deliver that work to readers.
And so, to help save you the effort and to hopefully nudge you a little to submit your work, here are a few magazines around the world accepting international submissions for this year:
New Magazine Listing: Midsummer Dream House
firstwriter.com – Tuesday January 30, 2024
An independent literary and arts magazine based in San Diego, California, that includes a wide variety of artistic and thought-provoking work, including the experimental and avant-garde.
After “Romantasy,” What Are the Next Buzzy Bookish Portmanteaus?
bookriot.com – Monday January 29, 2024
Even if we don’t realize it, buzzwords permeate our professional lives. Who hasn’t heard of phrases like “return on investment” or “customer journey”? They sound very corporate, yes, but they make long-winded ideas easy to recall and make complex information easier to digest.
It’s no wonder, then, that buzzwords are well-loved in the literary realm. There have been many buzzwords in the publishing world over the years, such as “high concept,” which usually refers to the quality of a plot, or “comps,” which are the comparative titles a manuscript has when authors pitch to literary agents.
Perhaps the biggest buzzword in 2023 and possibly this year is “romantasy,” or the fusion of the romance and fantasy genres. This is evident in the continued rise of romantasy novels on TikTok and on bestseller lists, such as Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas.
The Harried Mystery Hero(ine) Or, How to Write a Mystery (Easy)
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Monday January 29, 2024
Nothing is so essential to the successful creation of the mystery—from the grittiest work of fiction to the most comedic—as presenting the protagonist’s unrelenting pursuit of the McGuffin* against all possible odds and impossible barriers.
The secret to generating the story’s drama—and, again, even a funny mystery needs plenty of drama—is to never allow your main character a moment’s rest. Even when the hero is relaxing by the pool drinking an expensive wine accompanied by caviar on toast points, he must at the very least, be worrying himself to a veritable frazzle. If he sleeps, he sleeps badly—maybe a sleep interrupted by the ringing of the phone and appalling news (another murder? the suspect has escaped?). If he meets a woman he could love, she’s either a plant working to undermine his investigation, in grave danger herself, or sometimes even the killer (yup).
Though I seem to be making light of your protagonist’s troubles, this is the way the story has to proceed, no matter the subgenre or the tone. Your job is to attach us to the character and then do your best to drive him or her over the edge, literally or figuratively, or both. That, then, is drama.
The sure-fire way to getting your book published, according to one of UK’s top literary agents
bigissue.com – Sunday January 28, 2024
The saying goes ‘everyone has a book in them’, and these days it really is possible to get published as there are multiple routes to seeing your book in the shops.
The traditional way to get your book published is via a literary agent like myself, who’ll endeavour to find you a publisher. Then there’s the self-publishing route, which is becoming increasingly popular and gives you ultimate control of your publishing journey. If you self-publish on Amazon, eBook sales can also be far greater than sales of a physical book and financially very lucrative.
Reading is such a subjective business and the digital marketplace means that the traditional gatekeepers are no longer blocking the way to publication. There’s a wealth of information online and in publications such as The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, an excellent source of literary agents you can approach and what genres they represent, updated each year.
If you’re reading this, you may be in the process of writing a book or you have written a book and are trying to get published. Agents prefer writers to have completed a manuscript before they consider representation, but initially we’re only assessing the first three chapters and a pitch, so these need to give us a good sense of your story. If you’ve written a first draft and have read it out loud without wanting to skim any passages(!) then this is the time to start sending it out to agents, but research them carefully.
The key to finding a good match is by submitting to agents who represent authors writing in a similar space to you, or who are actively building their lists and are on the lookout for new talent. Are you able to list two or three established authors writing in a similar space? Successful writers tend to be avid readers with a greater sense of who they are writing for. Some have drawers full of unpublished short stories and manuscripts that never found a publisher, but no word is wasted… they were honing their craft.
New Publishing Imprint Listing: Roseway
firstwriter.com – Friday January 26, 2024
Publishes works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, memoirs, biographies, and politically infused literary compositions. Publishes primarily for an adult audience but has occasionally published material for younger readers. Through diverse content, aims to spark critical thought and inclusively engage readers.
New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Publisher Gungnir Hopes to Hit Its Target
publishersweekly.com – Thursday January 25, 2024
Gungnir, a new sci-fi/fantasy publisher helmed by two comics veterans, will launch in April 2024.
In Norse mythology, Gungnir was the staff of the god Odin, which always hit its target. The name relates not only to the publisher’s sci-fi/fantasy orientation, the publisher said, but also to its ambition to foster a new creative ecosystem for writers and artists. The company has partnerships with Herø Projects, a creative studio headed by former Heavy Metal publisher Matthew Medney that will publish graphic novels through Gungnir, and Iconic Arts, a multimedia studio that will develop the properties for games, film, television, and more.
Gungnir plans to publish four to eight titles a year, primarily in the science fiction and fantasy categories, with a mix of graphic novels, prose novels, and art books. Distribution to the book channel is via Diamond Book Distributors, and Gungnir will publish digitally via Globalcomix.com and release audiobooks via Amazon’s Audible.
Marion Boyars Publishers acquired by Equinox Publishing
thebookseller.com – Thursday January 25, 2024
Marion Boyars Publishers and its food history and cookery imprint Prospect Books have been acquired by Equinox Publishing.
Marion Boyars was founded in 1975. Boyars’ daughter, Catheryn Kilgarriff, took over when Boyars died in 1999. Kilgarriff, who had been running the company single-handedly, is now retiring.
She said she was “delighted to have found such a good home for the ground-breaking Marion Boyars titles, the social science list which includes the works of Ivan Illich, and for the prestigious food history imprint, Prospect Books” adding "I am sure that Janet Joyce and her colleagues at Equinox Publishing will enjoy the future as these books find wider audiences".
New Magazine Listing: The Geographical Journal
firstwriter.com – Thursday January 25, 2024
Academic journal founded in 1893. In order to minimise environmental impact, online only from 2024.
New Literary Agent Listing: Nina Leon
firstwriter.com – Wednesday January 24, 2024
Knew from a young age that the magic and power of stories was something she would always need in her life. She now proudly champions authors whose magic shines through every story they write. Works closely with her clients from day one. Editorially focused, she enjoys the collaborative back and forth of polishing a manuscript before guiding clients through the publishing process. Believes that all voices have value and deserve to be heard.
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