He got up and sat on the edge of the bedstead with his back to the window. “It’s better not to sleep at all,” he decided. There was a cold damp draught from the window, however; without getting up he drew the blanket over him and wrapped himself in it. He was not thinking of anything and did not want to think. But one image rose after another, incoherent scraps of thought without beginning or end passed through his mind. He sank into drowsiness. Perhaps the cold, or the dampness, or the dark, or the wind that howled under the window and tossed the trees roused a sort of persistent craving for the fantastic. He kept dwelling on images of flowers, he fancied a charming flower garden, a bright, warm, almost hot day, a holiday—Trinity day. A fine, sumptuous country cottage in the English taste overgrown with fragrant flowers, with flower beds going round the house; the porch, wreathed in climbers, was surrounded with beds of roses. A light, cool staircase, carpeted with rich rugs, was decorated with rare plants in china pots. He noticed particularly in the windows nosegays of tender, white, heavily fragrant narcissus bending over their bright, green, thick long stalks. He was reluctant to move away from them, but he went up the stairs and came into a large, high drawing-room and again everywhere—at the windows, the doors on to the balcony, and on the balcony itself—were flowers. The floors were strewn with freshly-cut fragrant hay, the windows were open, a fresh, cool, light air came into the room. The birds were chirruping under the window, and in the middle of the room, on a table covered with a white satin shroud, stood a coffin. The coffin was covered with white silk and edged with a thick white frill; wreaths of flowers surrounded it on all sides. Among the flowers lay a girl in a white muslin dress, with her arms crossed and pressed on her bosom, as though carved out of marble. But her loose fair hair was wet; there was a wreath of roses on her head. The stern and already rigid profile of her face looked as though chiselled of marble too, and the smile on her pale lips was full of an immense unchildish misery and sorrowful appeal. Svidrigaïlov knew that girl; there was no holy image, no burning candle beside the coffin; no sound of prayers: the girl had drowned herself. She was only fourteen, but her heart was broken. And she had destroyed herself, crushed by an insult that had appalled and amazed that childish soul, had smirched that angel purity with unmerited disgrace and torn from her a last scream of despair, unheeded and brutally disregarded, on a dark night in the cold and wet while the wind howled

33 Publishers and Journals Seeking Novellas

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It can seem like there is no place to publish your novella, but actually the opposite is true: the form is experiencing a revival.

From Melville House’s “The Art of the Novella” series of classic novellas, to Big Fiction Magazine and Nouvella, there are more places than ever to publish your novelette or novella.

In fact, below I list 33 markets just waiting for your manuscript.

What is a novelette, you ask? Definition: a work usually under 15K words. Novellas, on the other hand, are anywhere from 15K – 50K, and short stories are generally less than 6K words. If you want a handy visual that shows the lengths of different fiction, check out my infographic on fiction length.

The Atlantic Monthly has argued that novellas are staging a comeback, and Forbes has said that the ebook format has energized the novella form.

Readers tend to love novellas, because they have the accomplishment of reading a book but not have to devote too much energy or time to it, and writers tend to love novellas because it allows them more space than a short story but it isn’t as life-consuming as creating a weighty tome of a novel.

Below is a list of literary journals and publishers seeking novellas. There are novella contests, calls for novellas, and novella publishers. On each of them I specify the word count (if available). Since I get asked all the time about literary journals that allow you to submit novellas, I hope this helps.

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30 Young Adult Publishers Eager for Your Book 40 Romance Publishers Who Want Your Novel

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9 comments

  3. Checked McSweeny’s site and they had this collecting cobwebs and dust:
    Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20)

    So I don’t think they’re actually looking for novellas or anything of much, really. When I run into this once on a list of publishers looking for novellas it seems to be a safe bet of none of them are actually working. But thanks for trying to assemble a resource.

    Reply

    1. Your guess proved accurate:

      The Gettysburg Review was terminated by Gettysburg College in 2023.

      Quarterly West hasn’t run a contest since 2022.

      The Fantasist website is abandoned, and its latest social media post was in 2021.

      Big Fiction Magazine hasn’t published an issue since 2020.

      Quattro Books went out of business in 2020.

      The Collagist has not published an issue since 2019.

      Nouvella website cannot be reached and its latest Facebook post is from 2019.

      Seizure (AUS/NZ) is defunct, last social media post 2019.

      1888 Center has not existed since 2017.

      The Seattle Review has not published an issue since 2014.

      Subtropics has not published an issue in some time.

      All in all, one-third of this list is useless.

      Reply

  5. Although I am a published author with four books published in the USA by penitpublications.com ie nicolemullaney@penitpublications.com
    They do not publish short stories or novellas which my book of suspense and intrigue comes under ie 27,000 words. It is called The Black and White House and opens in Memphis in 1950.A time of conflict etc for many. This is the story of Joshua Jenks a poor black boy who goes from rags to riches when he becomes Senator for Memphis.
    At this stage in my writing I am kind of stuck and although my books is complete and with a cover version I am finding it difficult to find not only an agent but a publisher who accepts Novellas suh as The Black and White House. I have had offers from the vanity press but I will never pay for publication since I believe if a story is good enough the publisher pays not the author?. Many Thanks For All or Any Help Please?

    Reply

  6. Can anyone help please. I am a published author with books published in the USA but my publisher does not accept novellas ie 27,000 word story. I have tried to find a genuine publisher ie (Not Vanity) or one that asks for payment but it seems nearly all are vanity these days?. My book is called The Black and White House and it opens in Memphis in 1950. Please only genuine publishers and those accepting novellas. I do not pay for publication since I feel its the publisher that pays not the author and if a story is good enough they will I hope be interested?. Many Thanks

    Reply

  8. I am interested in writing and publishing Novella. I have a catching Indian story but lack an idea of how to proceed ahead.

    Reply

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