I ranked the travel magazines below using the The Best American Travel Writing series. For the last five years, each magazine with one of its essays reprinted in the book got a certain number of points, and if it was listed in the “Special Mention” section in the back, it received a fewer number of […]
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 […]
These are 17 publishers who are actively seeking Christian manuscripts of all stripes and genres. Most of these publishers are traditional publishers, but I do have a few on this page that are hybrid publishers (half self-publishing and half traditional publishing). There are advantages and disadvantages to both routes to publication, so I’d advise you […]
This list ranks literary magazines by how often their short stories have appeared in the Best American Short Stories. In some ways it’s ridiculous to rank literary magazines by the number of awards they’ve received, but it still can be useful for writers to figure out where to submit. (If you’re looking for nonfiction or essay […]
This list uses the Best American Essays series to rank magazines, literary journals, newspapers and other literary nonfiction markets by how often their essays are cited in the anthology. If you’re writing literary nonfiction and looking for good magazines to submit your essay or other nonfiction, check out these markets. The ranking covers the last five years […]
As literary magazines continue to move from print to online, it’s important to separate the chaff from the wheat. This list attempts to do that. Below are the online literary magazines that attracted my attention, boast the best names, have the most accomplished stories, showcase the work in outstanding design, and have the best chance […]
Articles about sex scenes in books usually fail in one of 3 ways. They often: The sex scenes below are literary fiction. But don’t run away! They’re really good sex and really good writing, and yes, those things can be combined. I’ll prove it to you. Just read the first couple of excerpts below and […]
These 20 love sentences are not only true, they are also beautiful. I’ve taken all of them from writers of literature, modern ones writing in the last 40 years. This is your final warning: these love sentences are powerful. Don’t blame me if you need a Costco-sized tissue box. Watching a sappy movie might make […]
The governing wisdom about writing sentences says not to repeat. Repetition is bad. Repetition is sloppy. Writers are encouraged to consult a thesaurus and change up that pesky offending word. But is this really true? Literature is full of repetition. Literary writers constantly use the literary device of repeated words. I think the only type […]
How do you pick the most beautiful sentences in literature? Are beautiful sentences full of nice turns of phrase? Or are beautiful sentences full of wisdom? Must beautiful sentences be full of risk and ambition, or can they be subtle and simple? Must beautiful sentences make you feel something? As I was combing through thousands of lovely sentences to make this […]
