Where to Submit Short Stories in the UK: A Beginner's Guide to Literary Magazines

Finishing a short story is a small, private victory. Then comes the awkward part: working out what to do with it. For most new writers in the UK, the answer is a literary magazine — one of the many print and online journals that publish short fiction alongside poetry, essays and reviews. They are where a great many writing lives begin, and they are more open than people expect. The trick is knowing where to look, when the doors are open, and how to behave once you knock.

Find the magazines that fit what you actually write

The first mistake new writers make is sending the same story to every magazine they have heard of. Literary magazines have personalities. Granta and The London Magazine sit at the established end of the market, with large readerships and steep competition. Ambit, Litro, Popshot Quarterly, Brittle Star and Stand publish a wide range of contemporary fiction, and several of them actively welcome writers with no publication history. Mslexia is written by and for women. Wasafiri has a long record of publishing international and diasporic writing. The Fiction Desk builds anthologies rather than issues, which suits writers who prefer a slower, more curated path.

Do not limit yourself by borders, either. Irish magazines such as The Stinging Fly, Banshee and The Moth read work from UK writers and are well worth your attention.

Before you submit anywhere, read something the magazine has actually published. Most post extracts online and many sell single issues. If you cannot find one piece you would be pleased to have written, it is probably not your home. Matching your voice to the right editor does more for your chances than any covering letter.

Competitions: a second route in

Prizes attract thousands of entries, but they offer something magazines often cannot: a clear deadline, a named judge and a result by a certain date. Among the better-known UK short story competitions are the Bridport Prize, the Bath Short Story Award, the Bristol Short Story Prize, the Manchester Fiction Prize, the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize and the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award. Regional writing organisations, universities and festivals run competitions too, and these are often less crowded.

Two practical points. First, most charge an entry fee, which is how the prize money and administration are funded. If money is tight, choose one or two competitions a year and watch for the free-to-enter prizes that run alongside them. Second, read the rules as carefully as you would a set of submission guidelines. Word counts, themes, eligibility — some prizes are open only to writers who have not yet published a book — and formatting requirements are all used to sort entries, and a story that breaks them is usually set aside unread.

Shortlistings count for something. Even without a win, a longlisting gives you a line for your covering letter and, often, a nudge from an editor who noticed your name.

Reading periods, and how to keep track of them

Many magazines do not read all year. Submissions might open for a month in spring and a month in autumn; some close early once they have received a set number of stories; others read continuously. This is not snobbery. Most literary magazines are run by a small team, often unpaid, often fitting editorial work around day jobs, and a defined window keeps the pile manageable.

So build a simple system rather than relying on memory:

• Subscribe to the newsletters of five or six magazines you like. Reading periods, theme calls and deadline reminders usually appear there first.
• Follow them on social media, where openings are announced.
• Keep a spreadsheet with columns for magazine, date submitted, expected response and outcome. It takes ten minutes to set up and saves hours of confusion.
• Use listing services such as Duotrope and Chill Subs, and check the opportunities pages run by writing development organisations in your region.
• Set a calendar reminder a fortnight before a window opens, so you are drafting rather than panicking.

One more thing: theme-led calls are your friend. If an editor asks for stories about rivers, night shifts or family secrets, you can write directly for it, and the competition is thinner than in a general window.

Submission etiquette: the small things that matter

Editors read hundreds of stories a month. Anything that makes their job easier is quietly in your favour.

• Read the guidelines twice. Word count, genre, file type, how to submit. Most rejections you never hear about are administrative.
• Read one recent issue. It shows in the pitch, and it stops you sending a 6,000-word ghost story to a magazine that publishes 1,500-word realism.
• Send one story unless the guidelines invite more.
• Format it plainly. Double-spaced, readable font, page numbers, your name and contact details on the first page.
• Keep the covering letter short. Title, word count, one line about any relevant publications, thanks. No autobiography.
• Check the simultaneous submissions policy and mention it only if the guidelines ask you to.
• Wait for the stated response time before querying. If there is none, give it three months before a polite nudge.
• Withdraw promptly if the story is accepted elsewhere, and say thank you.

Two habits will keep you in good standing. Never argue with a rejection, and never send the same story to two magazines that both forbid it. Editors talk to each other, and this world is smaller than it looks.

When the rejections arrive

They will. A form rejection means the story did not fit or did not stand out that day, not that you cannot write. A personal note — even one line — is worth paying attention to; it usually means you were close, and the editor is inviting

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