LitMag

Founded in 2016, LitMag has established itself as a serious voice in contemporary literature, publishing fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that balances craft with ambition while amplifying diverse voices. Guided by its founding mission to celebrate the written word and nurture creativity, the magazine pairs its annual print journal with online features and respected contests, including the Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction and the Emily Dickinson Award for Poetry. With a reputation for curating work that is both authentic and challenging, LitMag has earned critical recognition and a loyal readership, and continues to position itself as a space where literature remains vital, enduring, and deeply connected to the complexities of human experience.

LitMag: A Leading Platform for Contemporary Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction

Founded in 2016, LitMag has established itself as a serious home for contemporary literature, offering a space where both emerging and established writers can share their work with an engaged readership. From the start, its mission has been straightforward yet ambitious: to celebrate the written word and sustain a culture where strong, thoughtful writing can thrive. Over the course of less than a decade, it has become a respected platform that strikes a balance between accessibility for new voices and recognition for seasoned authors.

Each issue reflects that mission through a blend of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction that resists easy categorization yet remains unified by quality and intention. LitMag has built a reputation for presenting work that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally resonant. Writers from a wide range of backgrounds find in its pages an inclusive space where their stories and perspectives are given weight, not simply published and forgotten. This deliberate curation ensures that the magazine offers more than variety—it offers a sense of conversation across genres, voices, and generations of writers.

At the heart of this effort is an editorial team dedicated to publishing work that speaks candidly to the complexities of the human experience. The team seeks pieces that carry emotional depth, clarity of vision, and a refusal to settle for surface. That approach has earned LitMag both critical recognition and a loyal audience of readers who return to each issue expecting to be challenged and moved. In an era where digital content often prioritizes speed and disposability, the magazine’s insistence on work that lingers sets it apart.

Available in both print and digital form, LitMag bridges the traditions of literary publishing with the realities of modern reading. Its carefully curated selections not only honor the enduring values of literary craft but also respond to the evolving ways in which people encounter literature today. Whether through poetry that captures fleeting moments or essays that interrogate contemporary culture, the magazine makes a case for literature as both timeless and urgently relevant.

As it looks ahead, LitMag remains committed to amplifying voices that challenge assumptions, ignite dialogue, and affirm the importance of storytelling in a fractured world. Its role within the literary landscape is not only to showcase individual pieces of writing but also to foster a collective space where the power of language is preserved, tested, and renewed.

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The Founding Vision

LitMag was founded in 2016 by writer and editor Marc Berley, whose experiences in the literary world convinced him of the need for a publication that could hold space for writing with both intellectual weight and emotional resonance. Submissions opened on May 25, 2016, and by 2017, the magazine released its first issue, marking the start of what would become a steady presence in contemporary literature. From its earliest days, the magazine was shaped not by a single voice, but by a team of editors, authors, and literary advocates who shared a common conviction: that a magazine could champion serious writing while still fostering a community where writers felt supported rather than excluded.

What set this founding team apart was their belief in the possibilities of literature to both reflect and expand the human experience. They were determined to build a publication that could stand firmly for literary excellence while also opening its pages to perspectives often overlooked in mainstream publishing. This vision meant actively seeking out underrepresented voices, encouraging stylistic experimentation, and publishing work that was ambitious in its reach. By combining established names with writers still carving out their place, the magazine quickly developed a reputation as both a platform of record and a launchpad for new talent.

From the outset, LitMag’s founders also placed strong emphasis on the values of empathy and authenticity. They understood that the strength of a literary journal is not measured only by the quality of the work it publishes, but also by the kind of community it cultivates. By curating writing that pushed boundaries while still speaking with clarity and heart, they worked to establish a publication that could engage readers in meaningful dialogue rather than fleeting distraction.

This founding vision continues to guide the magazine today. What began as an ambitious idea has grown into a respected voice in the literary world, recognized for publishing work that challenges, inspires, and resonates across borders. The commitment to the transformative power of stories—embedded from the very beginning—remains central to LitMag’s identity, ensuring that the publication never loses sight of its original purpose: to honor literature as both an art form and a force for connection.

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Years of Literary Commitment

Since its first issue, LitMag has demonstrated staying power in a landscape where many literary journals appear briefly and then fade. The magazine has established a rhythm of publishing that strikes a balance between permanence and immediacy: an annual print volume that anchors its reputation, and a steady stream of online exclusives that keeps its presence active throughout the year. This combination enables LitMag to honor the weight of print while also engaging readers in real-time through digital platforms.

Each print edition is approached as a lasting document of contemporary writing. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are chosen not simply for variety but for their ability to hold up over time—pieces that reward close reading and invite return visits long after initial publication. In contrast, the online selections often carry a sharper edge, reflecting the urgency of the present moment and giving space to work that benefits from a faster path to readers. Together, these dual formats expand the magazine’s reach without compromising its standards.

What distinguishes LitMag’s commitment is the editorial care given to every issue. Rather than chasing trends or filling pages for the sake of volume, the team treats curation as its own art form. Selections are made with the intention of surprising and challenging, pairing emerging voices with established names in ways that feel purposeful rather than incidental. This consistency has earned the journal respect among both readers and contributors, positioning LitMag as a publication that values longevity, substance, and genuine engagement with the literary arts.

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What LitMag Stands For

At its core, LitMag is driven by a belief in literature’s ability to move, astonish, and endure. The editors are not interested in safe or predictable work; they look for writing that marries ambition of thought with emotional weight and refined craft. Submissions are chosen for their ability to unsettle complacency, to push against the boundaries of form and convention, and to give shape to the complexities that define human experience.

Originality and authenticity guide the editorial vision. The magazine seeks writing that refuses imitation, pieces that carry a distinct voice and a clarity of purpose. In doing so, LitMag places value on literature as a force for conversation, change, and connection. It treats stories and poems not simply as artistic products, but as cultural contributions—expressions capable of opening perspectives that might otherwise remain unseen.

Diversity of voice is central to this work. LitMag actively seeks submissions that reflect a wide range of backgrounds and worldviews, whether through deeply personal narratives, explorations of social realities, or examinations of universal themes such as love, loss, identity, and survival. This commitment ensures that each issue feels less like a collection of isolated works and more like an ongoing dialogue across cultures, genres, and generations.

Through poetry that distills emotion to its essence, fiction that reveals truths through invention, and nonfiction that interrogates the world as it is, LitMag builds issues that are cohesive yet varied. Each publication becomes not just a gathering of strong individual pieces but a curated statement about what literature can do when it is fearless, thoughtful, and unflinchingly honest.

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Opportunities for Writers

Beyond its role as a publishing platform, LitMag has developed a reputation for offering writers meaningful opportunities through its print journal, online features, and a series of respected contests and awards. These programs are designed not only to recognize excellence but to provide writers with the kind of visibility and validation that can advance their careers.

Among its most notable competitions are the Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction and the Emily Dickinson Award for Poetry, both of which carry monetary prizes and significant prestige. Winning work is published in the magazine and often attracts broader recognition, with past winners going on to secure further literary acclaim. In addition to these honors, LitMag sponsors contests across multiple genres, ensuring that fiction, nonfiction, and poetry each receive their due attention.

Currently, the magazine runs three annual competitions, with submission deadlines typically closing in December. These contests offer writers a structured opportunity to showcase their strongest work and compete on a national stage, where quality and originality are the decisive factors.

For full details about eligibility, guidelines, and upcoming deadlines, continue reading: LitMag: Annual Writing Contests for Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry.

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Looking Ahead

As it moves into the future, LitMag remains committed to shaping the literary landscape by amplifying voices that deserve to be heard and championing storytelling of the highest caliber. The editorial team envisions growth not just in circulation but in influence—through new publishing initiatives, digital innovations, and collaborations that expand the magazine’s presence within the global literary community. By adapting to the evolving ways readers engage with literature while upholding its standards of excellence, LitMag positions itself as both a guardian of tradition and a driver of change.

At the center of this vision is the magazine’s founding principle: that literature has the power to inspire, transform, and connect people across boundaries. LitMag continues to foster spaces where writers can take risks and readers can encounter work that challenges, unsettles, and endures. Its commitment to the written word is not passive but active, guided by the belief that literature must remain a living force in contemporary culture. In upholding this mission, LitMag maintains its role as a steady beacon in the ever-changing landscape of modern publishing.