[Note: the 2016 Rankings are here.]
Below is the 2015 Pushcart Prize Ranking of Literary Magazines for POETRY.
For information about my annual magazine rankings and my methodology, go here.
Go here for FICTION and NONFICTION rankings.
The big news: Kenyon Review has displaced Poetry at the top of the heap. (With the inclusion of the 2014 rankings for comparison, you can see other movements in the list.)
If you find these lists useful, please make a donation by clicking on the link below. Or—even better—buy one of my books (from any source you like, including Amazon.com: In an Uncharted Country and What the Zhang Boys Know).
Dear Lord! What an undertaking! Thank you, again, for doing this. I think I speak for all writers and readers when I say we truly appreciate all of the time, effort, and organization this takes. ~ Jennifer Pruiett-Selby
I love that you have this list but wondered where you get the mags you rank from? I’ve come across a lot of longstanding literary journals that I don’t see listed here at all and wanted to know if it’s because they aren’t worth ranking or because they haven’t been reviewed? If the latter, can journals be submitted for review?
As I explain on the blog, the rankings include only those magazines that have won Pushcart Prizes or Special Mentions over the course of the last ten years, and the relative rankings are determined by how many of each the magazine has won. Thus, for example, the magazine I edit, Prime Number Magazine, isn’t on the list because we haven’t won a Pushcart Prize or Special Mention. Hope that clears it up.
Some of these aren’t magazines, like BOA Editions, my publisher. Why are presses on the list along with magazines? Just wondering. And thanks for doing this, by the way.
Good question! I include them because they also receive Pushcart Prizes and made the decision some time ago not to differentiate. It’s a good way, I figured, to draw attention to good small book presses, too.
Looking for help on how and where to send my work out to be published. This was recommended highly by a friend.
This is a wonderful list. Thank you!
I can’t seem to access the list of rankings anymore. Is it now located somewhere else? Thanks!
I’ve been having a WordPress problem for a couple of days; I hope the list is accessible again by the weekend.
Great. Thanks!
should be working now
Was the list taken down? I had been finding it very useful.
Never mind; I neglected to read the comments above.
Thank you for all your hard work!
the site should be working again
Thanks very much, Clifford, for this great resource! I noticed that the link to Salmagundi doesn’t work, so I thought I’d share.
Thanks for the word on Salmagundi. BTW, I’m updating the lists this week, so stay tuned!
I’ve added the new link: http://salmagundimagazine.tumblr.com/
I believe the official site is here: https://www.skidmore.edu/salmagundi/index.php
Thanks for your good work Cliff!
Thanks. The updated list (2016) has a link to Salmagundi’s new website/blog .
Although older list still seems relevant and suspecting unless I have stories published in here will be hard to publish collection, get attention of agent? Mine are published in Sleet, Pithead Chapel, Literary Orphans etc …
It’s tough to get attention from an agent with a collection anyway, but maybe easier if you’re published in the better journals. Try small presses — no agent required and any pub credits will help.
Thanks Cliff. That’s what I will do. Did get one of the stories accepted for publication (title of the collection, too, so that’s a plus), my novel is 300 plus words, wip past 3 years, and thought if collection of stories (which include excerpts from novel) was published, then it might help get attention of an agent.
I was Googling a poem I wrote and when the info came up, it said my work was nominated for a Pushcart Prize (2015), which had been two years prior to my inquiry. I wasn’t notified to my knowledge but I would like to very this information as accurate. I had never even heard of this award before then. Can you be of assistance? Thank you
There is no way for me to confirm that your poem was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The annual anthology that the Pushcart Press publishes includes only winners and a list of the “special mentions”–basically the runners up, but not the nominees. The best thing to do would be to contact the editors of the magazine where your poem was published and ask them to confirm. A nomination by the magazine is an honor, so congratulations!