We are taking a look at the Literary Magazine that did the best in 2010. We looked at a lot of factors, and really a few indicators stood out. We have mapped 3 anthologies inclusions of literary magazine over the last year. The three anthologies we picked to give us the best idea are all national anthologies. They are The Best American Short Stories, Best American Poetry, and the O’Henry awards.
We know that inclusion in these anthologies is not the end all be all of the literary magazine world, but we feel inclusion at very least indicates how much exposure a writer might get from a magazine, and the best things a literary magazine can give its authors, we feel, are exposure and opportunity. To that end we used the inclusion in these three anthologies as an indication of which magazines we felt did the “best” over the last year. The best meaning here, gained the most recognition and opportunity for their authors.
We will be building our Top 50 Literary Magazines list right in front of your eyes. We are going to start with looking at some of the magazines that did the best in 2010, and then we are going to move on to the top 10 of 2010, and then the top 50 of the last 10 years. We will take into considerations many factors. The look at these anthologies is just the beginning. So stay with us over the next few days and even weeks to make our new top 50 list.
The top 4 winners of 2010 are listed clearly below. There is really only one surprise on the list. A Public Space. A magazine which was started in 2008 sits here on this list of powerhouses. The New Yorker of course has been publishing great literature since the 1920s. It is the best of the BIG commercial literary magazines. They of course do not only publish stories and poetry. They pay very well, give national exposure in each issue and get the best of the best writers. It is almost a given that The New Yorker as well as The Atlantic would do so well each year. If you can send your work there, do it. If you get published in either of these 2 magazines you might get a book deal. It is a career launching opportunity for sure. They are great magazines.
The only thing that is shocking about The New Yorker being on this list is the amount of credit its already established authors have gleaned from other national anthologies. Many of the stories published in The New Yorker are no-brainier great writing. This doesn’t mean the magazine and the authors shouldn’t be honored, but did the editors of BASS, BAP and the O’Henry awards really have to select stories from The New Yorker collectively 10 times? The Atlantic another publication that publishes great work was only selected 4 times. Does this say that the editors weren’t willing to read more? We don’t think so. As we build our list over the next few weeks you will see that diversity is much alive in the world of literary magazines. Ten selections is still a little steep.
Tin House is much newer here (1998). The magazine has been coming on for the last 12 years, and they consistently publish great work. It really isn’t a surprise here either.
The big shocker is A Public Space as we said above. They are a new publication and it hit all the big anthologies this year. It should at least earn them a nod. If this magazine sticks around, they could be a future Tin House or Plougshares.
So we are saying top 4 of the winners of 2010 are: Tin House (1998), The New Yorker (~1920) The Atlantic (1857), and A Public Space (2008).
Stay with us as we build our new top 50 list right in front of your eyes. We have 4 magazines that will fall somewhere on the list. Now we only need 46 more.
| Name | Best American Short Stories | Best American Poetry | O’Henry |
| Tin House | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Public Space | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Yorker | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| The Atlantic | 3 | 1 | 1 |
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