Where should I read fiction online?
July 28, 2014 10:30 AM   Subscribe

What are the best websites/blogs/etc. to read contemporary fiction? I'm particularly interested in writing by women, experimental fiction, and magical realism, not necessarily all at once.

The websites I currently read daily and love, such as the Hairpin and the Toast, publish tons of great personal essays but not much fiction. I mostly get my fiction reading from books. Some recent favorites include Jenny Offil, Roxanne Gay, Kelly Link, Jeanette Winterson, and Karen Russel. I'd like to expand my online reading to include more fiction, especially because I have some short fiction of my own I'd like to submit, and would like to explore some websites that might be a good fit.

What websites do you read for great contemporary fiction? I'm also interested in excellent print publications, but would like to focus more on online publications for the purposes of this question. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
posted by dysh to Writing & Language (6 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
Try clarkesworld, some great stuff on there, they also roll out a podcast of each story through the month, and some really interesting non-fiction articles!
posted by OuiL'HommeSauvage at 10:44 AM on July 28, 2014


Subscribe to One Story magazine on Kindle.

Also, the New Yorker continues to publish some awesome fiction.
posted by matildaben at 10:45 AM on July 28, 2014


Conjunctions, the online site for the print magazine.
posted by OmieWise at 10:46 AM on July 28, 2014


I think it's been mentioned on MeFi before, but Recommended Reading is a huge favorite of mine: a good balance of experimental and more traditional stories, and it'll point you in the direction of a lot of other publications.

Rookie occasionally posts fiction, usually by women.

To address your secondary question of wanting to submit fiction for publication, (hooray! good for you!) I've found some good tips on this tumblr.
posted by torridly at 10:47 AM on July 28, 2014


If you like Roxane Gay, her journal, Pank, is definitely worth checking out and I think would hit the mark for a lot of your interests. Diagram is also worth a look. Fairy Tale Review is print only but might also be up your alley.
posted by raisindebt at 11:01 AM on July 28, 2014


Seconding Conjunctions--it's a great destination for experimental and magical realist work. Clarkesworld is also excellent, though their stable of authors is of a different flavor compared with the ones you listed.

If you're checking out print, I'd strongly recommend Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Unstuck, and Phantom Drift for fine magical realist reading.
posted by xenization at 5:26 PM on July 29, 2014


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