Every piece listed here belongs to someone who was once, at some point, unsure. Unsure if the draft was ready. Unsure if it was worth sending. Unsure if there was even a place for it. And still, they kept going. They revised. They opened documents again. They pressed send.
What followed, in these cases, was publication, recognition, or simply a next step on the long, uneven path of making a writing life.
This archive holds 100 of those moments.
And note that what looks like a single acceptance is almost always the visible edge of something much longer: drafting, waiting, returning, trying again.
You don’t need to read this list in order. You don’t need to finish it. Let it be something you move through slowly, or quickly, or not at all. Let it be evidence that writing does not move in a straight line, and that “yes” is rarely the beginning of the story.
If you’re here because you’re building your own submission practice, I hope you find something steady in what follows. (Think of it as a low-pressure recognition of process!)
A sample of twelve pieces
I’ll start with a bite-sized list so you can scan what’s possible in twelve pieces that serve as an appetizer to our 100 list. I chose these to show as many different writers and lit mags as possible, some of which are delightfully niche.
- “Three Beats for the Broken Hearted”, Eunoia Review, by Agata Antonow
- oracle bone, Augur Magazine Issue 4.2, by Ellen Chang-Richardson
- “Nothing to Worry About”, The /t3mz/ Review, by Nicole Chatelain
- “Rearview”, JMWW, by Erin Hogarth
- “Good Girl”, Longridge Review, by Lina Lau
- “A Sudden Gust of Wind”, Cleaver, by Darcy Lohmiller
- “The Fragility of Bowls”, Hippocampus, by Gwen Martin (RIP Gwen)
- “Fly Past The Sun”, Killer Nashville Magazine, by Denisha Naidoo
- “we lifted him”, Five Minute Lit, by Laurel Parry
- “Pareidolia”, CRAFT, by Kelly Pedro
- “Little Packages”, River Teeth, by Jennifer Robinson
- “Grievances of a Young Midwife”, The Deadlands, by Lacey Yong
The Epic 100-Publications List (alphabetical by title)
Here are 100 MORE lit mag and book publications, along with contest placements, all by Lit Mag Love alumni. Many of the links will take you directly to the writer’s work, or to a place where you can order the journal or book. Others lead to contest announcements.
Please know that this list isn’t exhaustive! There are many more publications I could have included here, while I also aimed not to overlook any alum. (If you feel missed, please reach out to update my publication records!) Also, a few of the journals have closed. (Sigh.) In some cases, I was able to find archived issues or links about the publication:
- “3 Recipes for Cabbage from My Grandmother”, The Gravity of the Thing, by Agata Antonow
- “A CLASSICAL EDUCATION”, JMWW, by Lacey Yong
- “A Day With Wawa”, Tangled Locks Journal, by Kate Bird
- “Am I Still Bisexual? A Quiz”, Bi Women Quarterly, by Yolande House
- “Angakkuq”, Aurora Awards, by Shantell Powell
- “The Anxious GERD Diet”, Plenitude, by Yolande House
- “Archival Record AN1940s”, The Malahat Review, Constance Rook Prize shortlist, by Kate Bird
- “A Song for the Generations”, Syncopation Literary Journal, by Lori Sebastianutti
- “A-Beta (Amyloid beta)”, untethered magazine, by Lana Crossman
- “Baby Hands”, Poetry Pause, by Terri Gower
- “Black Raspberries”, Melted Butter Magazine, by Pamela Mosher
- Blood Belies, Buckrider Books (Wolsak & Wynn), by Ellen Chang-Richardson
- “The Bouncy Colon Show”, JMWW, by Laurel Parry
- “Broken Glass”, Brilliant Flash Fiction, by Agata Antonow
- Buoyant, at Last, Rose Garden Press, by Lana Crossman
- “Call Me Later”, Alison Wearing (Amy Award), by Hilary Fair
- “Cantonese Lessons for a Foreign Daughter-in-Law”, The New Quarterly, by Danica Longair
- “Cello Duet”, Lowestoft Chronicle Issue 50, by Kimberly Peterson
- “Cherry Roots”, October Hill Magazine, by Agata Antonow
- “Coming down from Mt. Kinabalu”, flo. Literary Magazine, by Susan Johnston
- “COLOR CODED”, Compressed Journal of Creative Arts, by Mary Kuna
- “Crane”, Prairie Fire, by Crystal Randall Barnett
- “Current Events”, Funicular Magazine, by Genie MacLeod
- “Dancing Little Marionettes”, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, by Megan Beadle
- “Dear Mx. Ortiz”, Compressed Journal of Creative Arts, by Natalie Schriefer
- “Delivering the Tragic”, Understorey Magazine, by Set L. Shuter
- “Descansos”, Entropy, by Sabrina Reeves
- “The Dingle Peninsula”, Riddle Fence, by Laurel Parry
- “Disability Tax”, The Fiddlehead Issue 301, by Yolande House
- “Driver”, Scribble, by Agata Antonow
- “Duck Duck Duck”, Amazing Stories, by Denisha Naidoo
- “The Family Company”, Defenestration, by Agata Antonow
- “for my husband on Father’s Day”, The Humber Lit Review, by Catherine Lewis
- “Ghabrahat (Nervous)”, Five Minute Lit, by Mridula Morgan
- Girl Running, Thistledown Press, by Diana Tegenkamp
- “The Ghosts of Forests Past”, ALOCASIA, by Shantell Powell
- “Hostage Letters From My Body”, LIGHT4PH, by Agata Antonow
- “How a Sex Book Helped Me Overcome Writers’ Block”, Brevity, by Louise Julig
- “I began baking Christmas gingerbread in the summer — hoping to unlock my relationship with my parents”, CBC First Person, by Agata Antonow
- “In Art as in Life”, Queen’s Quarterly, by Lori Sebastianutti
- “In Defence of Grief”, Writer’s Guild of Alberta, by Jessica Waite
- “Into Stone”, Weird Lit Magazine, by Agata Antonow
- “Invisible Walls: A Decentred Hermit Crab Sticky Note Narrative”, The Fiddlehead, by Shirley Harshenin
- “Irregularities”, Held Magazine, by Hege Jakobsen Lepri
- “k.d. lang Performing Barefoot”, Poetry Pause, by Pamela Mosher
- “Kintsugi”, Sleet Magazine, by Astrid Egger
- “The Last Days”, Empty House Press, by Malgosia Halliop
- “Lesser phenomena”, FERAL: A Journal of Poetry and Art, by Lana Crossman
- “The Lifecycle of a Writer”, Breathing Space Creative Blog, by Lori Sebastianutti
- “Liked”, Polar Borealis, by Agata Antonow
- “Mariah Carey Was Right”, The Creative Nonfiction Podcast Issue 3: Heroes, by Lori Sebastianutti
- “Mooning”, Bywords, by Kimberly Peterson
- “Moonlight in the Palm of My Hand”, The Spirits Have Nothing to Do with Us: New Chinese Canadian Fiction, by Ellen Chang-Richardson
- “Mother, Mary”, The New Quarterly, by Lori Sebastianutti
- “My Brother and the Bulls”, Levitate Magazine Issue 5, by Julia Laurie
- “My Writing Space”, The New Quarterly, by Kerrie Penney
- “Newsie”, Hamilton Public Library Short Works Prize, by Agata Antonow
- “Nuliajuk and the Birds”, Strange Horizons, by Shantell Powell
- “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” (How Teaching Gets in Your Blood), Porcupine Literary, by Karen Zey
- “Our Father, Who Art Asleep”, The Writers’ Union of Canada, by A.L. Bishop
- “The Passing Game”, National Magazine Awards (Nominees), by Jennifer Robinson
- “The Qalupalik”, Flash Fiction Online, by Shantell Powell
- “Pony”, ZO Magazine (Decennelia Contest), by Shantell Powell
- “Pregnancy Test”, The Headlight Review, by Julia Laurie
- “Proof”, Short Story Town, by Alison Gadsby
- “Pyrocene”, Emerge Literary Journal, by Shantell Powell
- “Recordings of Truths and Facts”, Humber Literary Review, by Kelly S. Thompson
- “Red Canna”, The Ekphrastic Review, by Nicole Chatelain
- “Ruskalka”, The Icarus Writing Collective, by Agata Antonow
- “Salvage”, perhappened (also selected for Best Microfiction 2022), by Lacey Yong
- “Shame Catcher”, Spry Literary Magazine, by Kimberly Peterson
- “She Leaves”, Reckon Review, by Jennifer Robinson
- “The Solitude Booth”, midnight & indigo Issue 12, by Olwen Wilson
- “Social Clues”, The Nasiona, by Eve Krakow
- “Son of Many Questions; Corn Moon Wanes; and Crackle of Moon”, These Small Hours Chapbook, by Kimberly Peterson
- “Spinning on a Fish Hook”, Hippocampus Magazine, by Lina Lau
- “Spring comes a garden”, This Might Help, by Kerrie Penney
- “St. Lawrence”, Prairie Fire MRB Creative Non-Fiction Contest (third place), by Kate Bird
- “(step) Mother’s Day”, untethered magazine, by Andrea Martineau
- “Strife”, Dreamers Creative Writing, by Alison Gadsby
- “SUNDAY MORNING AT CITY BURGER, 1978”, JMWW, by Michele Genest
- “Summer Evenings After Dinner”, The Humber Lit Review, by Eve Krakow
- “The Swimming Hole”, Five on the Fifth, by Candace Webb
- “Teach Me”, Parentheses Journal Issue 12, by Malgosia Halliop
- “THE BIRDS: A POEM”, Entropy, by Kimberly Peterson
- “Third Ear Acoustics”, Pinhole Poetry, by Kimberly Peterson
- “Things I Did While Amazonia Burned”, Grist Issue 14, by Hege Jakobsen Lepri
- “Three Feelings Walk Into a Bar”, The New Quarterly, by Kerrie Penney
- “Three Things I Didn’t Pack in My Husband’s Suitcase”, Spotlong Review, by Agata Antonow
- “Tongues”, Bywords, by Kimberly Peterson
- “Two Dishes”, Voices From the Fold (FOLD 2022 program), by Agata Antonow
- “Unmasked”, Five Minute Lit, by Molly Freedenberg
- “Vandellia Cirrhosa”, October Hill Magazine, by Julia Laurie
- “Wake”, The Shore, by Anna Pele
- “Wildfire Season”, Federation of BC Writers, by Shirley Harshenin
- “The Weight of Loon”, Mom Egg Review, by Gwen Martin
- The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards, Simon & Schuster (Atria), by Jessica Waite
- Worldly Girls, Bookhug Press, by Tamara Jong
- “Your Contract Will Not Be Renewed (And You Have Two Months to Leave Job/Apartment/Country)”, The Fiddlehead, by Yolande House
- Zipless, 845 Press, by Catherine Lewis

Who Am I?
Hello! I’m Rachel Thompson. I am an author and literary magazine editor, here to help you write, publish, and shine! I offer online courses on getting published and crafting your most luminous writing.

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How they did it
Read a series of “How I Published in…” articles from several of the writers above, who let you into their writing and submissions process:
- “How I Published in 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯” by Agata Antonow
- “How I Published in 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦” by Lyndall Cain
- “How I Published in 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦” by Astrid Egger
- “How I Published in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸” by Sherine Elbanhawy
- “How I Published in 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴” by Molly Freedenberg
- “How I Published in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥” by Tamara Jong
- “How I Published in 𝘟-𝘙-𝘈-𝘠 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦” by Lina Lau
- “How I Published in 𝘛𝘕𝘘” by Danica Longair
- “How I Published in 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦” by Laurel Parry
- “How I Published in 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘺” by Kimberly Peterson
- “How I Published in 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘯𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸” by Jennifer Robinson
- “How I Published in 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦” by Traci Skuce
- “How I Published in 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦” by Linda Trinh
- “How I Published in 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸” by Lucy Wilde
- “How I Published in 𝘑𝘔𝘞𝘞” by Lacey Yong
- “How I Published in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘻 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸” by Denisha Naidoo
If you find yourself thinking, I don’t have any ‘wins’ yet…
Remember: the win is in your writing practice. It’s in the moment you redraft a poem instead of abandoning the piece, or send something out even while you feel unsure. The win happens when you keep going. I’m rooting for you!
Lit Mag Love
May 13–June 24, 2026
Ready for a big “YES” for your writing from lit mags you love? Learn to submit your writing the right way for you. Join us in this six-week live course session to get results from your submissions and kick-start your writing career.

