Canadian Literary Magazines
Picking the One Suited to Your Poetic Style
With so many Canadian literary magazines, it's hard to know which ones to submit your poetry to. Do your research and increase the likelihood of being published!
With so many literary magazines published in Canada each year, it's hard to know which ones to submit your work to. The best way to find out is to order a sample copy, however this can get expensive.Literary magazines tend to fall into four categories: open-ended magazines, university periodicals, avant garde publications and politically-focused journals. Knowing which is which can save you a lot of time and money when deciding where to send your poems.
Open-ended Magazines
These are journals that are often published by an individual or collective, rather than an institution. As they depend more on general government or private support than specific university funding, they are often open to a wide range of material, especially from beginners. Many literary magazines are reluctant to accept work by those who've never published anywhere before, so these journals are a good place to start. Quills and SubTerrain from Vancouver, BC and The Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature from Calgary, AB are three places to try.
Quills is run by an private publisher and it accepts varied styles, mostly in lyric form. SubTerrain is a stapled, rather than perfect bound journal that also publishes short fiction and art, mainly in theme-related issues. The Prairie Journal is the lowest budget of these three but it has a good reputation for publishing poetry and reviews. The first two run annual competitions; for an entry fee you can receive a year's subscription.
University Periodicals
Most magazines in Canada emerge from college and university presses or creative writing departments. These journals also publish a range of styles, but often veer towards name-brand writers. Many also feature fiction, art and annual contests. These magazines are long-running, traditionally-focused publications with a reputation to uphold. Send them your most carefully crafted work. The best include The Dalhousie Review, The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, Canadian Literature, The Antigonish Review and Event. Slightly more willing to take literary risks are the student advisory board run journals like Prism and Dandelion.
Avant garde Publications
These journals accept work that is cutting-edge in the realm of language, form or content. Don't expect regular typography, punctuation, syntax or linear sensibilities from such magazines. One of the best known is West Coast Line. Published out of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, it also features reviews, theoretically-based essays and photography spreads.
Politically-focused Journals
Several Canadian magazines either have a particular politicized slant or spend much of their content reporting on political issues from war to genetic engineering. Of the former, periodicals like Contemporary Verse 2 are representative. Calling themselves a journal of feminist writing, they often publish poems by women on such themes as eating disorders, sexual abuse and economic disparities. Of the latter, journals like Canadian Forum and Queen's Quarterly come to mind. They usually only publish 2-6 poems per issue, many attending to the political preoccupations their essays and reviews also examine.
For every poet in Canada, there's a literary magazine perfectly suited to your style. Do your research and maximize your chances of being accepted!
