They publish much of Canada’s best poetry and prose. The writers whose creative work appears in their pages range from established icons of Canadian literary arts — such as Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood and Lynn Coady, to name just a few — to new writers published for the first time.
The following list, an A-to-Z guide to Canadian literary periodicals and their submissions guidelines, compiled by the National Media Awards Foundation, focuses on those magazines that currently publish short fiction, poetry and/or creative (aka literary) non-fiction. Many also accept submissions for essays, literary criticism, reviews, interviews, graphic narratives and visual art. And many have won National Magazine Awards. Your magazine is not on the list? Email us.
Acta Victoriana
Published in: Ontario (Victoria University, Toronto)
Founded: 1878
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 4
Submissions Guidelines
Arc Poetry Magazine
Published in: Ontario (Ottawa)
Founded: 1978
Genres: Poetry, Reviews, Essays
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Awards: 5 (most recently: Louise Halfe, Silver Medal, Poetry, 2015)
NMA Nominations: 23
Submission Guidelines
Artery, The
Published in: Ontario (Lakehead University)
Founded: 2008
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Plays
Issues per Year: 1-2
Submission Guidelines
Augur Magazine
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2016
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Comics/Graphic Fiction
Issues per Year: 3
Submissions Guidelines
Brick
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 1977
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Awards: 5
NMA Nominations: 17
Submission Guidelines
Broken Pencil
Published in: Ontario
Founded: 1995
Genres: Fiction, Reviews, Interviews, Zine Culture
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Award Nominations: 2
Submission Guidelines
Bywords.ca
Published in: Ontario (Ottawa)
Founded: 1990
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: Monthly (online)
Submissions Guidelines
Canadian Literature
Published in: British Columbia (Univ. of British Columbia)
Founded: 1959
Genres: Poetry, Reviews
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Award Nominations: 1
Submissions Guidelines
CNQ: Canadian Notes & Queries
Published in: Ontario (Windsor)
Founded: 1968
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Essays
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Awards: 2 (most recently: Russell Smith, Gold Medal, Fiction, 2016)
NMA Nominations: 6
Submission Guidelines
Canadian Poetry
Published in: Ontario (Univ. of Western Ontario)
Founded: 1977
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: 1
Submission Guidelines
Canthius Journal
Published in: Canada
Founded: 2015
Genres: Poetry & Prose (from women and genderqueer writers)
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
The Capilano Review
Published in: British Columbia (Capilano University, Vancouver)
Founded: 1972
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Visual Arts, Interviews
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Awards: 4
NMA Nominations: 12
Submission Guidelines
Carousel
Published in: Ontario (University of Guelph)
Founded: 1983
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: Online
National Magazine Awards: 1
NMA Nominations: 3
Submission Guidelines
Carte Blanche
Published in: Quebec (Quebec Writers’ Federation, Montreal)
Founded: 2004
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
Contemporary Verse 2
Published in: Manitoba (Winnipeg)
Founded: 1975
Genres: Poetry, Reviews, Interviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Award Nominations: 2
Submission Guidelines
Cloud Lake Literary
Published in: Thunder Bay, ON
Founded: 2020
Genres: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Children’s Literature, & Visual Art
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
Cosmonauts Avenue
Published in: Quebec (Montreal)
Founded: 2014
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Interviews, Essays, Visual Arts, Reviews, Interview
Issues per Year: Monthly (online)
Submission Guidelines
Dalhousie Review, The
Published in: Nova Scotia (Dalhousie University, Halifax)
Founded: 1921
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Essays
Issues per Year: 3
Submission Guidelines
Dorchester Review, The
Published in: Ontario (Ottawa)
Founded: 2011
Genres: Reviews, Essays, Translations
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
Event
Published in: British Columbia (Douglas College)
Founded: 1971
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Creative Non-fiction
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Awards: 13
NMA Nominations: 48
Submission Guidelines
Existere
Published in: Ontario (York University, Toronto)
Founded: 1978
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
EXILE Quarterly
Published in: Ontario
Founded: 1972
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Drama
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 2 (Most recently: Patrick Lane, Gold Medal, Poetry, 2021)
NMA Nominations: 6
Submission Guidelines
Feathertale Review, The
Published in: Ontario (Ottawa)
Founded: 2008
Genres: Humour, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Poetry, Cartoons
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Awards: 7 (most recently: Jenn Lawrence & Kara Pyle, Art Direction Grand Prix, 2021)
NMA Nominations: 16
Submission Guidelines
Fiddlehead, The
Published in: New Brunswick (University of New Brunswick, Fredericton)
Founded: 1945
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 2
NMA Nominations: 17
Submission Guidelines
Freefall
Published in: Alberta (Lit. Society of Calgary)
Founded: 1990
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Award Nominations: None
Submissions Guidelines
Geez
Published in: Manitoba (Winnipeg)
Founded: 2007
Genres: Creative Non-fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Journalism, Photography
Issues per Year: 4
Submission Guidelines
Geist
Published in: British Columbia (The Geist Foundation, Vancouver)
Founded: 1990
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Art
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 6 (most recently: Terence Byrnes, Gold Medal, Photography: Photojournalism & Photo Essay, 2016)
NMA Nominations: 21
Submission Guidelines
Glass Buffalo
Published in: Alberta (Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton)
Founded: 2012
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Award Nominations: 1
Submissions Guidelines
Grain
Published in: Saskatchewan (Sask. Writers’ Guild, Saskatoon)
Founded: 1973
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 4
NMA Nominations: 29
Submission Guidelines
Gravitas Poetry
Published in: Ontario (Ottawa region)
Founded: 2018
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: 3
Submission Guidelines
GUTS: Canadian Feminist Magazine (On hiatus)
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2012
Genres: Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Essays, New Media
Issues per Year: Biannual, plus regular online content
Submission Guidelines
Hazlitt
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2012
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Issues per Year: Online
National Magazine Awards: 14
NMA Nominations: 51
Submission Guidelines
Humber Literary Review, The
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2014
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Essays, Art
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Award Nominations: 1
Submission Guidelines
Inuit Art Quarterly
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 1986
Genres: Essays, Reviews, Interviews, Visual Art
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 4 (most recently: Gold, Best Editorial Package, 2021)
Submission Guidelines
In/Words (On hiatus)
Published in: Ontario (Carleton University, Ottawa)
Founded: 2001
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Art
Issues per Year: 2-3
Submission Guidelines
Juniper – A Poetry Journal
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2017
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: 3 (online)
Submissions Guidelines
Literary Review of Canada, The
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 1991
Genres: Poetry, Essays, Reviews, Interviews
Issues per Year: 10
National Magazine Awards: 1 (Stephen Marche, Gold Medal, Essays, 2017)
NMA Nominations: 12
Submission Guidelines
Maisonneuve
Published in: Quebec (Montreal)
Founded: 2003
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Reviews, Journalism, Visual Art
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 43
NMA Nominations: 155
Submission Guidelines
Malahat Review, The
Published in: British Columbia (University of Victoria)
Founded: 1967
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Reviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 32 (most recently: Erin Soros, Gold, One of a Kind Storytelling, 2021 and Joshua Whitehead, Gold, Personal Journalism, 2021)
NMA Nominations: 93
Submission Guidelines
Maple Tree Literary Supplement
Published in: Quebec (Montreal)
Founded: 2008
Genres: Film, Visual Arts, Literary photography, Author interviews
Issues Per Year: 3
Submission Guidelines
Maynard, The
Published in: British Columbia (Vancouver)
Founded: 2008
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: Online
Submissions Guidelines
Minola Review
Published in: Online-only
Founded: 2016
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction
Issues per Year: 4
Submissions Guidelines
Montreal Review, The
Published in: Quebec (Montreal)
Founded: 2009
Genres: Non-Fiction, Book Review
Issues per Year: 3
Submissions Guidelines
Mystery Weekly
Published in: Ontario (Ancaster)
Founded: 2015
Genres: Fiction (crime + mystery)
Issues per Year: 12
Submission Guidelines
New Quarterly, The
Published in: Ontario (St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo)
Founded: 1981
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Reviews, Interviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 20 (most recently: Joshua Wales, Silver, Fiction, 2021)
NMA Nominations: 66
Submission Guidelines
NōD
Published In: Alberta (U. of Calgary)
Founded: 2014
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Reviews, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
Northern Appeal, The
Published In: Ontario (Simcoe County and Muskoka)
Founded: 2016
Genres: Poetry, Short Stories, Photography, and Visual Art
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
NUNUM
Published in: Grand Barachois, New Brunswick
Founded: 2018
Genres: Flash Fiction
Issues per Year: 4 + annual anthology
Submission Guidelines
On Spec
Published in: Alberta (Edmonton)
Founded: 1989
Genres: Fiction, Poetry,
Issues per Year: 4
Submission Guidelines
Open Minds Quarterly
Published in: Ontario (Sudbury)
Founded: 1998
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Reviews, Personal Essays (on the subject of of mental health recovery)
Issues per Year: 4
Submission Guidelines
Portal Magazine
Published in: British-Columbia (Vancouver Island University)
Founded: 1991
Genres: Short Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Issues per Year: 1
Submission Guidelines
Petal Journal (On hiatus)
Published in: Ontario (Toronto); an online journal of female perspectives
Founded: 2015
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: Online
Submission Guidelines (on hiatus)
Plenitude
Published in: Canada (Online)
Founded: 2012
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction
Issues per Year: Online (year-round)
Submissions Guidelines
Prairie Fire
Published in: Manitoba (Winnipeg)
Founded: 1978
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Interviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 18 (most recently: Catherine Hunter, Gold Medal, Fiction, 2021)
NMA Nominations: 51
Submission Guidelines
Prairie Journal
Published in: Alberta (Calgary)
Founded: 1983
Genres: Poetry, Short Fiction, Drama, Literary Criticism
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Award Nominations: 2
Submissions Guidelines
PRISM International
Published in: British Columbia (University of British Columbia)
Founded: 1959
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Drama, Interviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 13 (most recently: Emily Riddle, Silver Medal, Poetry, 2021)
NMA Nominations: 32
Submission Guidelines
Pulp Literature
Published in: British Columbia
Founded: 2014
Genres: Short Stories, Novellas, Novel Excerpts and Graphic Novel Shorts
Issues per Year: 4
Submissions Guidelines
Puritan, The
Published in: Ontario (Ottawa)
Founded: 2006
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Essays, Reviews, Interviews
Issues per Year: 4
Submission Guidelines
Queen’s Quarterly
Published in: Ontario (Queen’s University, Kingston)
Founded: 1893
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Essays, Reviews
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Awards: 11
NMA Nominations: 44
Submission Guidelines
Quilliad, The
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2013
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Art
Issues per Year: 2
Submission Guidelines
Ricepaper
Published in: British Columbia (Vancouver)
Founded: 1995
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Award Nominations: 5
Submission Guidelines
Riddle Fence
Published in: Newfoundland & Labrador
Founded: 2009
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 3
Submission Guidelines
Room
Published in: British Columbia (Vancouver)
Founded: 1975
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Interviews, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 4
National Magazine Award Nominations: 7
Submission Guidelines
Site Magazine, The
Published in: Edmonton, Alberta
Founded: 2015
Genres: Architecture & Design, Theory & Criticism
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Awards: 5 (2018 Magazine Grand Prix)
NMA Nominations: 9
Submission Guidelines
Spadina Literary Review
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2011
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork, Comics
Issues per Year: 6
Submissions Guidelines
sub-Terrain
Published in: British Columbia (Vancouver)
Founded: 1992
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Reviews, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 3
National Magazine Awards: 2 (most recently: Zsuzsi Gartner, Silver Medal, Fiction, 2015)
NMA Nominations: 10
Submission Guidelines
Taddle Creek
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 1997
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Awards: 1
NMA Nominations: 20
Submission Guidelines
The Mitre Literary Journal
Published in: Lennoxville, Quebec
Founded: 1893
Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Visual Arts
Issues per Year: 1
Submission Guidelines
The Temz Review
Published in: Ontario (London)
Founded: 2017
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Reviews
Issues per Year: 4
Submission Guidelines
THIS Magazine
Published in: Ontario (Red Maple Foundation, Toronto)
Founded: 1966
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-fiction, Essays, Visual Art
Issues per Year: 6
National Magazine Awards: 19 (most recently: Min Gyo Chung, Silver Medal, Illustration, 2016)
NMA Nominations: 93
Submission Guidelines
Touch the Donkey
Published in:
Founded: 2014
Genres: Poetry
Issues per Year: 1
Submission Guidelines
Understory Magazine
Published in: Nova Scotia (Halifax & Lunenburg)
Founded: 2013
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Essays, Spoken Word
Issues per Year: 2-3
Submission Guidelines
Untethered
Published in: Ontario (Toronto)
Founded: 2014
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Creative Non-Fiction and Visual Art
Issues per Year: 2
Submissions Guidelines
Vallum
Published in: Quebec (Montreal)
Founded: 2000
Genres: Poetry, Reviews, Essays, Interviews
Issues per Year: 2
National Magazine Awards: 2 (most recently: David McGuimpsey, Gold Medal, Poetry, 2015)
NMA Nominations: 8
Submission Guidelines
In addition to the above list, many of Canada’s news, general-interest, lifestyle and arts magazines publish fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, including but not limited to Canadian Art, Border Crossings, The Walrus, Toronto Life, Inroads, Ottawa Magazine, Alberta Views.