We publish literary writing of the highest quality. We look for poetry and short fiction that startles and entertains us. Reviews, essays, memoir pieces and features should be erudite, lucid and incisive. We are obviously interested in writing that has a London focus, but not exclusively so, since London is a world city with international concerns.
Please refer to The London Magazine before you submit work, so that you can see the type of material we publish.
Submissions will not be read if they stray over the word limits, or if they are not presented according to our submission guidelines.
All submissions sent to The London Magazine must never have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog or online forum, broadcast nor winning or placed (as in 2nd, 3rd, runner up etc) in any competition.
When Submitting Your Entry
Due to the volume of submissions, it may take some time before you receive a response. We do read and reply to every submission.
Postal submissions are accepted but please note that submissions via this portal are preferred.
Postal Address:
The London Magazine
11 Queen’s Gate
London SW7 5EL
Please note that we can no longer return manuscripts to the sender.
Publication in The London Magazine will include all, if not some of the following formats: print version in the relevant issue of The London Magazine, eBook Edition (Kindle) and on our The London Magazine App as well as on thelondonmagazine.org. Please note that your work may be selected for online publication only.
Non-fiction pieces should be between 800 and 2,000 words. Single inverted commas should be used for all quotes/speech. Titles of works including books, plays, film and paintings should be in italics.
The London Magazine is the UK's oldest literary magazine, proud to have published some of the biggest names in literature including Joan Didion, T. S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, Jean Rhys, and Virginia Woolf. In collaboration with SET, we are excited to announce an open call for front cover submissions for our upcoming February/March 2024 edition.
The competition will be open to artists from all levels and all disciplines, allowing them to showcase their creativity and the winner will see their work on the cover of The London Magazine. It will be free to enter. By partnering with SET we aim to provide a platform for artists to showcase their work to a wider audience, gain recognition within the industry, win a cash prize and potentially establish valuable connections within the field.
The winning design will be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of The London Magazine, with due credit given to the artist. We will also dedicate a feature article on our website to highlight the artist’s creative process, inspiration, and background, providing them with valuable exposure and recognition.
Alongside the winner, we will also select a shortlist of 5 other artists whose work will either feature on a limited 50 copy run of TLM, or alternatively be eligible for use on a future TLM cover, with the usual £150 fee. Prize winners will also be celebrated at our February/March 2024 launch event and exhibited at SET.
Opening date: 25th September 2023
DEADLINE: 25th December 2023
Winner will receive: £250 + work used as cover image for February/March 2024 issue
- The London Magazine will reserve the right to use any submitted or shortlisted artworks in future issues of the magazine for a fee of £150.
- Subsequent entries should be submitted separately in individual entry forms through Submittable and not in the same document.
- Make sure to include your completed entry form with your submission if submitting by any means other than Submittable. This can be downloaded from our website and sent to us by email or post.
- Please read our competition rules carefully before entering. If you have any questions, please contact Katie at info@thelondonmagazine.org
Short fiction should address mature and sophisticated themes. Moreover, it should have an elegance of style, structure and characterisation.
We do not normally publish science fiction, fantasy writing or erotica.
We will consider short stories of up to 4,000 words in length.
Poetry should display a commitment to the ultra specificities of language, and show a refined sense of simile and metaphor. The structure should be tight and exact. Poems should be no longer than 40 lines and no more than 6 poems should be submitted at once.
N.B. If Submitting multiple poems, these should be collated into one document. Multiple document submissions will not be read.