The London Magazine is the UK’s oldest literary magazine, proud to have published some of the biggest names in literature including Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Joan Didion, Gabriel García Márquez and Hilary Mantel.
We will be open for free submissions during the following periods:
1 – 31 January
1 – 31 March
1 – 31 May
1 – 31 July
1 – 30 September
1 – 30 November
We advise sending in your work nearer the start of the month before we hit our submissions portal’s free quota. We charge a small fee of £3.50 for submissions outside of those windows. During periods in which our prizes are live, we will be closed for open submissions in that category.
- Please ensure you have submitted your piece through the correct Submittable category. For example, a short story submitted in the poetry category will not be considered. Note that running competitions will have their own Submittable category, which will be clearly signposted.
- If submitting multiple pieces through Submittable, please combine them into one document.
- We only publish original material, i.e. first-ever publication. We cannot run a piece that has already appeared online or elsewhere in print. We can, however, publish an original translation if the work has previously appeared in another language, but never before in English.
Writers should carefully review the guidelines before submitting work via our online portal; any work not in line with the guidelines will not be read.
We find those who are familiar with the publication stand a far better chance of having their submissions accepted, so we do recommend reading the latest copy of our print magazine which can be purchased via our website.
We are always open to receiving art, illustrations or photography in our submissions to be featured in our print magazine or accompanying pieces on our website. We also welcome pitches for photo essays.
Although we prefer pitches via email for non-fiction, we are open to considering full, finished essays if you have them. When submitting these, please include a brief description of the piece. We accept a broad range of essays, from lyric, memoir and personal to reportage, criticism and features, but please do not submit academic essays or reviews. We have no set word length, but we tend to publish pieces under 4,000 words. You can read past essays here on our website.
Poetry should display a commitment to the ultra-specificities of language. Poems should be no longer than 50 lines. Please submit no more than 5 poems in any one submission.
N.B. If Submitting multiple poems, these should be collated into one document. Multiple document submissions will not be read.
Since 1732, The London Magazine has published short stories by some of the most well-regarded writers in English, from Jean Rhys and Raymond Carver to Virginia Woolf and V. S. Pritchett. Our annual Short Story Prize seeks out new voices to join this distinguished literary history.
Established to support and celebrate emerging literary talent, the prize offers writers from around the world an opportunity for publication and recognition. We are looking for previously unpublished stories of no more than 4,000 words.
We are delighted to announce that The London Magazine Short Story Prize 2026 will be judged by Camilla Grudova, Tim MacGabhann and Ayşegül Savaş.
The winning stories will be published in future issues of The London Magazine. Winners will also receive cash prizes and be celebrated at a prize-giving ceremony at the end of the year.
Information:
Entry fee: £12 per story
Subsequent entries: £6 per story
Student/Low-income entry: £6 per story
Membership entry: One free entry (subsequent entries £6)
Note: There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit, but please only submit one story per entry. Entries with multiple stories will not be considered or notified. It is necessary to read the competition rules before submitting.
Opening date: 28th July 2026
Closing date: 18th October 2026
First Prize: £1000
Second Prize: £600
Third Prize: £400
In order to familiarise yourself with the kind of fiction we publish, we recommend getting your hands on a copy of our latest issue, which can be purchased here from our shop, or subscribing to the magazine.
If you have any questions, please contact Zadie at info@thelondonmagazine.org.