Litwolf.com is a website I launched that digs into literary data.
This first project makes the history of the Pushcart Prize more transparent. Ranking top literary magazines is a tricky business. So many factors weigh into the decision-making process: style, editorial leadership, distribution, visual design, and institutional/organizational/regional affiliation are just a few. Any rankings list must be followed by bold asterisks.
I’ve always felt that the best way to know where to submit is to spend time reading and appreciating literary magazines.The library archives that I relied on as an MFA student have been joined by a host of wonderfully curated online publications. Exploring that ecosystem will likely make you a better writer and submitter.
Still, asking a new writer to find their fit among several thousand literary magazines strikes me as literary hazing. Literary data like the kind I’m compiling on Litwolf will, I hope, allow afford new and veteran writers insights. For the new writer, it’s a starting point. For the established writer, it’s a place to find new publications and follow the awards afforded to magazines through inclusion in the Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and other anthologies.