Virginia Quarterly Review: Market Spotlight
For this week’s market spotlight, we look at Virginia Quarterly Review, a literary journal looking for top-notch fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Submission period open through July 31, 2020.
Virginia Quarterly Review (or VQR) is a literary journal looking for top-notch fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
The editors say, "From its inception in prohibition, through depression and war, in prosperity and peace, the Virginia Quarterly Review has been a haven—and home—for the best essayists, fiction writers, and poets, seeking contributors from every section of the United States and abroad. It has not limited itself to any special field. No topic has been alien: literary, public affairs, the arts, history, the economy. If it could be approached through essay or discussion, poetry or prose, VQR has covered it."
VQR pays $200 per poem, up to four poems; collections of five or more usually earns $1,000. For prose (fiction and nonfiction), they pay 25¢ per word. Book reviews are $500, and online content generally earns $100-200 per piece.
What They're Looking For
VQR publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary criticism, book reviews, and more.
The editors say, "VQR strives to publish the best writing we can find. While we have a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, we also seek and support emerging writers."
The editors consider all forms of poetry. For fiction, they shy away from genre fiction like romance and science fiction and fantasy, and they look for stories of 3,500 to 8,000 words.
For nonfiction, they publish literary criticism, reportage, historical and political analysis, and travel essays. As the editors say, "In general, we are looking for nonfiction that looks out on the world, rather than within the self."
How to Submit
Potential writers should submit via their Submittable page by July 31, 2020.
For poetry, poets can submit up to four poems (fewer than 15 pages). For fiction and nonfiction, writers should submit one story or piece for each reading period.
*****
No other market is as open to the freelance writer as the magazine market. From trade and association publications, to special interest magazines, to regional and national consumer publications, editors are looking for writers who can deliver well-researched, reader-targeted articles on deadline. To make it in this market, you want to learn how to identify a magazine's editorial needs and—most important—how to fill them.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
