Sucker Literary Magazine is an annual PDF and Kindle publication for young adults produced by Senior Editor/Founder Hannah Goodman, Art, Layout, and Design Executive Editor Alyssa Gaudreau, and Copy Editor Bouvier Servillas.

Goodman’s initial searches for exclusively young adult lit mags did not yield the kind of literature she was looking for, so she started Sucker to fill this void. In Sucker, she tells us, readers can find “edgy, compelling, new YA literature that both teens and adults can enjoy.” Goodman expands on their concept of edgy: “This means we do not avoid sex, drugs, complicated friendships and relationships with parents. It also means that we don’t want to preach to teens about those subjects. That being said, it’s not just about the subject. It’s also about language and voice: authentic sounding characters and a narrative voice that reflects the tone of the story.”

Sucker editors also hope that writers will see the publication as “something different” from other YA venues: “Not just ‘please no more vampires.’ If you love writing about vampires, then put him on a skateboard and have him crash into a human teenage guy. Maybe they fight and maybe the vampire loses. Maybe they become great friends. Maybe they fall in love.”

Sucker is also a different venue for writers in that the editors will be on the lookout for “raw talent that just needs a smidge of guidance.” Goodman explains: “Our staff readers fill out detailed feedback sheets to decide if the pieces should be accepted or rejected. Pieces that readers feel are close to being ‘there’ are critiqued and sent back to our senior editor.” From there, they will “invite the writer to be mentored for a draft or two.”

Contributors to the first issue of Sucker include: R F Brown, Claudia Classon, Shelli Cornelison, Candy Fite, Sarah Hannah Gómez, Hannah R. Goodman, Paul Heinz, Natalia Jaster, Josh Prokopy, James Silberstein, Mima Tipper, and Aida Zilelian.

Like so many new publications, Goodman’s plans for the future of the publication is simply to continue producing quality issues. She hopes to see the publication available as a print-on-demand version as well.

Sucker is currently open for submissions until May 1 via e-mail. Full guidelines on listed on the site.

Evental Aesthetics is an international, online, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to philosophical perspectives on art. Publishing three times per year, with one themed issue each year, the journal invites experimental and traditional philosophical ideas on all questions pertaining to art, music, and literature, as well as aesthetic issues in the non-artworld, such as everyday aesthetics and environmental aesthetics. The inaugural issue is “Aesthetics After Hegel.”

Niche Magazine appears biannually online (Issuu) as well as in PDF format for purchase with plans to release a Amazon Kindle edition.

Editors Katya Cummins, Shannon Hewson,
 Matthew Atkinson,
 Beth Cohen, Katie Cantwell, Mary Keutelian,
 Rebecca Kaplan, and 
Rochelle Liu started Niche Magazine in response to the “many talented artists” looking for a way to break into the literary scene, and even more that merely want to be read, heard, or seen. “The idea in starting Niche Magazine,” says Cummins, “was to provide a place where, not one but multiple genres and tiers of communities and artistic ambitions, are satisfied.”

The first issue of Niche Magazine includes literary short stories, some experimental creative nonfiction, and “beautiful” poetry, some of which is traditional, some of which is experimental, and “thought-provoking” artwork from seasoned and emerging artists. There is also an interview from the science-fiction writer, Neil Gaiman, and music from the jazz band Comfort Food.

Also featured in the first issue: art from Pearl A. Hodges, Jessica Swenson, and Fabio Sassi; fiction by Bill D’Arezzo, Molly Koeneman, Robert Mundy, Sean Jackson, and Susan Land; non-fiction by Stephen Newton, Yinka Reed-Nolan, and Melissa Wiley; poetry by James Dunlap, Martina Reisz Newberry, Mercedes Lawry, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Scott Starbuck, and William Cordeiro.

Niche Magazine editors are currently reading through submissions for their second issue in which they hope will include some flash fiction, short-shorts, journalism, and literary criticism. “Through this,” say Cummins, “we hope to continue breaking down the tensions between genres. More importantly, we hope that readers will continue to find Niche an entertaining and relatable read.”

Niche Magazine accepts all genres (including “genre fiction”, journalism, “spoken word” poetry, and literary criticism.) with submissions year round through Submission Manager. The deadline for the next issue is April 1, 2012. For full guidelines, please visit the Niche Magazine website.

Niche Magazine’s website also includes columns by Natala Orobello, Lauryn Ash, and Christopher Smith. Reviews, author interviews, “MFA Spotlights,” and guest posts can be read on Niche’s blog. Niche is currently looking for reviewers, columnists, and current attendees or graduates of MFA programs to conduct interviews for our monthly MFA Spotlights.

burntdistrict is a semi-annual (Winter/Summer) journal of contemporary poetry published in print and e-book (Kindle) by editors Liz Kay and Jen Lambert.

When asked what motivated the start of this new venture, Kay responded, “When I think of the best venue for new and exciting poetry, I think of literary magazines. I can easily get absorbed in my favorite collections, but when I want diversity, when I want to see what new work is being created, I look to lit mags. When we decided to start a magazine, like many other editors, we were looking to create something that was magnetic from cover to cover. Naturally, aesthetic is involved, and not all magazines appeal to all audiences, but that is what is so fantastic about them. There is something out there for everyone.”

Kay believes burntdistrict fulfills this expectation: “I have read and reread Issue 1, and I am amazed at how every poem in there speaks to me, how when I finish, I am breathless and swooning, and how some of that is caused by the fact that the poets represented in its pages range from successful, widely published poets to students, desperately carving out their craft, from those who work full-time in academia to those who make their livings far outside of it, all of whom come back to the page time and again because something beautiful, something important, happens there.”

Readers of burntdistrict are promised “Beauty and diversity.” Kay expands on this: “Every poem we choose takes our breath away in some way or another. burntdistrict poets craft heartbreakingly lovely lines and are so intentional in what they want to pull out of their readers. They are smart with punctuation, enjambment, endings, imagery. They are generous with their talents, and in turn we try to be generous with space. We are happy to take long poems and work in series. We are drawn to poems that speak to one another. Often this represents the work of a single poet over a succession of pages, but at other times, it’s the juxtaposition of different voices that sparks the conversation.”

Contributors in the first issue include Lindsey Baker, Becca Barniskis, Francesca Bell, Candace Black, Sheila Black, Lori Brack, Allison Campbell, Nancy Devine, Gary Dop, Kelly Fordon, Meg Gannon, Teri Grimm, Amy Hassinger, Paul Hostovsky, Michael Hurley, Natasha Kessler, James Henry Knippen, Steve Langan, Christopher Leibow, Alex Lemon, Matt Mason, Vikas Menon, Joanna Pearson, Jim Peterson, Adrian Potter, Nate Pritts, Rick Robbins, Jane Rosenberg LaForge, Marge Saiser, Erika Sanchez, Joseph Somoza, John Stanizzi, Alex Stolis, Ira Sukrungruang, Benjamin Sutton, Carine Topal, Natalia Trevino, William Trowbridge, Benjamin Walker, and Natalie Young

The future of burntdistrict looks good given the positive energy of its editors, who hope to “keep producing fantastic issues, full of quality writing and a diverse population of writers.”

“We are not in this to create a venue to promote our friends,” Kay emphasizes, “or to develop a magazine based on swollen bios. Instead, the thing we love most about this endeavor is getting excited by a poem. I hope we continue to maintain our goals of publishing the best poems we can find, and making sure that page after page retains that goal. In terms of future plans, we would love to offer special edition issues (we already have some in mind) and maybe pulling in some guest editors. We are so passionate about this magazine; we can’t wait to watch it grow up.”

burntdistrict is always open to submissions of original, unpublished poems via Submittable.

Ithaca Lit: Lit with Art is an end-of-summer print annual with quarterly online issues. Editors include Michele Lesko, founding editor; Sherry O’Keefe, poetry editor; and Madeleine Beckman, nonfiction editor.

Lesko comments on the start-up and focus of the magazine: “Living in Ithaca, I noticed a void in the lit/arts journal world for writers & artists from around the world and in Ithaca. The journals already in place are connected with the colleges. We also intended to represent visual art more vividly within the field of poetry and non-fiction essays that deal with writing and art process. The visual and poetic join together to bring a more stimulating experience to our readers.”

Given the intent of the publication, readers can expect to “enjoy discovering a new visual artist featured in each issue with a gallery of images, an interview and a biographic/personal page that gives readers a real sense of the artist in his/her studio. With the same treatment, we feature a well-established poet: a writer with two or more books published and a career in place. The poet contributes new poems, an interview, and a bio page. We publish new poetry from emerging and established poets in each issue and feature interviews with writers and/or artists as well as craft/process non-fiction pieces.” [Pictured: Featured Artist Colleen McCall]

Contributors in the first issue include Poets: Renee Ashley, Alex Grant, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingde, Uchi Ogbuji, Diane Lockward, Susan Johnson, Rose Hunter, Kathryn Howd Machan, Kathleen Kirk, Risa Denenberg, and Artist: Lin Price.

As for the future of Ithaca Lit, Lesko says, “We want to nurture the journal’s longevity by expanding slowly. The important aspect for us is presenting good writing and visual art to readers. We will eventually establish a poetry contest, where the winner will be featured in the annual print edition. We plan to extend to the local community poetry & short fiction writing workshops along with local readings. We will highlight ‘best of’ images from the artists in the annual print edition and may include artist interviews.” Future formats for the publication may also include Kindle/Nook.

Ithaca Lit accepts poetry and non-fiction re: craft process of writing and visual art as well as interviews with writers or artists. Submission is through Submittable.

The Ocean State Review is a new annual print publication from the University of Rhode Island English Department.

Editors include Peter Covino (advisory), Mary Cappello (advisory), Ryan Trimm (advisory), Jay Peters (managing), Don Rodrigues (managing), Nicki Toler (senior), Max Winter (senior), Jacob Nelson (associate), and David O’Connell (associate).

Managing Editor Jay Peters writes that “by producing a high-quality publication of contemporary literature, The Ocean State Review provides an annual record of URI’s continued engagement with regional, national and international literary communities. Central to this engagement is the journal’s affiliation with URI’s annual Ocean State Summer Writing Conference.”

Readers of The Ocean State Review can expect to find “two hundred eclectic pages by well-established and newly emerging writers and artists.” OSR publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, interviews, and artwork.

The inaugural issue features works by Tomaz Salamun, Denise Duhamel, Richard Hoffman, Louise DeSalvo, Robin Hemley, Julia Glass, and many others. The second volume will be released in June with plans for the journal to develop the capacity to accept online submissions.

Submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, our currently being accepted until February 15; submission by post only at this time.

The Golden Triangle is published three times per year and is available online, and via iPad and iPhone Apps. Readers can expect to find “fresh, risk-taking, original poetry, fiction, and non-fiction coupled with intelligent design.”

Editors Jessica Schulte and Sasha VanHoven tell me that “The Golden Triangle was created by struggling writers and literary nerds trying to make it in ‘the real world’ of writing. With the decrease in printed publications, competition to get in became harder, and yet while digital journals were taking off, they severely lacked legitimate design. We decided to become the solution ourselves, offering a digital space for the under-exposed voices of our peers that cared for aesthetics as well as the community behind it.”

Contributors in the first issue include Howie Good, Corinna Ricard-Farzan, Jon Gingerich, Brittany Shutts, Lauren Chimento, William VanDenBerg, Corina Bardoff, Justin Mantell, Joanna C. Valente, Devan Boyle, Ansley Moon, and Taylor Saldarriaga.

With ambitious plans for the future, Schulte and VanHoven are looking to become a fully functioning small press within the next five years, in both digital and print media.

The Golden Triangle is open to all genre forms within poetry, fiction, and non-fiction; work that “blurs genre lines and takes risks,” is welcome, but editors “warn against ‘post-post-post modernism’ type work.” Only previously unpublished works considered; simultaneous submissions are “a-okay,” as long as editors are notified immediately. The next deadline is March 3rd, 2012.

Beecher’s Magazine is the graduate student-run literary journal at the University of Kansas (KU) MFA program. The print annual has an editorial board, which for 2011-2012 includes Iris Moulton and Ben Pfeiffer (co-editors); Mark Petterson (fiction); Amy Ash (poetry); and Stefanie Torres (nonfiction).

The impetus for Beecher‘s served to expand the options and offerings in the KU MFA program. Pfeiffer writes, “Our program was geared almost exclusively to teaching, not to publishing or to editing; in order to give the students a chance to try out this vocation, we thought having some kind of graduate student-run literary journal was important. So a bunch of students rolled up their sleeves and set to work. The administration supported us with money, but all the heavy lifting was done by students. Beecher’s One is the result.”

The publication features stories, poems, essays, and interviews. The inaugural issue includes works by Alec Niedenthal, Rebecca Wadlinger, Joshua Cohen, Rhoads Stevens, John Dermot Woods, Phil Estes, Creed J. Shepard, Lincoln Michel, Adam Robinson, Stephen Elliott, Yelena Akhtiorskaya, John Coletti, Colin Winnette, Dana Ward & Stephanie Young, James Yeh, Alexis Orgera, Rozalia Jovanovic, Ricky Garni, and Justin Runge.

Beecher’s Magazine has just selected the winners of their first contest, and editors and staff are preparing for AWP 2012 in Chicago. Issue #1 of Beecher’s Magazine was a limited run and has sold out, but the second issue is underway.

Beecher‘s accepts poetry, fiction, and nonfiction via Submishmash for both print and online (forthcoming) consideration.

Executive Editor and Founder Sara R. Rajan and Assistant Editors Dinesh Rajan P and Andrea O’Connor are the force behind Literary Juice, an online bimonthly publication of works in a wide variety of genres, including comedy, romance, and fantasy. A unique feature in Literary Juice is “pulp fiction”: stories written in just 25 words – no more, no less – with one-word titles.

Rajan founded Literary Juice as “a creative outlet for both established and emerging poets and writers, as well as an avenue for readers looking to indulge their imaginations in a world of absolutely remarkable and unforgettable talent.” As such, audiences will read works by “authors who are bold and not afraid to cross into unconventional territory. Literary Juice showcases poetry and works of fiction that are dramatic, playful, and even outright weird!”

Contributors to the first issue include Craig M. Workman, Joel Bonner, Jennifer McIntosh, Amy Agrawal, Storm J. Shaw, Pamela Evitt-Hill, Jessie Duthrie, Angela Huston, Sarah Helen Bates, Amanda Little Rose, W. Walker Wood, E. Drape, Michelle L. Hill, Vita Duva, Matthew L. Wagner, Sydney Rayl, Jerry Judge, Helen Stamas, John Grey, George Freek, Liz Minette, Aur

Barge Journal is a biannual print publication with preview content available on the website and e-reader formats forthcoming.

Editors Shawn Maddey, Justin Maddey, Christine McInnes, and Hallie Romba say they started Barge Journal “when we realized that there was a particular aesthetic that we shared and found in many up-and-coming writers, but that seemed relegated to the internet. We really wanted to bring the fervor and style of innovative internet publications to the print world, where a lot of it is highly underrepresented and overwhelmed by more ‘literary’ styles. We also wanted to be able to raise awareness of indie publications to broader audiences of artists and readers.”

What can readers expect to find in Barge Journal? Maddey writes, “We like to say ‘stuff, not things.’ Expect lots of playfulness with language and form, expect risks, expect stuff that you’d be hard-pressed to find in print many other places. Few works we publish are easy reads, and you won’t find any traditionally structured stories or hard genre delineations – instead we strive to publish work that pushes its readers to think, to think differently about literature, and to enjoy the process of doing it. It doesn’t hurt to find comfort in a bit of ugliness, either.”

Contributors to the inaugural issue include Gregg Williard, Yarrow Paisley, M.J. Nicholls, R.L. Swihart, Joshua McKinney, Matthew Dexter, Kristine Ong Muslim, Art Zilleruelo, Colin Winnette, Thomas O’Connell, Nicolas Destino, Paul Kavanaugh, Jonathan Dubow, Margaret Bashaar, Zdravka Evtimova, Andrew Borgstrom, Parker Tettleton, Bob Shar, Travis Blankenship, William Akin, Janann Dawkins, and Neila Mezynski.

As Barge Journal moves forward putting together Issue #2, the editors’ goal is “to always be pushing the boundary a little bit further while having as much fun with it as possible. We would love to be able to include more visually-oriented work and comics/art as well. A lot of our current efforts are focusing on expanding our role as a press, beyond the journal. We will have a series of chapbooks forthcoming (currently by solicitation only, sorry), and are soon going to print with our first full-length book (a comix anthology) as well as a series of literary/arts greeting cards with some great artists and literary works paired up – so, a few great projects to get excited about.”

Barge Journal accepts submissions only online through Submishmash on a rolling basis. Genre identification is open, and the editors state a preference for work that is difficult to classify by genre.

Maddey adds, “We love to interact with our readers, submitters, and contributors, so we invite you to follow us @bargepress on twitter or /bargepress for facebook.”

Heavy Feather Review is a biannual ebook published by editors Nathan Floom and Jason Teal

HFR editors describe the content as “an eclectic mix of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or any hybrid thereof. Every issue of HFR is its own animal. Writers, and those concerns of writers, change with time, and so does HFR.”

Contributors to the inaugural issue include Alex Austin, Nick Barr, Anhvu Buchanan, Seth Berg, J. Bradley, Chloe Caldwell, Karen Craigo, Lori D’Angelo, Rick D’Elia, Larry O. Dean, Elizabeth Ellen, Nicolle Elizabeth, Ricky Garni, Roxane Gay, Amy Glasenapp, Howie Good, David Greenspan, Len Kuntz, Thomas Patrick Levy, D.W. Lichtenberg, Adam Moorad, Meg Pokrass, Molly Prentiss, Andrew Rihn, Paul Arrand Rodgers, Steve Roggenbuck, Matthew Savoca, Bradley Sands, Peter Schwartz, Gregory Sherl, Zulema Renee Summerfield, J.A. Tyler, James Valvis, Robert Vaughan, John Dermot Woods, Jake Wrenn, and Joshua Young.

Future plans for HFR include “print, press, music festival.” As Teal notes, “HFR is actively looking to exist in more real and real forms.”

HFR is taking submissions for both its homepage —thoughtful essays/posts concerning art, life, anything — reviews, interviews — and HFR 1.2, arriving in summer 2012. Deadline for 1.2 is August 15, 2012. Submission accepted via Submittable.

The Adroit Journal is a triannual downloadable PDF publication edited by Peter LaBerge (Editor-in-Chief), Ameerah Arjanee and Magen Eissenstat (Poetry Genre Editors), Connor Cook and Kratika Mishra (Fiction Genre Editors), Michele Ang (Art/Photography Editor), and additional staff members.

LaBerge tells me, “The Adroit Journal was conceived for mainly two reasons: as a fundraising vehicle for an organization called Free the Children Organization, and as an opportunity for teenagers to come together to produce a collection of quality literature.” A link to Free the Children is provided on The Adroit Journal website, and donors make their contributions directly to the organization.

Readers can expect to find a complete variety of poetry and fiction within the pages of The Adroit Journal. “Often readers and contributors remark that they cannot find a singular type of work that The Adroit Journal considers,” LaBerge notes, “because we consider (and publish) all different kinds.”

Some of the many contributors to date include: Poetry – Carol Guess, Dorianne Laux, Annie Finch, Lee Upton, Matt Mauch, Laura Kasischke, Darlene Pag