Market Search: Narrative Magazine

Online magazines have come a long way in the last few years: from visually crowded, hard to navigate sites to streamlined multi-media affairs that offer writing by big name writers. One such publication is Narrative Magazine, which recently redesigned itself into a colorful, easy-to-read journal featuring the work of Richard Bausch, editor of the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, Tony and Emmy Award-winner Lynn Ahrens and Wild At Heart author Barry Gifford.

I should tell you up front, however, that Narrative is a nonprofit that operates on donations and submission fees of $20 per prose manuscript, $20 for contest entries, $10 for up to five poems and $10 for audio submissions. Yes, those fees are stiff.

But if you're still game, the journal offers a lot of opportunities for writers in the following areas. General submissions of:

• fiction of all types (short stories, flash fiction)
• nonfiction of all types (essays, memoir)
• poetry
• recorded stories
• excerpts of forthcoming books of fiction and nonfiction
• contests

The good part is the journal actually pays writers: $150 for the Story of the Week; $150-350 for 500-2,0000-word manuscripts; $350-1,000 for 2,0000-10,000-word manuscripts; $1,000-$5,000-word minimum for book-length works; and $50 for each poem or audio piece. Contest awards go up to $4,000 for the Narrative Prize, awarded annually, and $3,000 for the first prize in contests.

Another bonus is that all submissions are handled online. Response time varies from 4 to 12 weeks.

Has anyone read this journal? If so, what do you think?