Seeking suggestions regarding a good literary magazine..
 

I enjoy reading a lot, and only lately have considered reading a literary magazine, instead of strictly novels, due to the fact that shorter stories in magazine form allow for exposure to a diverse array of writing, authors, and contemporary literature.

Therefore, I would appreciate any and all suggestions regarding literary magazines.. Which are good, which should be avoided.. Etc.

Ideally, this thread will allow me to get the names of some literary magazines worth checking out, so that I can buy them and, after reading over, make a decision on which I like the most.

So far I've only read The Sun, which I enjoyed, but also would like to experience other magazines that are out there and available.

Up until now I've only turned to magazines for sports and popular media/news, but I'm hoping that there are also a fair share of quality fictional/literary magazines out there that are worth checking out.

I'm most interested in magazines that solely include fictional writing and submissions, as opposed to magazines that feature a work of fiction, among news, cultural happenings, and reviews (The New Yorker, The Walrus, etc.).

the Antioch Review

I've been reading this magazine since a friend of mine was at Antioch... It's got a lot of great essays, and short stories. if I had any complaints about it at all - it'd be there's entirely too much poetry in it... (I have not tolerance for poetry - it just annoys me)

The cover art is really nice too...

I rather enjoy the New Yorker... the writing in it is excellent, they are in business to make money, so the rest of the stuff I kind of take with a grain of salt - they aren't NEA recipients... so they gotta keep a roof over their heads some how.

I ordered a copy of the fall edition of the Antioch Review.. Thanks for the recommendation.

My parents bought me a copy of The Paris Review earlier, and I am reading through that now. I imagine the two periodicals will be similiar, though I am excited about checking out the Antioch Review.

Does anyone else have any suggestions or recommendations regarding other contemporary literature periodicals?

McSweeney's. Subscriptions are pricey, but they're highly collectible. It's pretty much where all the best writers are trying to be published right now. You can find reprints of past issues, but often the reprints sell out too.

Go to your local university's bookstore and look at their magazine rack. If they have a good English department, they will have a wide variety of literary magazines to choose from. Furthermore, if you know a good English major, you might ask them to poke around their department for some--at my school there are always freebies from small presses laying around.

You'll find that most of the good stuff comes from small presses, and is therefore hard to find sometimes--this is not stuff you're going to get at Barnes and Noble.

Personally, for the balance of content, I really like the New Yorker and the Atlantic Monthly. The Paris Review is also an excellent literary magazine.

Oh, and don't forget to check the local university's library :) as that's also a good place to look.