(Credit: Image from Flickr user Daniel Lobo)
We don't mean to brag, but we think The Airship is pretty great. It’s got everything from quizzes to longform articles to interviews to reading suggestions, but the truth is we can't do it all — and luckily, with so many other great blogs out there, we don't have to.
We rounded up a list of our 10 favorite literary blogs, which we admit only skims the surface of what the Internet has to offer. We love these sites because each one brings something new to the table. Trust us when we say that you'll want to add all of them to your bookmarks.
1. GalleyCat
This is our go-to website for all book publishing news. They’re the first to know who just scored a publishing deal, when companies are hiring and which new publishing platforms are breaking out. Check it daily for literary news from across the spectrum.
A name that needs no introduction, The Paris Review has been publishing some of the best interviews, short stories, poetry and art for more than five decades. What you might not know, though, is that they have a great blog that covers literature, art and film. One of our favorite series on it is “Windows on the World,” which offers a glimpse of what writers from around the world see from their windows.
3. The Outlet
Electric Literature’s blog provides a wide array of great content. With an easy-to-navigate layout, the site features news, reviews, events and features. It’s a great place to go to get a ton of different lit-related info all in one place.
4. The Open Bar
We always look forward to Tin House’s quarterly magazine, and their blog provides for a great read in the interim. It has daily quotes, weekly “What We’re Reading” roundups from the editors (always a great, easy way to add to your “Books to Read” list), Flash Fiction Fridays and tons more. Our most recent favorite is their essay about the oxford comma.
5. Bookanista
Bookanista is a monthly web magazine featuring essays, new fiction, book recommendations, illustrated stories and some of the best author interviews on the web. A must-read feature is the recent “Favourite Stories,” which (in case you couldn’t guess) is all about writers sharing their favorite short stories.
6. The Rumpus
Launched in 2009 by Stephen Elliott, The Rumpus quickly became a must-bookmark site. Elliott and his team have created an astounding online literature community, with features like the Rumpus Book Club, The Daily Rumpus and Letters in the Mail, a $5-a-month series that sends you two letters from writers like Tao Lin, Roxane Gay and Dave Eggers. Of course, it’s not all programs and clubs; The Rumpus is also regularly publishing great interviews, film reviews and personal essays.
7. Paper Darts
Paper Darts does a gorgeous job illustrating each of their stories and dares to experiment with form in a way that many publishers are too scared to attempt. They also have fantastic interviews with poets, comics and fiction writers on their culture blog.
If you're looking for a place to find fearless up-and-coming writers, you'll love PANK, a literary mag published by Roxane Gay and M. Bartley Seigel. For those of you who enjoy listening to podcasts and stories, they've also got you covered with nifty audio versions of many of their stories. Any magazine that has the balls to publish fun, dark stories like "The Vegetarian Eats the Vegan: Five Scenarios" has our full confidence.
9. Gigantic
Gigantic is a lit mag of short prose and art. They've featured well-known writers such as Laura van den Berg and Etgar Keret, but they also like to focus on emerging writers who are just making the scene. Plus, they did a "Mini-Monster Issue" for Halloween last year, and we're still holding our breath in anticipation of the next one.
10. The Millions
You can expect The Millions to keep you up to date with the latest literary news, whether that be through their top 10 books lists or their epic book preview for the most anticipated books of 2014. They also have fun picking on contemporary culture, with articles like “Read Me! Please!: Book Titles Rewritten to Get More Clicks” and Fiona Maazel's qualm with "Commercial Grammar." And did we mention they publish great literary-themed personal essays? What a force to be reckoned with.
As we mentioned above, this is only a sampling of what the near-infinitely wide literary web has to offer. But you can help us make this list even better! If we missed your favorite lit blog, let us know in the comments below!
Black Balloon Publishing is an independent press headquartered in New York, NY, with both print and digital distribution channels. We've published literary fiction, nonfiction and memoir, and we're willing to grow our reach in any direction that suits: Our books evolve, rotate, get mapped onto cities and light up your screen. We champion the weird, the unwieldy and the unclassifiable.
KEEP READING: More on the Internet
A Black Balloon Publication ©