In the early 19th century, a new periodical arose that combined the literary talents of some of the most influential authors of the day with intellectual, stimulating literary criticism, poetry, biographical information about the authors and experimental fiction. It came to be known as the little magazine or the literary magazine. Most were published by collegiate institutions, their college of humanities using the literary magazine as their form of scholarly journal.

The literary magazine’s popularity was sealed with the discovery of major talent such as T.S. Elliot. Other writers followed suit, adding short stories and essays to their literary endeavors and soon, publication in a literary magazine was the basis of several prestigious prizes such as the Henri Awards and the Pushcart Prize. In the mid 20th century, literary magazines were being published everywhere, no longer the scholarly journals of institutions such as Yale. Instead, small presses began publishing these little magazines independently and experimental fiction became popular.

In the mid-1970′s the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses was formed to give writers a single point whereby they could research and submit to these magazines. With the advent of the Internet, online literary magazines began to form and there began a dispute as to whether these were considered to be authentic literary magazines or simply ezines in comparison to their print and paper cousins.

In recent years there have been a decline in support for literary magazines in America with a rise in submissions. Fewer readers but more writers. The internet has given many the notion that anybody can publish and many do, without regard to literary merit. Literary magazines are struggling to survive and many do not see readership beyond a localised audience.

Of the most influential, Glimmertrain, The Iowa Review and the New England Review still receive attention and many new authors such as Steven Almond have built nationally recognized careers around short stories published by these and other literary magazines. Still, the influence of the literary magazine among the literary elite has declined.