Unrepresented writers will have a hard time breaking into this market.
Since the 1920s, the magazine of Howard Ross has been a weekly treasure trove of short fiction, photographs, reviews, spot illustrations, cartoons, and news items about New York City and beyond. Haruki Murakami, Alice Munro, John Updike, Raymond Carver, and Salman Rushdie are among the luminaries whose work has appeared repeatedly in "The New Yorker." Unknown and unrepresented writers will have a hard time breaking into this market, but following a few guidelines will help submissions get into the right hands.
Instructions
1. Familiarize yourself with the writing style preferred by editors of "The New Yorker." Read several back issues to get a notion of predominant themes, ideal length and the typical voice. Review enough of the archives to ensure you are not pitching a piece on a topic that has already been published. If there are similar pieces, consider the special angle your piece has to offer.
2. Play the odds. Certain types of material have a greater chance of being accepted in "The New Yorker" than others. For example, the magazine typically publishes only one short story per issue (except for the all-fiction issues), whereas it publishes several cartoons in every issue. Robert Mankoff, "The New Yorker" cartoon editor, wrote the book "The Naked Cartoonist" to describe the types of cartoons that get accepted into the magazine.
3. Review the stated submission guidelines. There are certain pieces "The New Yorker" editors do not accept, such as unsolicited nonfiction (unless it is a front of book piece for "Talk of the Town"). Submissions should be sent to the appropriate department. For fiction, the email is fiction@newyorker.com. For Talk of the Town, it's talkofthetown@newyorker.com. For Shouts & Murmurs, it's shouts@newyorker.com. For poetry, it's poetry@newyorker.com. For news breaks, it's newsbreaks@newyorker.com. You can also submit via snail mail to the appropriate department at The New Yorker, 4 Times Square, New York, NY, 10036.
4. Pose your query to the correct editor. Check the most recent issue's masthead for a list of each editor's name. Do not target the submission to the editor-in-chief, a typical error for a newbie. Telephone pitches from unrepresented writers are not accepted. The typical wait time to hear a response to a submission is three months. Rejected queries do not typically receive a response. After three months, feel free to pitch the piece elsewhere.
5. Have a back-up plan. The latest copy of "Writer's Market" will have a list of magazines that accept pieces similar to those seen in "The New Yorker." Consider "The Atlantic Monthly," "Harper's Magazine," "Vanity Fair," "The Sun Magazine," "Granta," and "The Paris Review."
