Mags that do long-form

Trying to come up with a mental list:

* Rolling Stone
* Esquire
* The New Yorker
* Atlantic Monthly
* New York Times Sunday Magazine

Where else?

 

Washington Post Magazine
Sports Illustrated, right?

 

Harpers.

 

I think it depends on how you define longform. I mean, most magazines would say they do longform, but it depends on your measure. I think there's a dividing line around the 4 or 5,000 word mark. And then higher up, very few magazines would go over, say, 8,000 words. There would be another divide there.

I guess what I'm asking is, what's your definition of longform?

 

I can safely say that I've never done a longform story. I don't even know if I'm capable of doing one.

And then I read Jones or jgmacg and I'm convinced there's no way in Hell.

Having said that, I'd go with SI back in the day, The New Yorker, Esquire, Rolling Stone.

 

Somewhere between 15K and 17K, I'd say, Jonesy.

 

Let's not forget Play, Vanity Fair and Granta.

 

GQ.
Texas Monthly.
And then from there to the bigger city and regionals. Quite a few of them run 8,000+ stories more than once a year.

 

As Mr. Mag says, there are more publications out there than you think. Quite of few of the New Times weeklies will occasionally go up to 5,000 or sometimes more, as will the few truly independent alt. press weeklies out there. In the past the Chicago Reader has run stories above 10,000. The better regional magazines such as Texas Monthly, Los Angeles etc. regularly approach 10,000 words, as do the few remaining Sunday supplements. Some of the better literary quarterlies (New Letters, Creative Nonfiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, Southern Review, etc.) will often run nonfiction essays of more than 10,000 words.

All that being said, no question there are fewer publications willing to go long form now than 5, 10, or 15 years ago - but some on line outlets don't even blink at length.

With the pending cuts in ad pages looming due to this recession, however, look for all the above to cut back - way back - on magazine style stories of any length. When I broke in at Big City magazine a lifetime ago, every issue was 400-500 pages and they were desperate for content. Four years later, in a little mini-recession, they were down to about 150 pps. and wouldn't even return my calls.

Turnover for longform writers can be pretty dramatic. There are many many writers whose bylines I saw regularly ten years ago who I thought were bulletproof who can't get a story published today.

 

Why, pray tell, would that be? Is it a matter of falling out of fashion? Someone's style getting overexposed?

 

Perhaps the more interesting question would be: What newspapers still do longform?

 

10,000 and upwards, or thereabouts.