Harper's Magazine

About

Harper’s Magazine, the oldest general-interest monthly in America, explores the issues that drive our national conversation, through long-form narrative journalism and essays, and such celebrated features as the iconic Harper’s Index. With its emphasis on fine writing and original thought Harper’s provides readers with a unique perspective on politics, society, the environment, and culture. The essays, fiction, and reporting in the magazine’s pages come from promising new voices, as well as some of the most distinguished names in American letters, among them Annie Dillard, Barbara Ehrenreich, Jonathan Franzen, Mary Gaitskill, David Foster Wallace, and Tom Wolfe.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 1850

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication: Published 12 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

1,035 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Slower: Harper's Magazine's overall average response time is slower than most magazines.
More Challenging: Harper's Magazine's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
Less Responsive: Harper's Magazine's overall rate of non-response is higher than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Short Story: No specific word count limits known (our definition: 1000 to 7500 words).

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Unknown payment Unknown payment.

Submissions:

Method: Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Query first.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Nature/Environment.
Politics/Political Science.
Society/Culture.

Payment:

Unknown payment Unknown payment.

Submissions:

Method: Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork: Unknown number of pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media, including...
Illustration.
Photography.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Nature/Environment.
Politics/Political Science.
Society/Culture.

Payment:

Unknown payment Unknown payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Image.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

Recent cover image or website screenshot for Harper's Magazine

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Report:
Submission/Response
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Harper's Magazine Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

This project ranks among the 25 Slowest Fiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the Most Unresponsive Fiction Publishers in our database.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 51 reports from 50 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

11 min | 390.1 mean avg | 392.5 median | 679 max days (603.4 std dev)

Responses

21.57 %

Acceptances:

0.00 %

Rejections:

21.57 % (147.2 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 54.6 % form, 45.5 % unspecified

Non-Responses

70.59 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

70.59 % (456.4 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)

Withdrawals

7.84 % (131.5 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

28 responses are pending (15 min | 250.7 mean avg | 213.0 median | 498 max days waiting | 189.7 std dev) from 25 different members

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 04 Aug 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 01 Jun 2026.
Date compiled: 12 Sep 2026 07:48 UTC (4 minutes ago).

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Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 18 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.