Literary Compass
Kristen SimentalA daily dose of intel on what lit journals actually want. Read one short story a day, read with fellow writers, and navigate the lit journal world. By reading modern fiction we unravel the secret sauce that makes writing good vs. published. ✍\ud83c\udffc
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Twice weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 58 | Founded | 3 years ago | Last Issue | 18 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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kristensimental.substack.comLatest Issues
Frequency and Breaks
Summer break is upon us. I’ll be taking the next two weeks off and will be out of range. When I return, I’ll have a new posting schedule:
Sundays - Short Story a Day
I’ll post links to stories you can read at your own pace during the we...
Under the Hood - Zyzzyva
Zyzzyva, America’s hardest to spell literary journal, is today’s random pick. I cannot provide a short story to read because they don’t provide free samples or excerpts. I don’t abide by excerpts anyway.
The purpose of this daily Substack...
What "Carefully Crafted" Means
Title: Cat is Dreaming
Author: Clary Ahn
URL: https://ninthletter.com/2026/04/clary-ahn/
Word Count: 3,019 words · 13 min read
PDF:
Cat Is Dreaming
75.2KB ∙ PDF file
Download
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My...
Friday Musings - Eating the Sins of Others
I like to give myself space on Fridays to talk about whatever I want, whatever’s on my mind. But this week, I had a crisis of faith.
Before I started this “Story a Day” project, my short story readings were sourced from old Best American...
Evergreen Topics
It’s important to note that a few historical inconsistencies pulled me out of today’s story. The author attempts to tie in historical details like the 1969 moon landing and a televised Disney film, The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Mr. Limpet is o...
Audience Metrics
Subscribers, engagement, traffic and sponsorship for Literary Compass.
| Subscribers | Engagement | 74 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepts Sponsors | Estimated Cost per Ad | ||||
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Writer, Editor-in-Chief of Five South, and nine years into a novel. fivesouth.net | kristensimental.com
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