Writer's Market, a well-known resource commonly referred to as the “writer’s bible” for getting published and paid for writing, was discontinued in 2021 by its publisher at the time, Penguin Random House.
What was the Writer’s Market Series of Books?
Writer’s Market was the “writer’s bible” for getting published and paid for writing. It was an annual reference book for writers, an encyclopaedia of publishers, magazines, and other outlets seeking submissions from writers. The listings included consumer magazines, trade publications, book publishers, screenplay markets, greeting-card markets, writing contests, and more.
For many years, until 2019, it was published by F+W Media, the same company who at that time were publishing Writer’s Digest magazine.
What was WritersMarket.com?
WritersMarket.com was the online version of Writer’s Market. The online version had the advantage of being constantly updated, and even had a Submission Tracker.
Is Writer’s Market Still Published?
No. The final edition of the Writer’s Market series was the 100th edition published by Writer's Digest Books on 9 November 2021.
Other final editions in the Writer's market series of books that year were:
- The 30th edition of Guide to Literary Agents
- The 33rd edition of Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market
- The 40th edition of Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market
- The 34th edition of Poet’s Market
What Happened to Writer’s Market?
According to Wikipedia,
“Writer's Digest's former parent company, F+W Media, was auctioned off as part of bankruptcy proceedings in 2019. Penguin Random House LLC acquired the Writer's Digest Books brand, including Market Books and WritersMarket.com.” Wikipedia
At the Writer’s Market website, the following was posted and was still available to read there in December 2024:
“A message to subscribers: Writersmarket.com was sold to Penguin Random House as part of the F+W Books acquisition in 2019. Unfortunately, and due to circumstances outside of our control, the website will be unavailable for the foreseeable future.”
Are There Any Good Alternatives to Writer’s Market?
Our own database lists 2,000+ publications that work with writers so that is a good place to start.
We'll also be adding a page soon with some more of the best alternatives to Writer's Market.