Magazine Averages for 1917

The following table includes the averages of American periodicals published during 1917. One, two, and three asterisks are employed to indicate relative distinction. “Three-asterisk stories” are of somewhat permanent literary value. The list excludes reprints.

PERIODICALS	NO. OF STORIES PUBLISHED	NO. OF DISTINCTIVE STORIES PUBLISHED			PERCENTAGE OF DISTINCTIVE STORIES PUBLISHED
		*	* *	* * *	*	* *	* * *
American Magazine	54	25	3	1	46	6	2
Atlantic Monthly	20	17	11	5	85	55	25
Bellman	47	34	17	2	72	36	4
Bookman	5	5	4	1	100	80	20
Boston Evening Transcript	6	6	6	2	100	100	33
Century	50	40	29	17	80	58	34
Collier’s Weekly	108	51	22	3	47	20	3
Delineator	46	18	5	2	39	11	4
Everybody’s Magazine	45	26	7	3	58	15	7
Every Week	87	18	5	2	21	6	2
Forum	6	4	1	1	67	17	17
Good Housekeeping	40	12	9	5	30	23	13
Harper’s Magazine	80	64	39	27	80	49	34
Illustrated Sunday Magazine	25	10	4	1	40	16	4
Ladies’ Home Journal	33	11	4	1	33	12	3
Masses (except Oct. and Nov.)	11	6	3	0	54	27	0
McClure’s Magazine	45	9	4	2	20	9	4
Metropolitan	43	16	8	5	37	19	12
Midland	22	21	17	2	95	77	9
New Republic	5	5	2	1	100	40	20
New York Tribune	30	22	7	4	73	23	13
Outlook	18	10	8	1	56	44	6
Pagan	11	8	8	4	72	72	36
Pictorial Review	42	26	18	14	62	43	33
Reedy’s Mirror	32	18	10	3	56	31	9
Saturday Evening Post	235	62	25	7	21	11	3
Scribner’s Magazine	65	52	31	16	80	48	25
Seven Arts	23	22	19	14	96	83	69
Smart Set	107	22	12	3	20	11	3
Stratford Journal	10	10	10	9	100	100	90
Sunset Magazine	32	6	0	0	19	0	0
Touchstone	15	15	10	2	100	67	13

The following tables indicate the rank, during 1917, by number and percentage of distinctive stories published, of the nineteen periodicals coming within the scope of my examination which have published during the past year over twenty-five stories and which have exceeded an average of 15% in stories of distinction. The lists exclude reprints.

BY PERCENTAGE OF DISTINCTIVE STORIES
1.	Harper’s Magazine	80%
2.	Scribner’s Magazine	80%
3.	Century Magazine	80%
4.	New York Tribune	73%
5.	Bellman	72%
6.	Pictorial Review	62%
7.	Everybody’s Magazine	58%
8.	Reedy’s Mirror	56%
9.	Collier’s Weekly	47%
10.	American Magazine	46%
11.	Delineator	39%
12.	Metropolitan Magazine	37%
13.	Ladies’ Home Journal	33%
14.	Good Housekeeping	30%
15.	Saturday Evening Post	21%
16.	Every Week	21%
17.	Smart Set	20%
18.	McClure’s Magazine	20%
19.	Sunset Magazine	19%
BY NUMBER OF DISTINCTIVE STORIES
1.	Harper’s Magazine	64
2.	Saturday Evening Post	62
3.	Scribner’s Magazine	52
4.	Collier’s Weekly	51
5.	Century Magazine	40
6.	Bellman	34
7.	Everybody’s Magazine	26
8.	Pictorial Review	26
9.	American Magazine	25
10.	New York Tribune	22
11.	Smart Set	22
12.	Reedy’s Mirror	18
13.	Delineator	18
14.	Every Week	18
15.	Metropolitan Magazine	16
16.	Good Housekeeping	12
17.	Ladies’ Home Journal	11
18.	McClure’s Magazine	9
19.	Sunset Magazine	6

The following periodicals have published during 1917 ten or more “two-asterisk stories.” The list excludes reprints. Periodicals represented in this list during 1915 as well are indicated by an asterisk. Periodicals represented in this list during 1916 are indicated by a dagger.

1.	*†Harper’s Magazine	39
2.	*†Scribner’s Magazine	31
3.	*†Century Magazine	29
4.	*†Saturday Evening Post	25
5.	*†Collier’s Weekly	20
6.	Seven Arts	19
7.	†Pictorial Review	18
8.	Midland	17
9.	*†Bellman	17
10.	*†Smart Set	12
11.	Atlantic Monthly	11
12.	Touchstone	10

The following periodicals have published during 1917 five or more “three-asterisk stories.” The list excludes reprints. Periodicals represented in this list during 1915 as well are indicated by an asterisk. Periodicals represented in this list during 1916 are indicated by a dagger.

1.	*†Harper’s Magazine	27
2.	*†Century Magazine	17
3.	*†Scribner’s Magazine	16
4.	Seven Arts	14
5.	†Pictorial Review	14
6.	Stratford Journal	9
7.	*†Saturday Evening Post	7
8.	Atlantic Monthly	5
9.	*Metropolitan	5
10.	Good Housekeeping	5

Ties in the above lists have been decided by taking relative rank in other lists into account.

Footnotes

¹ The order in which the stories in this volume are printed is not intended as an indication of their comparative excellence; the arrangement is alphabetical by authors.

2 Copyright, 1917, by The Pictorial Review Company. Copyright, 1918, by Edwina Stanton Babcock.

3 Copyright, 1917, by The Century Company. Copyright, 1918, by Thomas Beer.

4 Copyright, 1917, by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Copyright, 1918, by Maxwell Struthers Burt.

5 Copyright, 1917, by The Pictorial Review Company. Copyright, 1918, by Francis Buzzell.

6 Copyright, 1917, by The Curtis Publishing Company. Copyright, 1918, by Irvin S. Cobb.

7 Copyright, 1917, by Harper and Brothers. Copyright, 1918, by Charles Caldwell Dobie.

8 Copyright, 1917, by The Century Company. Copyright, 1918, by H. G. Dwight.

9 Copyright, 1917, by The Metropolitan Magazine Company. Copyright, 1918, by Edna Ferber.

10 Copyright, 1917, by The Atlantic Monthly Company. Copyright, 1918, by Katharine Fullerton Gerould.

11 Copyright, 1917, by The Crowell Publishing Company. Copyright, 1918, by Susan Glaspell Cook.

12 Copyright, 1917, by The Century Company. Copyright, 1918, by Frederick Stuart Greene.

13 Copyright, 1917, by The Pictorial Review Company. Copyright, 1918, by Richard Matthews Hallet.

15 Copyright, 1917, by The Pagan Publishing Company. Copyright, 1918, by Fanny Kemble Johnson.

16 Copyright, 1917, by The Stratford Journal. Copyright, 1918, by Burton Kline.

18 Copyright, 1917, by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Copyright, 1918, by Lawrence Perry.

20 Copyright, 1917, by The Pictorial Review Company. Copyright, 1918, by Wilbur Daniel Steele.

← Back to The Best Short Stories of 1917