Paying Market – Authors Publish Magazine

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in February 2026

S. Kalekar — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 18:02:57 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre magazines.

NewMyths
This is a speculative fiction magazine, and they “like to balance each quarterly issue between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. We publish fiction, poetry, and non-fiction works.” Works should be preferably PG rated.
Deadline: 28 February 2026
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.03/word; $50 for reviews
Details here.

(And, Haven Speculative is open for unthemed submissions of speculative fiction and poetry. They also publish climate crisis focused Dry and Wet issues each year. They pay $0.08/word for up to 5,000 words of fiction, and $20/poem for up to 5 poems; deadline 28^th February 2026; details here and here.)

Toronto Journal
This journal publishes in print and sound. They accept short stories from anywhere in the world, and nonfiction pieces about local history – Toronto, the GTA, or surrounding areas – see guidelines. They are accepting submissions for their Summer 2026 issue; submission is via a form.
Deadline: 1 March 2026
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $50
Details here.
(– And Southword,the magazine of the Munster Literature Centre, will stay open for fiction till 28^th February or when they reach a submission cap, whichever is earlier. They pay €400 per short story of up to 5,000 words; they accept work via Submittable; details here.

— Submissions are also open for TONGUE, a new literary magazine; they accept translations only, of fiction or creative nonfiction, into English. “TONGUE is especially committed to championing voices from indigenous, stateless, endangered, and underrepresented languages.
Each month (or so) we release one fantastic story, in its original language and in English translation, in print and online.” They pay $50 to $200 for translated short stories, self-contained novel excerpts, creative nonfiction of 1,000 to 4,000 words. Details here.)

Waxen
They accept short fiction, poetry, and illustrations. “We are interested in the weird, the occult, the surreal, and the horrific. We love experimentation.” They are open throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues. Their upcoming deadline is mid-March for the Spring issue.
Deadline: 15 March 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $50
Details here.

Black Cat Weekly
Black Cat Weekly publishes science fiction and fantasy as well as mystery stories. Please note, they have one portal for submitting mystery (must have a crime), and another for submitting science fiction and fantasy. They also have separate guidelines for the kind of stories they want in each genre, please read them carefully.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Prefer 1,500-15,000 words, can accept up to 45,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word up to $50
Details here (mystery guidelines), here (sf & f guidelines), and here (submission portals)

Cover
Their tagline is, ‘Fiction and poetry for the present’. For fiction, the editor says, “I want to publish work that gives a shit, that is not afraid to move, that is paying attention, but to something else. I’m excited about experimental, transgressive horror, speculative fiction that is not twee, and literary stories that run for the cliff’s edge.”
For poetry, “I want to read poems that make space for incompatibility, disunion, chaos. Also poems about the rocks and clouds near your home.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Unspecified
Pay: $25
Details here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine.

The Carrier Bag: Now Seeking Submissions

Ella Peary — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:45:34 +0000

The Carrier Bag is a new online literary journal of fiction and poetry that spotlights small, everyday experiences, and celebrates the mundane: “You can often transform something ignored into something beautiful just by looking at it. We look for the writing that does this.” You can get a sense of what they publish by reading the journal online.

So far, the Carrier Bag has published one issue, themed “A New Leaf,” featuring eight poems and five stories. The digital journal is thoughtfully designed and free to read.

Now through February 13, The Carrier Bag is accepting submissions for their second issue, themed “A Look Into the Future”. For this issue, they are especially interested in speculative and science fiction (though in general they are open to all genres), and they are looking for writing that focuses on small future moments, rather than the future as a whole.

Authors of fiction may submit up to 3,000 words, and poets may submit up to three pages. Submitting authors can expect a response by March 14. The Carrier Bag pays authors published in the journal $10.

The Carrier Bag accepts submissions via email, not online or by post. They do not accept simultaneous submissions, and they only accept one submission per author per category. They do not accept previously published work.

The Carrier Bag only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting. They do not accept writing generated or assisted by AI.

If you would like to learn more or submit to The Carrier Bag, please visit their website here.

Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.

Zine Machine: Now Seeking Submissions

Ella Peary — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 19:03:56 +0000

Zine Machine is an online lit mag and real-life zine vending machine.

The quarterly lit mag features selections from five zines and is available to read for free online. The full-length zines are also available for purchase; they are created by paid artists and folded by hand.

The zine vending machine is a pop-up installation that can be found at museums, bookstores, art galleries, festivals, and more, mostly in the Southern United States. You can find out where it will be here.

Zine Machine is open for submissions four times a year: from January 1-31 for the Spring edition, April 1-30 for the Summer edition, July 1-31 for the Fall edition, and October 1-31 for the Winter edition.

Authors may submit up to two mini zines. The whole zine must fit on one side of an 8.5” x 11” paper, which will be folded into a zine no larger than 4.25” x 2.75”. They offer a mini zine design guide to help with this. Zines may include writing and/or artwork of any kind.

All zines accepted for publication will be published online, and will be available in the zine vending machine. Authors published by Zine Machine will receive $20.

Zine Machine accept submissions online using Submittable, not via email or by post. They only accept original writing and artwork. Zines that include collage or found elements must meet fair use guidelines.

Zine Machine only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Zine Machine, please visit their website here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in January 2026

S. Kalekar — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:26:43 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. They’re open now, or will soon open for submissions.

Three-Lobed Burning Eye
They publish speculative fiction: including horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction. They want works “across the speculative genres, including all the shadows between and fluid mixtures thereof. We like narrative voices that are full of feeling, from literary to pulpy, with styles unique and flowing, but not too experimental. All labels aside, we want tales that value imagination in character, narrative, and plot.”
Deadline: 16^th January 2026
Length: 500-7,499 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Strange Horizons
Strange Horizons will open a short submission window for general speculative fiction (from all writers) in January. Their announcement says, “Strange Horizons will open to general fiction submissions on January 19th, 2026, at 3 p.m. UTC! This window will remain open for 48 hours, closing at 3 p.m. UTC on January 21st, 2026. There will be no submissions cap as there has been in previous years. All authors can submit to this window.” Other genres (like non-fiction, poetry) are open on an ongoing basis.
Reading period for general speculative fiction submissions: 19^th to 21^st January 2026 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 10,000 words (up to 5,000 preferred)
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here, here, and here.

(– And, Adventitious, a new magazine, will open from 1^st to 5^th February 2026; ““Surprise” doesn’t only mean twists. We want stories that offer a sense of wonder through their language, characters, plots, or all of the above. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and all speculative/surreal will always be welcomed, but we’re also happy with stories that shock and delight right here on this plane of existence.” They pay $0.08/word for stories of micro to novelette length, up to 17,000 words; details here.)

Slush
They are reading fiction submissions for their first issue; short stories, micro and flash fiction as well as comics, prose poetry and other forms. Their About page says, “Slush is a new online literary journal dedicated to publishing fiction.
The journal seeks short stories, micro|flash fiction, prose poems and other hybrids that play with form to split and skew expectations.
We are searching for good stories, well told ~ stories that try something new and may not (necessarily) find a home elsewhere.”
Deadline: 1 February 2026 (11:59PM AEDT)
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: AUD100
Details here.

(– And, Shenandoah will open for fiction submissions on 15^th January, and will close when a submission cap is reached. They read works up to 8,000 words, and they pay. Submissions are via Submittable. Details here.

— Short Story, Long, a Substack-based magazine, is open for fiction submissions, too. They pay $150 for stories of 2,000 to 8,000 words, though they prefer works of 3,000 to 5,500 words. The deadline is 31 January 2026; details here.)

The Phantom Pulse
This is a new speculative fiction magazine “of the grey corners of humanity, dread that permeates the skin, and the bizarre. Our pages are haunted by twisted longing, inevitable darkness, and quiet obsession.
We publish traditional horror, sci-fi horror, dark fantasy, and the weird. We have diverse reading tastes and are open to experimental forms and stories.” They also accept reprints; please note, they do not accept reprint submissions for stories that were published within the last 12 months.
Deadline: 14 February 2026
Length: Up to 3,000 words for originals, up to 5,000 words for reprints
Pay: $0.03/word for originals, $0.01/word for reprints
Details here.

(– Nightmare, which publishes horror and dark fantasy, will soon open for submissions as well, for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry – they have a special submission period for BIPOC writers only, from 19^th to 25^th January, and will open for submissions from all writers from 25^th to 31^st January. They pay $0.08/word for fiction, and $40 for The Horror Lab nonfiction and poetry; details here and here.

–And Horrorsmith Publishing is open now short horror and thriller stories for publishing in their monthly subscriptions and newsletters; they pay $25 for stories of 3,000 to 10,000 words; details here – scroll down. They are open for this call on an ongoing basis.)

Southword
This is a print literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre. Their reading period for poetry opened on 1^st January, and they will close end-January or when their submission cap is met, whichever is earlier.
Deadline: Until filled
Length: Up to 4 poems
Pay: €50 per poem
Details here and here.

(— And, Southword will open for fiction submissions on 1^st February, and stay open until filled – see the announcement here.

— Vast Chasm is also open now; this quarterly online journal publishes “bold work that explores the expansive human experience, including flash and short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and other nonconforming work.” They read year round, on a rolling basis. Send 1 poem, up to 1,200 words for flash prose, or up to 5,000 words for short stories / creative nonfiction / nonconforming work; they pay $50; details here and here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Baubles from Bones: Now Seeking Submissions

Ella Peary — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:25:29 +0000

Baubles from Bones is a fantasy and sci-fi magazine based in Pittsburgh. They publish stories that give readers a sense of “the small lives we lead and the dreams we glean from them.” They also aim to help authors by connecting them with eager audiences.

Baubles from Bones launched its first issue in the summer of 2024, and since then they’ve published seven quarterly issues. Each issue is available to read for free online, or to purchase in print or as a digital edition. The issues are thoughtfully designed, and most feature writing from twelve contributors.

Right now, Baubles from Bones is accepting submissions through January 29. Authors of fiction may submit sci-fi and fantasy, 1,000 to 8,000 words. They accept stories on most themes, but they are especially interested in, “compelling adventures, folk-retellings, stories of hope in the dark, emotional healing, love of all sorts, environmentalism, and the humanity (or lack of it) among the fantastical and speculative.” Authors may submit one story at a time.

Poets may submit poems of 40 lines or fewer. They accept all forms and styles of poetry, but it must explore, “the fantastical, supernatural, or speculative.” They also accept short prose, 600 words or fewer. Authors may submit up to three poems and/or short prose pieces at once.

Baubles from Bones pays authors published in the journal. Authors of fiction receive $.01/word. Authors of poetry and short prose receive $10/piece. With this payment, they purchase first serial rights (electronic, print, and audio) for one year, after which authors may publish their pieces elsewhere.

Submitting authors can expect a response by March 18.

Baubles from Bones accepts submissions using an online form, not via email or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that authors withdraw writing published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work, and they do not accept writing generated or assisted by AI.

Baubles from Bones only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Baubles from Bones, please visit their website here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in December 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 18:08:07 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all are open through the month.

The Ex-Puritan
This Canadian literary magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, experimental/hybrid work, interviews, reviews, poetry, and poetry in translation. The deadline is 25 December, or until filled, for the next issue; they accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month, and read year-round.
Deadline: 25 December 2025, or until filled
Length: Varies
Pay: CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD50 per poem, capped at CAD100; CAD50+ per experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece.
Details here and here.

(– Submissions are also open for Extra Teeth. They accept fiction, creative nonfiction, and translations; while they champion Scottish writers, they also accept international submissions. They want work for their print magazine, for which they pay £140,and also select pieces for their Substack, Bite, for which they pay £100. Send works of 800 to 4,000 words. They also offer one or two free mentorships per issue; application is via a form on their guidelines page. The deadline is 14 December 2025, midnight BST.

— Also, The Paris Review will open for poetry submissions on 1^st January 2026; their Submittable will stay open till capacity is reached, and they’ll accept postal submissions through January.)

Chestnut Review
They accept fee-free submissions of flash prose (Black and Indigenous authors can also submit longer prose fee-free – see guidelines), poetry, and art. “We are drawn to beautiful language, resonant images, and we crave narrative.” They read throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues.
Deadline: 31 December 2025 (for the Spring issue)
Length: Up to 1,000 words for flash prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $120
Details here and here.

SmokeLong Quarterly
They pay for accepted flash narratives – fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid works. They are not charging a submission fee through December. They also accept work in other formats – reviews, art, global flash series. They have a mentorship program (see guidelines), as well.
Deadline (for fee-free submissions): 31 December 2025
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $100 per narrative, or $150 per story with audio (see guidelines)
Details here.

The Deadlands
They are open for fiction (through December) and speculative poetry (for the first three weeks of December). “The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve.
A ghost in a shadowed wood. An afterlife discovered through a rusted door. An abandoned house in the middle of a haunted field. A skeletal figure moving with intent toward something unseen. … The Deadlands would love to see stories from a worldwide perspective, different cultures, different approaches to death. … We are particularly interested in works by writers from historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds.” And, “We are not simply a “horror market.” Sure, we want your horror, but we also want your litfic, your slipstream, your fantasy, your sf, your chicklit, your hist-fic, your everything fic. Death touches everything and so should our fiction.” Also see the kind of stories they do not want, including “Stories about related subjects—zombies, demons, vampires, apocalypses, and the various undead—are not for us.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 31 December 2025 for fiction (earlier for poetry – see guidelines)
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.10/word for fiction, $50/poem
Details here.

(– Submissions are also open now for Ashton House Magazine. This is a new quarterly magazine, their first issue will be published in December 2025. They want literary genre fiction and poetry. “From tales of horror and suspense to crime mysteries, sports yarns, otherworldly adventures and nearly everything in between, we have something for everyone inside of our pages! We strive to continue America’s “pulp fiction” tradition by featuring both new and established authors whose work reaches beyond the grip of time.”
Send up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 2 poems. They pay $0.06/word for fiction, $40/poem.

— And, Cosmic Horror Monthly will open from 1^st to 7^th January 2026. They publish weird and cosmic fiction. Their submission portal will open during the reading period. They pay $0.03/word for stories up to 5,000 words.

— 34 Orchard will open briefly in January, as well; “we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad.” They pay $50 for stories of 1,000-6,000 words; their submission period is 1^st to 10^th January 2026. Work sent outside the reading period will be deleted unread.)

Interzone
Interzone is a Europe-based magazine that accepts fantastika of up to 17,500 words. They also accept translations (see guidelines).
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 17,500 words
Pay: EUR1.5¢/word
Details here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Fusion Fragment: Now Accepting Submissions

Emily Harstone — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 14:39:06 +0000

Fusion Fragment (FF) focuses on publishing science fiction or SF-tinged literary fiction stories and novelettes ranging anywhere from 2,000 to 15,000 words. In terms of preferences they say, “Although any science fiction subgenre is fair game, our tastes lean towards slipstream, cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, and anything with a little taste of the bizarre. FF prefers character-driven stories, and often skews towards quiet, reflective pieces. If the primary tone of your story is one of high adventure or humour, it’s probably not the right fit for FF. That said, quality always outstrips genre preference in terms of importance, so feel free to send us anything that even vaguely resembles science fiction.” To get a better feel for what they publish, you can read previous issues here.

FF was founded in 2007, had an extended hiatus between 2017 and 2020, and has been active since then. They were founded by Cavan Terrill, and you can see the full masthead here.

They are still open to submissions in December, but will be doing reduced reading during that time and are unlikely to respond to submissions during December. They will try to respond to most submissions made in November within 30 days.

They are not interested in work that is in any way written by AI. They also do not accept reprints. They are particularly interested in work by underrepresented writers.

Fusion Fragment is a paying market and they pay 4 cents (CAD) per word, up to a maximum of $400 (CAD) per story. They prefer to pay through PayPal but do their best work with authors who live in regions where PayPal does not work.

They, like many SF markets, use the Moksha submission system. They allow simultaneous submissions, but ask that you withdraw your submission if your work is accepted elsewhere.

They have a really detailed what to expect list at the end of their submission guidelines. You can read that and their submission guidelines here. Please read their submission guidelines carefully before submitting.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2025 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in November 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:59:18 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all of them are open through the month.

The Stinging Fly
This Ireland-based magazine opens for fiction (including novel excerpts and graphic fiction), nonfiction, and poetry. They also accept translations. They also have a submission FAQ page. Submission is via Submittable for general prose and poetry and featured poet sections.
Deadline: 18 November 2025 (5pm Irish time)
Length: One prose piece; up to three poems
Pay: Fiction and nonfiction: €50 per magazine page, with a minimum/maximum payment of €350/€1250; Flash fiction/shorter essays (1 – 2 pages): €150; Poetry: €50 per magazine page, but with a minimum payment of €75 per poem; Featured poet: €600; cover artwork image: €450
Details here.

Baltimore Review
They publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Some editor preferences are in the bios on their Staff page, and some guidelines are on their Submittable page. Please note, fiction submissions may be capped, so may close earlier than the deadline. There are other opportunities listed too on Submittable, please be sure to submit in the correct one.
Deadline: 30 November 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $50 (via a gift certificate or PayPal, if preferred)
Details here and here.

(– And, The Rumpus is open, too; they want fiction, essays, criticism, interviews, poetry book reviews, poetry, and comics; They pay $100 for prose submissions and comics, $50 for poetry; details here.

Claudine
They accept micro fiction, micro creative nonfiction, and they also have a section for new writers (who have published three or fewer literary pieces); they’re reading now for their February issue. They want “Pieces that move; pieces that surprise. Stunning prose. Thoughtful punctuation over strict grammar. Innovative form over arbitrary paragraphing. Intentional language over wordsmithing. Specificity and context over vague emotion. Interrogation and transcendence over bald trauma. We crave discovery and wonder and awe. Bittersweet is our favorite emotion. We love myths, fairy tales, fabulism, slipstream, and haunting vibes, but horror is not the best fit, neither is fantasy nor sci fi that leans more genre (plot-forward) than literary. We love personal essays that bend and twist and braid, but op-eds, rants, and heavy-handed issue pieces aren’t the best fit. More than any genre, we love prose that makes us ache and images that linger. (Sea creatures always a plus.)” If you have a prose chapbook, they also accept requests for prose chapbook reviews. They’re open till end-November, and will take a hiatus for December.
Deadline: 30 November 2025 (see this post on Bluesky)
Length: Up to 400 words for fiction and creative nonfiction
Pay: $25
Details here.

Haven Speculative
They publish speculative fiction and poetry. November 1^st to 30^th is their general Fall submission window (for all writers). They have Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall submission periods; “Our submission cycle is split into four reading periods, each containing three parts: a month explicitly reserved for submissions by authors of color, members of LGBTQIA+ communities, and writers belonging to other underrepresented groups; a month open to general submissions, during which anyone may submit; and a month in which we’re closed to submissions so that we may do the difficult (and exciting!) work of choosing content for future issues.” They also publish climate crisis focused Dry and Wet issues each year; scroll down on the guidelines page for these themes.
Deadline: 30^th November 2025 (for general submissions)
Length: Up to 6,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $20/poem
Details here and here.

Matter Press: The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
They publish fiction and creative non-fiction, as well as fiction and creative non-fiction prose poetry, as long as it is compressed in some way.
Deadline: 15 December 2025
Length: Up to 600 words
Pay: $50
Details here and here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in October 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:42:24 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all of them are open through the month.

Initially the new publication Faun by Moonlight was on this list, but they started demanding a 5.00 fee to offset the influx of submissions. While it’s understandable to close to submissions early or request to be de-listed from our site, adding an additional fee and emailing people about it is not acceptable or appropriate behaviour.

Ghoulish Tales
They want fiction. “What we are after: short stories that fit our personal definition of the word GHOULISH, which is “fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky.”
Note that we said fun, not funny. Comedic stories are definitely allowed, but it’s not all we’re looking to receive. We want stories that remind us why we love the horror genre. We want to have a perverted little smile across our face while reading. Make us slobber like idiots. Turn us into the Sickos.jpeg meme.” Also see guidelines for the kind of stories they do not want.
Deadline: 17 October 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

Banshee
This is the literary magazine of Banshee Press. They accept fiction (including flash), nonfiction, and poetry. “Banshee welcomes submissions from both Irish and international writers of any background, including first-time writers. We welcome work from members of groups or communities typically under-represented within literature, whether or not the work addresses this.”
Deadline: 31 October 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose, up to 4 poems
Pay: €300 for a story/essay; €100 for flash fiction; €75 per poem (see ‘We believe in paying writers’ on their guidelines page)
Details here.

(– And, Mud Season Review, which publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, opened on 1^st October and will stay open for fee-free submissions until the deadline, or until the cap is reached, whichever is earlier. They pay $50 for work that appears In their issues and for artists whose images are paired with writing, and for poets whose work appears in The Take: Mud Season Review, they pay $15.
Send up to 6,000 words for prose, 3-5 poems; details here and here.

— Also, Shenandoah is open/will open for selections by their guest editors; they are open for comics till end-October; they will open for poetry on 15^th October and for creative nonfiction on 15^th November; both calls will close when a cap is reached; submit via Submittable. They pay.)

Metastellar
They are now open for science fiction, fantasy, and horror flash fiction, for which they pay. “Meanwhile, we are also accepting reviews, essays, reprints, and book excerpts for non-paid publication on this site.”
Deadline: 31 October 2025
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Planet Scumm
They are accepting flash and short fiction submissions for Issue 19. They want “Hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, sci-fi that melts in your mouth-brain not your hand-brain speculative fiction, weird fiction, slipstream” They do mention their response time has slowed.
Pay: $0.08/word for stories up to 5,000 words,
Deadline: 13 October 2025
Details here.

Strange Pilgrims
This is a new Substack-based magazine, and they are open now for fiction and nonfiction. “We’re not married to any genre, structure, or subject. We love surreal, speculative, and fabulist stories; unhinged, lyric, and fragmented essays; voice-driven experimental narratives and slow-burn realism; cultural and literary criticism; hyper-intellectual riffs and children’s stories — so long as they move. If your work is honest, well-crafted, and offers something emotionally and intellectually vivid, we want to read it.” You can read more about them, as well as their likes and influences, here. They will publish one piece each week, alternating between flash and long-form. Submission is via their custom portal.
Deadline: 30 November 2025
Length: Up to 1,000 words for flash, up to 5,000 words for short prose
Pay: $50 for flash prose, $200 for longer works
Details here and here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in August 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 17:08:08 +0000

These magazines publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all of them are open through the month.

Uncanny Magazine
This award-winning genre magazine is open now for speculative poetry submissions (until 26^th August), and will open later in the month for speculative fiction submissions (25^th August to 8^th September 2025).
Reading period: See above
Length: Up to 5 poems, 750-10,000 words for fiction
Pay: $40/poem, $0.10/word for fiction
Details here.

(And Haven Speculative, which publishes speculative fiction and poetry, is open for through August for Summer submission period for all writers. They also publish climate crisis focused Dry and Wet issues each year; scroll down on the guidelines page for these themes. Send up to 6,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems. Pay is $0.08/word for fiction, $20/poem. The deadline is 31 August 2025; details here and here.

Also Orion’s Belt, a speculative flash fiction and poetry magazine, is open until 1^st September 2025. Their website says, “We specialize in the strange and poignant and awe-inspiring, stories that have a cosmic scale and intimate personal stakes.” They have detailed guidelines, including preferences and hard sells. They publish one story and one poem per month. Pay is $0.08/word for works up to 1,200 words; details here.)

Toronto Journal
This journal publishes in print and sound. You can read about them here. They accept short stories from anywhere in the world, and non-fiction pieces about local history (Toronto, the GTA, or surrounding areas – see guidelines). They are currently accepting submissions for their Winter 2026 issue.
Deadline: 1 September 2025
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

(And The Cincinnati Review which publishes fiction, fiction translations, literary nonfiction, poetry, poetry translations, and art, opens for print magazine submissions on 1^st September, and will close when filled; they also accept submissions for their online flash feature called miCRo; send fiction up to 40 pages, nonfiction up to 20 pages, and up to 5 poems for print; they pay $25/page for prose in the journal, $30/page for poetry, $25 for miCRo contributions; details here and here.)

Augur and Tales & Feathers Magazines
Augur Magazine, as well as its sibling magazine Tales & Feathers, are reading submissions for Issue 9. Augur publishes sci-fi, fantasy, dreamy realism, and more, as well as speculative poetry; and Tales & Feathers publishes cozy and slice of life fantasy fiction. Both magazines are open for general submissions (i.e. from all writers) till 31^st August, and have extended submission windows for marginalized creators; Augur will remain open to submissions from trans, disabled, and/or BIPOC creators and creators residing in Canada/Turtle Island until September 15th, and Tales & Feathers will remain open to submissions from all trans, disabled, and/or BIPOC creators until September 15th, 2025. Also, Augur has separate submission categories for Canadian and international writers, please be sure to submit in the correct one.
Deadline: See above
Length: Augur – up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems; Tales & Feathers – up to 2,500 words for fiction
Pay: $0.14 cents (CAD) per word for short fiction (800+ words), and a flat fee of $112.00 per flash fiction piece (800 words and under) for both magazines; CAD100 for poetry
Details here (guidelines for both magazines), here (submissions for Augur), and here (submissions for Tales & Feathers)

Rat Bag Literary
This is a new literary magazine. They will open for submissions on 15^th August and will stay open for fee-free submissions till 15^th September or till they reach a submission cap, whichever is earlier. “Fiction that crosses genres and blurs the lines between literary and genre. … Bold ideas, tight prose, snappy dialogue, speculative elements.” And, “Yes to aliens, alternate worlds, apocalyptic game shows, bigfoot, blue collar, cats, cemeteries, coming-of-age, cosmic, cryptids, cults, cursed objects, dark, dating fails, dystopian, elder millennials, embarrassing moments, female narrators, food service, gen x, ghosts, girl power, gothic, grim reapers, grumpy unicorns, fairytale revamps, found family, haunted mansions” and more. They accept drabbles, micros, flash, and short fiction, as well as nonfiction and poetry.
Opens on: 15^th August 2025
Length: Up to 3,500 for fiction, 500-1,000 words for nonfiction, up to 500 words for poetry
Pay: Up to $20 for fiction, up to $10 for nonfiction, $5 for poetry
Details here.

(And, Planet Scumm opened for fiction on 13^th August. They publish fiction, including flash fiction. They want sci-fi of all kinds, and speculative fiction, weird fiction, and slipstream. They pay $0.08/word for stories up to 5,000 words. Details here.)

Tales of Horror Magazine
They focus on stories and poems that are horrific and weird. They publish stories “from gothic horror to detective tales and adventures and sword and sorcery”.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Unspecified for fiction; up to 1 poem
Pay: $0.06/word for fiction; $40 for poetry
Details here (scroll down)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in July 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:49:30 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all of them are open through the month.

Slugger: Stories that hit you in the mouth
This is a new horror magazine. “In general, we are open to all subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role). Body horror tickles our fancy the most if we had to pick a subgenre, but SLUGGER will be open to all horror stories. We love subversive and transgressive fiction. Anything that fits the punk ethos is likely to get our attention. Stories can be speculative or not. Our guidelines may change over time, but we are open to the full spectrum of genre to literary fiction, conventional storytelling to experimental, and plot driven to vibes only.” Issue 0 will be published in late 2025. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Length: 1,000-4,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here and here.

Diabolical Plots
They want fiction – “science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror).” Please read their detailed guidelines. What they like includes, but is not limited to: Weird fiction, Sense of wonder, Strong character and plot arcs, and Strong worldbuilding, hinting at more to see around the edges of the story.
Deadline: 21^st July 2025
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.

Escape Artists: PodCastle
This is a fantasy podcast and online magazine. They accept all the sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy. “Above all, we’re looking for stories that are fun to listen to. Humor is encouraged. … We’d particularly like to see more stories set outside America, and stories that feature characters who represent a range of backgrounds and ethnicities.” They also accept translations, as well as reprints.Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words (longer for reprints – see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word for original short fiction
Details here and here.

(And, two other magazines from the Escape Artists suite of magazines are also open for submissions: Cast of Wonders, which publishes young adult fiction, is open for flash fiction submissions; send stories of 100 to 1,500 words; they pay $0.08/word for originals, and the deadline is 14 July 2025; details here, here, and here;
and PseudoPod, their horror magazine, is open for reprints of stories published / to be published in 2025, deadline 31 July 2025; do not send original fiction during this submission window; details here, here, and here.)

Big Score Lit
This is a new biannual print magazine. They want narrative prose (fiction/nonfiction/memoir/what-be-it), poetry, and criticism (also accept criticism pitches). They will close for submissions on 10^th August, or when their submission cap is reached, whichever is earlier.
Deadline: 10 August 2025, or until filled
Length: Prefer 1,500-3,500 words for narrative prose; up to 5 poems; 4,000-12,000 words for critical prose (see guidelines)
Pay: $400 for prose, $100 / poem, $400-1,200 for commissioned critical prose (see guidelines)
Details here.

Iterant
They publish poetry. Send up to eight poems. Submission is via a form on their website.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 8 poems
Pay: $50 / poem
Details here.

(And, The Paris Review is also open for poetry submissions. While their Submittable cap has been reached, they are still reading mailed poems, postmarked through July. All their reading periods are on their website. Details here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine.

Five Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in June 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:36:22 +0000

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all of them are open through the month.

Extra Teeth
This Scottish magazine is open for fiction and creative nonfiction. They champion Scottish writers, but also accept international submissions. They want work for their print magazine, for which they pay £140, and also select pieces for their Substack, for which they pay £100. They also offer one or two free mentorships per issue – you have to apply for these via a form on their guidelines page.
Deadline: 14 June 2025 (midnight BST)
Length: 800-4,000 words
Pay: £100-140
Details here.

Matter Press: The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
They publish fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as fiction and creative nonfiction prose poetry, as long as it is compressed in some way. They have two reading periods; March 15 to June 15, and September 15 to December 15.
Deadline: 15 June 2025
Length: Up to 600 words
Pay: $50
Details here and here.

The Ex-Puritan
This Canadian literary magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, experimental/hybrid work, interviews, reviews, poetry, and poetry in translation. The deadline is 25 June, or until filled, for the next issue; they accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month, and read year-round.
Deadline: 25 June 2025, or until filled
Length: Varies
Pay: CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD50 per poem, capped at CAD100; CAD50+ per experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece.
Details here and here.
(And, The Paris Review is also open for fiction and creative nonfiction submissions through June, as well as translations in these genres. They accept work through Submittable until they reach a cap, and by post thereafter – submissions postmarked after 30^th June 2025 will not be considered, details here.)

The Deadlands
This is a speculative fiction magazine. “The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve.” They have detailed general guidelines, please read them carefully. And this will be a guest edited issue, you can read more about that here. They publish fiction, fiction reprints, poetry, art, and nonfiction, but are accepting fiction only, during June; do not send work in any other genre.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.10/word for fiction
Details here.
(– And, Dirty Magick Magazine is also open for submissions. They publish fiction – urban fantasy, sword and sorcery, gothic and supernatural horror; please read their guidelines to see how they define these genres. They pay $50 for stories of 2,000-12,500 words, and the deadline is 30 June 2025; details here.
— Also, Cosmic Horror Monthly will open briefly, from 1^st to 7^th July, for weird and cosmic fiction; they pay $0.03/word for stories up to 5,000 words; their submission portal will open during the reading period; details here.)

Chestnut Review
They accept fee-free submissions of certain categories for all writers, like flash prose, up to 3 poems, and art. Also, Black and Indigenous authors can also submit longer prose (1,000-5,000 words) fee-free. They read throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues.
Deadline: 30 June 2025 for the Autumn issue
Pay: $120
Details here and here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in January 2025

S. Kalekar — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 18:04:02 +0000

These magazines accept fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’re a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all are open for submissions through the month.

Three-Lobed Burning Eye
This magazine publishes horror, fantasy, and science fiction. “We’re looking for short stories from across the big classifications and those shadowy places between: magical realism, fantastique, slipstream, interstitial, Weird fiction.” They like voices that are “full of feeling, from literary to pulpy, with styles unique and flowing, but not too experimental.” They do not want extreme horror. They also welcome translations. They now pay SFWA pro rates.
Deadline: 16 January 2025
Length: 500–1,499 words for flash fiction, 1,500–7,499 words for short stories
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
(A few other genre magazines are also closing soon:
— Shoreline of Infinity has recently open for science fiction submissions. They pay $20 per 1,000 words; send up to 6,000 words. The deadline is 12^th January. Details here.
– 34 Orchard which publishes “dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad.” Send 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, or up to 3 poems. They pay $50, and the deadline is 15^th January. Details here.
— GigaNotoSaurus accepts science fiction or fantasy, or any combination thereof, from 5,000 to 25,000 words. They pay $200, and the deadline is 15^th January 2025. Details here and here.)

Splinter Journal
This Australian journal accepts works from around the world, and they are reading for their second issue. They have detailed guidelines, including, “We are always looking for writing that picks apart all the ways reality has been shattered, illuminates the shining threads of it that remain unbroken, and hints at the ways we’ll start putting it all back together. Our long-term goal is to mill around in the endless circles of these questions:
How did we get here, into the middle of this chaos?
Where are we? What does this place and time mean?
And where do we go from here?” They accept pitches (not completed submissions) for profiles (pays AUD900), essays pays AUD900), writing about writing (pays AUD500), and criticism (pays AUD700), and completed submissions of poetry (pays AUD250/poem or AUD450/collection of up to four poems, fiction (pays AUD900), and memoir (pays AUD600).
Deadline: 25 January 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 4 poems; no limits for fiction (see guidelines)
Pay: See above
Details here and here.

The Ampersand Review
They accept fiction, nonfiction essays/memoirs/excerpts, and poetry. They are reading submissions for Issue 8. And, they accept review pitches (not submissions) for books written by Canadian authors and published by Canadian publishers within the last 12 months, or that are forthcoming; review pitches are accepted on a rolling basis. The magazine is affiliated with Sheridan College.
Deadline: 31 January 2025
Length: Up to 3,000 words for fiction, up to 4,000 words for non-fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $100 for prose, $50-100 for poetry
Details here and here.

Southword
This is a print literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre. Their reading period for poetry opened on 1^st January, and they will close end-January or when their submission cap is met, whichever is earlier.
Deadline: Until filled
Length: Up to 4 poems
Pay: €50 per poem
Details here.

(And, Southword will open for fiction submissions on 1^st February, and stay open until filled – see the announcement here.
— The Paris Review is also open through January for poetry – via Submittable until their cap is met, and for post thereafter; they’ll open on 1^st February for fiction, see here and here.)

Shenandoah will open for fiction submissions on 15^th January, and will stay open until filled. They’re currently open for comics submissions. They pay. Details here and here.)

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

Brink Literary Journal: Now Seeking Submissions

Ella Peary — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 18:47:09 +0000

Brink is a print journal of hybrid and cross-genre writing. They publish both emerging and established writers, and they especially like to showcase authors who don’t fit within the boundaries of traditional disciplines. In doing this, they hope to create a community that connects people and ideas that were otherwise divided: “By providing space primed to instigate new ideas, Brink fosters dialogue and collaborative community across disciplines and cultural divides.” They aim to showcase writing from a diverse range of voices, and they especially encourage trans writers to submit.

Since launching in 2021, Brink has been published twice a year in print. Each of their five previous editions contain writing from around fifteen contributors, and each edition is themed. Past themes include “Desire,” “Certainty,” and “Trouble.”

There are also selections from each issue available for free online. It’s a good idea to read these selections before submitting to get an idea of what they like.

Brink accepts submissions twice a year, in January and July. Right now they’re open through January 31, and they’re seeking submissions on the theme of “Boundaries.” They’re also interested in writing that explores the idea of “being on the brink.”

Authors of hybrid writing may submit work of any length. It’s worth noting that hybrid writing is not the same as experimental writing: “Instead, it is a style that prioritizes the combination of multiple literary and artistic elements to produce a readable, engaging piece of work.” They especially like hybrid work that combines both written and visual elements.

Although Brink is mainly focused on publishing hybrid writing, they also accept poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Authors of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—and cross-genre writing that blurs these boundaries—may submit work of any length. Brink does also accept translations.

Brink pays authors published in their journal. Poets receive $25 per poem. Authors of prose and hybrid writing receive $50 for work under 1,500 words, and $100 for work over 1,500 words.

Brink accepts submissions online using Submittable, not via email or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published writing.

Brink only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Brink, please visit their website here.

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in December 2023

S. Kalekar — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:08:15 +0000

These magazines publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines.

On Spec
This is a Canadian magazine of speculative fiction and poetry. They are open for submissions now.
Deadline: 15 December 2023
Length: Fiction up to 6,000 words
Pay: CAD100 for short-shorts (under 2,000 words) and poetry, CAD0.05/word for fiction up to 6,000 words
Details here.

(And, Strange Horizons is scheduled to reopen on 18^th December for speculative fiction submissions — see the announcement here – they usually remain open until they hit a submission cap. Various other genres are open for submissions. They accept up to 10,000 words for fiction (up to 5,000 words preferred); pay is $0.10/word for fiction, varies for others; details here and here.)

The Ex-Puritan
This Canadian magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction, experimental/hybrid work, interviews, reviews, and poetry. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month.
Deadline: 25 December 2023, or until filled, for the next issue; reads year-round
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction, up to 4 poems; various for nonfiction (see guidelines)
Pay: CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD35 per poem (or page, capped at CAD120); CAD50+ per experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece
Details here and here.

(– And Ninth Letter is open for fee-free submissions of poetry and creative nonfiction for their print magazine via Submittable through December; they have reached the cap for online submissions of fiction, though there is no charge for mailed submissions; they pay $100 for prose and $25 for poetry; details here.
— Also, Bennington Review opened during mid-November; they accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, cross-genre work, and translations. Pay is $120-250 for prose, and $25 per poem. The deadline is 8^th March 2024. Details here and here.)

The Ampersand Review
This magazine is affiliated with Sheridan College, and they may prioritize work by Canadian writers (see guidelines). They accept fiction (including flash fiction), nonfiction, poetry, and pitches for reviews. See the note on their website: “Our reading period for Issue #6 runs from December 1st 2023-January 31st, 2024.”
Deadline: 31 January 2024
Length: Up to 4,000 words for short fiction and creative nonfiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $100 for prose, $50 per poem/page up to $100
Details here.

Menagerie
They accept fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. “We believe in sentences so sharp they draw blood, the strange and inexplicable, the wild and weird and uncanny, words in thickets, clusters, and flocks, pieces that move us beyond caring what others think about said pieces.” You can read about them and the kind of work they like here.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose, 3-5 poems
Pay: $50
Details here and here.

Palette Poetry
This is a poetry magazine. “Submissions for our Featured Poetry category are open year-round to poets at any stage of their careers. Featured poems are published online only and will spotlight a number of poems from new authors each month. We highly encourage emerging authors to submit.” They have other categories listed too on their Submittable page, including quick response for marginalized authors.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 5 poems (see guidelines)
Pay: $50/poem, up to $150
Details here and here.

Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.