These magazines and anthologies pay $50 to $700 for fiction; a few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. There is a separate section on themed calls. – S. Kalekar
Lightspeed
Lightspeed is an award-winning speculative fiction magazine, and they are open for flash fiction only. Their website says, “Lightspeed is a digital science fiction and fantasy magazine. In its pages, you will find science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF—and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.” And, “No subject should be considered off-limits, and we encourage writers to take chances with their fiction and push the envelope.”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: Up to 1,500 words for flash fiction
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
Escape Artists: PodCastle
This is a fantasy podcast and online magazine. “We’re open to all the sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy, and everything in between. Fantastical or non-real content should be meaningful to the story. … Ideally, fiction should have strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, clear action, and still be beautiful. 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; writers can send one original story and one reprint at a time.Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: Up to 6,000 words (accepts longer for reprints – see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word for original short fiction
Details here and here
Riddle Fence
This is a Newfoundland and Labrador-based quarterly journal of arts and culture. They publish fiction, non-fiction, poetry, visual art, and creative non-fiction “from our home province, across Canada, and around the world.”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: Up to 3,000 words for fiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: CAD50/page
Details here and here.
Southword
This well-regarded print magazine, from the Munster Literature Centre, publishes work from writers around the world. They are reading now for fiction, for their Winter 2024 issue. They also accept works in translation. The deadline for poetry has passed.
Deadline: 31 March 2024 for fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: €300 per short story
Details here and here.
Hearth Stories
This is a speculative fiction magazine. They want “speculative fiction slice-of-life stories with a focus on connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world.
We accept works from 1,000 words up to 10,000. However, the ideal length may be something in the 1,500-3,500 word range. We do not currently accept poetry, non-fiction, or non-speculative work (there needs to be a fantasy or science fiction element present in the work).”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: See above
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction
Details here.
MetaStellar
They are accepting flash speculative fiction submissions during March (see here). They want science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They pay for flash fiction; they also welcome unpaid submissions and pitches all year round — in the form of reviews, essays, excerpts, and reprints.
Deadline: 31 March 2024 for flash fiction
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $0.08/word for flash fiction
Details here, here, and 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 reading now for their Summer issue.
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Length: Fiction up to 7,500 words
Pay: $50
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Details here.
Epoch
This magazine is affiliated with Cornell University. They accept prose, poetry, and comics. Postal submissions are free, and are open till 1 April 2024. Electronic submissions follow a different cycle, have a submission fee, and offer one fee-free submission weekend during each cycle.
Deadline: 1 April 2024 for postal submissions
Length: Up to 5 poems; for short fiction and essays, a single piece of prose or a suite of smaller pieces
Pay: $100-500
Details here.
The School Magazine
This is an Australian magazine for children. They publish fiction, articles, poetry, plays, and activities that have literary and academic merit, as well as comics and cartoons. For fiction, they say, “Stories can be realistic, fantastical or humorous genres with contemporary or historical settings. Stories should demonstrate clear, intriguing prose, originality of characters and fresh storylines. No longer than 1500 words (shorter stories are encouraged). Occasionally a longer story may be considered for serialisation.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: See above for fiction; varies for other genres
Pay: AUD0.50/word for fiction, articles and plays; AUD55-230 for poetry
Details here and here.
Orion’s Belt
This is a speculative flash fiction and poetry magazine, and they recently reopened for submissions (see here). Their website says, “We specialize in the strange and poignant and awe-inspiring, stories that have a cosmic scale and intimate personal stakes. Currently, we publish fiction and poetry, one story and one poem per month.” They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 1,200 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
THEMED CALLS
Worlds of Possibility
Worlds of Possibility is open now for speculative fiction and poetry; it is “a bimonthly ebook magazine of uplifting science fiction and fantasy. For this project, I am especially excited for works that leave the reader feeling hopeful, peaceful, or happy.”
Deadline: 23 March 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, poem of any length
Pay is 0.10/word for fiction, $50 for poetry
Details here and here.
Death’s Head Press: Cold Anthology (title TBD)
This is an anthology of cold/winter horror short stories. “Winter is a setting that lends itself to various horror tales, from survival tales to hauntings to slashers with buckets of blood in the snow. Humans long ago mastered survival in the cold, but what happens when one of the necessities (heat, shelter, food) is taken away? What if that lovely cabin in the woods comes with a helping of the supernatural or otherworldly? The stories can and should cover the wide spectrum of coldness. We aim to explore the what if of the cold.”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: 2,500-10,000 words
Pay: $0.04/word
Details here.
Sentinel Creatives: Nordic Horror
This is a fiction anthology. “We’re looking for original weird tales set in the Nordic Region that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of the weird and the horrific.
We’re looking for a diverse selection of stories that run the gamut of folklore and history in the region. Of course, this includes Viking Horror. We will, however, only be looking to include 1-2 stories in this vein.
Give us your tales of isolation, of windswept tundras, and of what lurks beneath the frozen fjords. Take us through the streets of Reykjavík, Trondheim, and Henningsvær. Show us walls that live and breathe, telling tales of their own history. Guide us to trap streets into other worlds, and the lost gods who wander them; mountains that walk the earth and seas that pulse with sentience. Show us lost maps and found people. Give us your stories of loss and tragedy, of the surreal and the uncanny.” And, “For the purposes of this anthology, the Nordic region will be said to include the territories of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland.”
Deadline: 31 March 2023
Length: 3,000-6,000 words
Pay: $125-200
Details here.
House of Gamut: Winter in the City
Submissions are open for ‘Winter in the City’ anthology; they want dark urban stories. “Winter in the City: A Collection of Dark Urban Stories is an anthology that takes place in different cities around the world during the bleak—sometimes harsh—season of winter. Your story submission must conform to the guidelines listed below and feature the City—in fact, the title of each story will be the City of which you write. We are not looking for vampire/werewolf love trysts. We are looking for fantastical elements within the City itself. Because we all know—deep in our hearts—that nightmares and fairies, monsters and ghosts, and terrors of the real and imagined call the City their home.” And, “The “city” should be a real place—no “Gotham City” or “Hogsmeade.” PLEASE Confirm which city your story will take place in before starting to write. We prefer not want any duplicates.”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: 3,000-7,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here and here.
(House of Gamut is a speculative fiction publisher, see guidelines for all their current open calls – anthology, poetry, nonfiction, as well as poetry and nonfiction reprints – here.)
Ninth Letter: Caretaking
Ninth Letter is accepting submissions on the ‘Caretaking’ theme for the web edition. Submissions for the themed web issue are free, and submissions for the print issue are charged. They have detailed guidelines on the theme, including, “To define Caretaking, to our mind, as being separate from but not exclusive to love: sometimes we find our way to it, but other times we are chosen to take it on.
Send us fiction, poems and essays that capture and navigate practices of care for others. This call for submissions is not limited to care for people, but for care of anything other than ourselves. We want pieces that show both caretakers and cared for in a variety of settings and circumstances – through difficulties and successes.”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: Prose up to 3,500 words, up to 3 poems
Pay: $75 for prose, $25 for poetry
Details here and here.
Air and Nothingness Press: Moving Across the Landscape in Search of an Idea
Their website says, “We are looking for stories with 1500 words divided as follows: long titles (minimum 250 words [though we know this might be difficult so, as long as it is an obnoxiously long title, we’ll be ok]), concise narratives (minimum 250 words, maximum 800 words) and copious footnotes, endnotes, marginalia, indices and glossaries (minimum 250 words, maximum 800 words). Authors are welcome to shift word counts between these three parts of their submission, but they must stay within a range of 1500 words for the total submission (ex. a 500 word title, a 600 word narrative, and 400 words of footnotes.). Stories are welcome to be submitted in any genre. … Authors may explore any genre with their stories (yes poetry too!) and we encourage a wide variety of ideas and interpretations.”
Deadline: 31 March 2024
Length: Up to 1,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here (download the full guidelines from this page).
Canthius: Trash
“Canthius is an intersectional feminist magazine that publishes poetry and prose by writers of marginalized gender identities, including trans, Two Spirit, non-binary, agender, cis women, genderqueer, GNC, and intersex writers. We are committed to publishing diverse perspectives and experiences and strongly encourage Indigenous women, Black women, and women of colour to submit. We also welcome submissions in Indigenous languages.” They are reading submissions (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) on the Trash theme.
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Length: Up to 2,500 words for prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $50-150
Details here.
Kangas Kahn Publishing: Fear of Clowns – A Horror Anthology
This is a horror fiction anthology, and the theme is clowns. “As usual, we’re less concerned with theme than we are with entertaining stories. We’re not necessarily looking for a clown-murdering-people story–if that’s your story, it better bring something new to the table. Ask yourself, does this story belong in a book called Fear of Clowns? If the answer is yes, send it!”
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Length: 1,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
The Slab Press: Laughs in Space
This is an anthology of humorous science fiction. “I’m looking for great stories first and foremost, with relatable characters. They do not need to be riddled with dad jokes or puns. They do not need to be set in space! They do need to fit the broad remit of science fiction, but any kind of science fiction or humour is welcome, be it silly, generic parody*, grotesque, or black humour.” They will also accept reprints, though these will be a harder sell.
Deadline: 7 April 2024
Length: 2,000-9,000 words (will accept outside this range, but will be a harder sell)
Pay: £10 per 500 words, up to £55
Details here.
Flame Tree: Sun Rising
This is a science fiction, fantasy, folklore, and myth anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “This will be a feast of modern fiction, folklore and mythology, and ancient tales of the looming, life-giving, eye-burning solar entity that dominates our sky. The sun has inspired many stories – tales of its origins, in the myths and traditions of the ancient world, to modern storytellers who employ technology and deep space exploration to discover the many suns of the universe. … Submissions can … explore new interpretations and visions of sun-based mythology or interstellar, future and fantastical settings.” They will also accept reprints.
Deadline: 7 April 2024
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here.
Flame Tree: Moon Falling
This is a supernatural, fantasy, folklore, and myth anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “This collection will bring a potent mix of superstition and belief that reaches back to the gods of Babylon, Ancient Egypt and Greece. Khonsu, Innana, Artemis and Thoth are just a few of the deities who brought a mix of love, sensuality and war to the ancient perceptions of the world. … And of course the moon brings to mind curses, howling wolves, the wolf moon and the harvest moon, while offering a guiding light at night for the weary traveller. There are so many inspirations for the modern storyteller, whether ancient, gothic, fantastical or futuristic, to contribute to this intimate portrait of the seductive, powerful moon. Submissions can explore new interpretations and visions of moon-based fantasy, folklore or supernatural settings.”
They will also accept reprints.
Deadline: 7 April 2024
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here.
Bikes in Space Anthology series – Queer Halloween
They’re looking for stories for their 13th anthology in their Bikes in Space series. “Please submit your original queer Halloween short fiction (in written or comics form) about bicycling from a feminist perspective. We’re looking for stories that give us a shiver or make us leave the hallway light on at night. Raise our hair and make our spines tingle. We’ll also consider Halloween-themed stories that aren’t as frightful, but they should still be infused with all things spooky season. Stories should be written by authors who consider yourself queer (in whatever way you identify), and should feature Halloween and/or otherworldly elements, and queer characters/themes, as well as feminism. All four elements should be intrinsic to the narrative:
Halloween (or stories sufficiently scary or thematic enough to be read around Halloween)
Queer
Feminism (it is sufficient to simply not include sexist themes or tropes)
Bicycles
The genre can be anything fantastical—ghost stories, horror, hard sci-fi, comedic fantasy, slipstream, or anything in that constellation—despite the series title, stories need not be set in space.”
Deadline: 15 April 2024
Length: 500-6,000 words
Pay: A minimum of $50 (see guidelines)
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine.
