These magazines/anthologies pay up to $500 for fiction. A few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry; some calls are themed. They’re open now, or will open soon for submissions. – S. Kalekar
Mythaxis Magazine (UK)
“Mythaxis seeks speculative fiction (sf/f/h) of all stripes for our first three issues each year. We are also interested in submissions of crime fiction for our end-of-year “all crime” issue. All these genres are equally welcome in each submission window.” They will be opening a short reading period soon. Please send your work only during the submission window.
Reading period: 23-30th October 2024
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum
Details here.
Graveside Press: Cosmic Horror Anthology
They want fiction submissions for a cosmic horror anthology. They also say, “Cosmic horror, also known as Lovecraftian horror, is a subgenre of horror that emphasizes the terror of the unknowable and incomprehensible. It favors these psychological horrors more than gore or other elements of shock and awe. … The core of all cosmic horror is the protagonist being absolutely terrified of the unknown or the future and what’s going to happen to them. … There should also be a contemplation of the human experience and the humanness of the struggle. They usually don’t have a lot of blood and gore, and instead thrive on the ideas that are scary.”
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: 2.5c/word
Details here and here.
(And Dread Mondays, a workplace horror anthology from Whisper House Press, is also open now; pays $0.06/word for stories up to 4,000 words, deadline 31st October for all writers, extended deadline up to 30th November 2024 for marginalized authors.)
Trollbreath
This is a new journal of speculative fiction (including reprints), poetry, and non-fiction. “Our interests are as varied as the endless amount of genres, from dark fantasy to hope punk to surrealism, and everything in between. We have a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms, but what motivates us most are great stories by wonderful authors eager to share their visions of the past, the future, the in between, and everything that lies outside the margins. Coloring beyond the lines encouraged.” They’re open for queries (not submissions) of non-fiction year-round. During their current submission window, they will read work for March and June 2025 issues.
Deadline: 31 October 2024 for fiction and poetry
Length: 1,500-7,500 words for fiction (prefer 4,000-5,000 words), up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.04/word for fiction, $40 for non-fiction, $25 for poetry
Details here.
Black Beacon Books: Steampunk Sleuths
This is a fiction anthology. “The genre of mystery is designed to get the cogs cranking, but let’s not forget that steampunk is all about cogs too! Why not bring them together? Steampunk Sleuths will be an anthology of four novelettes (15 – 20,000 words) featuring detectives in a steampunk setting solving peculiar crimes. The only requirements for submission will be that the means of committing the crime (murder, theft, kidnapping…) must be clearly steampunk and the reader must be given the tools to crack the case before the solution is revealed.”
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Length: See above
Pay: $50
Details here.
Rebellionlit: Three x The Fun
They only want stories from writers with a US mailing address. They accept flash and short stories in all genres. While there is no theme, they do want stories that rebel in some way.
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: 1.5 c/word
Details here.
The First Line Journal
They want fiction (all genres) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, for the Fall issue, the first line is:
“The parking lot was empty.”
Deadline: 1 November 2024 for the Winter issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international writers – see guidelines)
Details here.
One Story
This magazine publishes literary fiction, including translations and some reprints. They will open for submissions soon; they usually remain open until their submission cap is reached. Apart from cash payment, they also give 25 contributor copies. Their Submittable will be active for this category during the reading period.
Opens on: 1 November 2024
Length: 3,000-8,000 words
Pay: $500 and 25 contributor copies
Details here.
(One Story is also open for the One Teen Story Contest; also see their Submittable.
And, The Paris Review is open for fiction and poetry through October; while their Submittable quota has been met, they will still accept mailed submissions postmarked till 31st October 2024.)
The Iowa Review: Bodies In and Out of Control
Their guidelines say, “Bodies can be prisons, and they can be imprisoned. Bodies are socially defined, surveilled, regulated, contoured; and the mechanisms of these embodied actions are legal, medical, educational, environmental, familial, religious, cultural, political — above all, political. In recent years, we have watched Black bodies being assaulted by police and by vigilantes, women’s bodies being denied their autonomy, bodies on borders being beaten back, bodies collapsing in cruel heatwaves, bodies denied medical care when they challenge gender norms. The precarity and vulnerability of the body are markers of the current moment.
But bodies are also resistant and rebellious: they push physical limits for the sheer thrill of it, joyfully couple across boundaries of race and gender, risk harm in activism for social justice, extend healing touches and caring gestures.
In this special issue of The Iowa Review, “Bodies in and out of control,” we seek submissions that engage with the body/embodiment, its management and governance as well as its multiplicity, its mysteries, and its vitality. Poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and other artforms are welcome.” They’re also accepting general nonfiction and visual narratives. For general submissions, they charge a fee for online submissions from nonsubscribers, but there is no fee for postal submissions.
Deadline: 1 November 2024
Length: Up to 25 pages for prose, up to 8 pages for poetry for the themed issue
Pay: $0.08/word for prose, $1.50 per line for poetry
Details here and here.
Sans. Press: Out There Anthology
They want stories that respond to this prompt, or artwork on their website. “From glowing eyes in the dark to the brief shimmer of starships, there are other realities on the brim of discovery for those daring to look! It may come in the form of visiting creatures, new inventions, pure magic or a deeply subjective perspective; but we know that other ways of existing are lurking out there. … we want the stories that go beyond the boundaries of the known world; that dive deep into the imaginary, the mad, the uncanny or the simply unbelievable. We want to expand the limits of what is possible, and dive into the uncharted waters of experimental, speculative, or just plain weird. … All genres of writing are welcome; more than any specific story or style, we want the emotional response the title and artwork evokes in you.” They will read submissions until the deadline, or until their submission cap is reached, whichever is earlier. Submission is via a form on their website.
Deadline: 21 November 2024, or until filled
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: €200
Details here.
Loft
This UK-based magazine accepts fiction and poetry. They are open for submissions for Issue VII “on any theme. All work must be completely free of violence in order to be accepted.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 3,000 words for short fiction, up to 500 words for flash fiction, up to 42 lines for poetry
Pay: £50 for short stories, £30 for flash fiction, £20 for poetry
Details here (scroll down).
Phano
This is a new magazine of science and literary fiction. They want stories that provoke a sense of wonder, touch an emotional core, center on well-developed characters, take tasteful, calculated risks, and more. They also accept essays, and have detailed guidelines about the kind of work they want. They do not want fantasy stories, or poetry.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here.
The Daily Tomorrow
This is a newsletter of serial science fiction stories. You can read more about them here; “Subscribers to The Daily Tomorrow receive 300-500 word daily installments of exciting SF stories by up-and-coming writers. All stories start on Sunday and end the following Saturday.
We publish stories which are high-concept without being gimmicky. Which are about science as well as about technology. Which are populated by familiar people living under unfamiliar conditions. We publish fun stories, thinky stories, sad stories, and hopeful stories.” Their guidelines page says, “We have a preference for stories that bring a new idea to the genre and explore it efficiently in a story with compelling characters. Whether the novelty is an interesting idea from biology, grounding in an underrepresented culture, or the decision to focus on an ordinary worker at the ray gun factory — that’s up to you.” They plan to launch the newsletter in mid-December.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 2,100-3,500 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
