These magazines pay for fiction; most also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. – S. Kalekar
Speculative City
This magazine publishes speculative fiction, non-fiction, and poetry; you can read about them here. Their website says, “Speculative City features literary works that explore themes, characters, and landscapes exclusive to urban environments and that highlight voices often unheard.” They want “provocative works that are centered within a cityscape” on the megacity theme.
Deadline: 16 August 2023
Length: Up to 5 poems, up to 5,500 words for prose
Pay: $20-55
Details here.
Northern Gravy
They only accept submissions from writers in the UK and North Ireland – writers can be of any background, including first-time writers. They accept fiction, poetry, and KidLit (writing for Middle Grade and Young Adult audiences).
Deadline: 20 August 2023
Length: Up to 2,000 words for prose, up to 4 poems
Pay: £100
Details here.
Escape Artists: PseudoPod
This horror podcast and online magazine will soon open for fiction submissions. Their submission portal will open during the reading period. “We’re looking for horror: dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction. We don’t split hairs about genre definitions, and we do not observe any taboos about what kind of content can appear in our stories. Originality demands that you’re better off avoiding vampires, zombies, and other recognizable horror tropes unless you have put a very unique spin on them. What matters most is that the stories are dark and compelling.” They also accept reprints.
Reading period: 11th to 21st August 2023; schedule here
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Nashville Review
They accept submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and translations during the months of February and August. They have a submission cap, and may close early if volume demands.
Deadline: 31 August 2023, or until filled
Length: Up to 7,000 words for fiction, up to 8,000 words for nonfiction, up to 3 poems
Pay: $25/poem, $100 for prose and art
Details here and here.
Ghoulish Tales
This is a biannual horror magazine, and they are reading submissions for their second issue. They want “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.” They also accept non-fiction on the genre.
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
“As its name suggests, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is a quarterly ezine dedicated to publishing heroic fantasy — in both prose and poetry. We are unrepentant in our goal of elevating unapologetic sword and sorcery to a rightful high place.”
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: Up to 3 poems; up to 10,000 words for fiction (can serialize works up to 50,000 words)
Pay: $25-100 for fiction; $12.5-25 for short poems, more for longer (see guidelines)
Details here.
Showcase: Object & Idea
Showcase is a Substack-based project. They publish flash prose (fiction and non-fiction) and poetry. “We explore Object & Idea. A poem and a prose piece are selected for each monthly issue, and the authors answer questions about the meaning behind their work.” They also accept reprints. They have fee-based and fee-free submissions.
Deadline: 1 September 2023 for fee-free submissions
Length: Up to 2 pages for prose, 1 poem
Pay: $50
Details here and here.
West Brach
West Branch is a literary magazine is affiliated with Bucknell University and they reopened for submissions on 1st August. They accept fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and translations.
Deadline: 1 April 2024
Length: Up to 6 poems, up to 30 pages of prose
Pay: $100 for poetry; $0.10/word for prose, up to $200
Details here.
Shenandoah
They are open now for fiction submissions, curated by their Editorial Fellow in Fiction, and will close when they reach their submission cap. “I would love to see work that decenters the Western lens through language and/or location. I think this is a crucial way to expand how readers envision ‘the story’ and engage with many literary traditions. I would love to see more work from the global south and work by women of colour wherever they may reside.” They are also open for comics submissions.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 8,000 words for fiction
Pay: $80 per 1,000 words of prose up to $400
Details here (general guidelines) and here (Submittable with details of open call)
The Razor
This is the magazine of Gotham Writers Workshop. They publish two pieces each month, one fiction and one non-fiction.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here (guidelines) and here (submission portal – you have to register).
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
