By S. Kalekar
These magazines and anthologies pay up to $600 for fiction. Many outlets also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. Some of these calls are themed.
Cutleaf
Cutleaf is the journal of EastOver Press. They have opened submissions for literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry (poetry submissions will be capped).
Deadline: 15 April 2025 for fiction and non-fiction; until filled for poetry
Length: Up to 4,000 words for fiction, unspecified for non-fiction, up to 7 poems
Pay: $100-300 for prose, $50/poem
Details here and here.
(EastOver Press is also open for a prize for a debut short story collection, open to writers in the US; the prize is $2,000 and publication; they’ll close submissions on 1 May 2025, or when they reach their submission quota; see here.)
Graveside Press: Witchcraft Anthology
Graveside Press is a new imprint focused on horror. They want submissions for a fiction anthology; stories with “Witches! Obviously. Whether you’re going with modern-day witchcraft practices or the fairy-tale evil witch, we’re ready for you.” The central focus of the story has to be witchcraft of some sort.
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here.
The Threepenny Review
This journal will stay open till mid-April for submissions; fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and submissions for their ‘Table Talk’ column.
Deadline: 15 April 2025
Length: Up to 4,000 words for stories or memoirs, 1,200-2,500 for critical articles, up to 1,000 words for Table Talk, up to 100 lines for poems
Pay: $400 per story or article, $200 per poem or Table Talk piece
Details here and here.
Astrolabe
They want “work about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection. Into the woods. Across a line. Beneath the ocean. Along a seam. Into the branches of an alternate present or the crevasse of an alternate future. Across the rifts between one another. And then, once we find one other, the myths we make. We’re excited to see as many interpretations of this broad theme as there are stars in the night sky. We’re open to work of all genres, with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit.” And, “We’ll happily consider fiction and CNF in all prose forms—prose poetry, micro, flash, and beyond”. Do not send lineated poetry. Please note, they’ll close submissions of their fee-free reading period earlier than the deadline, if they hit their submission cap.
Deadline: 20 April 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose
Pay: $50
Details here.
Mud Season Review
They publish fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. For fiction, “We are looking for fully realized stories that remind us of what it means to be human, that take risks, that show us something new, and that stand up over multiple reads, deepening with each encounter.” Please note, they open on 1st April, and close by category as they reach their submission cap, or end-April, whichever is earlier.
Deadline: 30 April 2025, or until filled
Length: Up to 6,000 words for prose, 3-5 poems
Pay: $50; and $15 for poets and artists whose work appears in The Take: Mud Season Review
Details here and here.
Trollbreath Magazine
Trollbreath is “a journal of speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, publishing electronic issues on a quarterly schedule. 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’ve given links to the kind of stories they like, on their submissions page. They also accept fiction reprints, as well as artwork. The April reading period is for their September and December issues.
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: 1,500-7,500 words for fiction (prefer 4,000-5,000 words), up to 2,500 words for non-fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.04/word for original fiction, $40 for non-fiction, $25 for poetry
Details here.
Brigids Gate Press: Women of the Weird West
This is a speculative fiction anthology, and they want submissions from writers of marginalized genders only. “Traditionally, women authors have been vastly underrepresented in westerns and weird westerns, so this anthology will highlight authors of marginalized genders and their speculative western short stories. We are looking for original Weird West stories. These should be generally set in what approximates the “Old West” location and timeframe (North America circa late 1800s) and should have a strong speculative element, such as horror, fantasy and/or sci-fi. … We strongly encourage all marginalized genders to submit regardless of writing experience.”
Deadline: 30 April 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here. (And, Room Magazine also accepts creative writing from submissions from people of marginalized genders only, including but not limited to women –cisgender and transgender, transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. At the time of writing, they were open to unthemed, fee-free submissions in all categories by Canadian writers, and also for fee-free submissions of creative non-fiction from US and international writers. They’ll close by category as they fill. Send up to 3,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems; they pay CAD50-200 for writing; details here and here.)
The First Line Journal
They want fiction (any genre) and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. For non-fiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, the first line for the Summer issue is:
‘No one really knows why restoration stopped on the abandoned St. Julian hotel, where commoners and kings once came to relax in luxury.’
Deadline: 1 May 2025 for the Summer issue
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for non-fiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international contributors – see guidelines)
Details here.
Zombies Need Brains: Skull x Bones Anthology
This is a speculative fiction anthology. “Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It’s time to plunder! Pirates have enchanted and haunted readers for generations, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to the ill-fated Firefly. Whether it’s Blackbeard, Mal, or Han Solo, we love our swashbucklers, our One-Eyed Willies, and our scruffy-looking nerfherders. In SKULL X BONES, we want writers to give us their best science fiction or fantasy pirates, whether they be on the sailing ships of the deep wide ocean or the spaceships of the black void!” Please note, the Kickstarter for this project has been funded.
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 7,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
The Daily Tomorrow
This is a Substack-based magazine; stories appear in 7 daily installments. “Subscribers to The Daily Tomorrow receive 300-500 word daily installments of … SF stories… 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.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: 2,100-3,500 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here and here.
Flash Fiction Online
They’re open now for general flash fiction submissions, and also for a wilderness themed horror stories. Both calls will close when their submission quota is filled.
Deadline: Until filled
Length: 500-1,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.
Certain Age Magazine
They accept creative work from women “of a certain age” – you can read about them here. They want fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and video.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 2,500 words for non-fiction, poetry up to 2 pages.
Pay: $75
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.