12 Magazines Paying up to $500 for Fiction

These magazines/anthologies pay up to $500 for fiction. Some of them also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. They are open now, or will open for submissions soon. – S. Kalekar

Electric Lit: The Commuter
They accept flash prose (send one or more pieces, can be stand-alone or interconnected, with total length up to 1,500 words), poems (up to 3 poems), and graphic narrative for The Commuter section. They have just opened a short submission window for non-subscribers. They also accept pitches/queries for interviews and reading lists on an ongoing basis (see guidelines). Other sections are closed.
Deadline: 28 July 2024
Length: See above 
Pay: $100 for The Commuter; $75 for interviews and reading lists
Details here and here.

The Pig’s Back
This Ireland-based journal publishes fiction and non-fiction, and has opened a short submission window. They do not publish poetry. Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 2,000-5,000 words
Pay: €300
Details here.

Baubles From Bones
Their fiction guidelines say, “We accept fiction that broadly falls in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. We’re open to most subgenres and themes but have a particular fondness for 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. Good characters pump the hearts of our favorite stories, and we live for lushly-built worlds, though magical realism can be just as inspiring as a dyson sphere or floating castle.” They also accept poetry (up to 40 lines) & prose (up to 600 words) on the above themes. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 1,000-8,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $6 for poetry & prose
Details here.

Kaleidotrope
Their website says, “Kaleidotrope publishes predominantly speculative fiction and poetry—science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also compelling work that blurs the lines between these and falls outside of neat genre categories. (Man does not live on space ships, elves, and ghostly ax murderers alone, after all.)” And, “We have no minimum or maximum word count for fiction but strongly prefer stories over 250 words and under 10,000.
We consider all forms of poetry, but individual haiku, or other very short poems, may be a tougher sell.”
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: See above
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $5 for poetry
Details here.

Cupid’s Arrow Publishing: Dalliances Anthologies
Cupid’s Arrow is a new publisher. “Dalliances is our short fiction program for when a novel just won’t do. A Dalliance can be a standalone short story or a collection of short romantic tales around a general theme.” They are reading submissions for romance fiction anthologies on three themes:
Second Chances (second-chance romances)
Good Sports (sports-related romances)
For the Uniform (military romances)
Submission is via a form. They also accept reprints (see guidelines).
Deadline: 31 July 2024
Length: 5,000-12,000 words for stories
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here.

ryga

This magazine is affiliated with Okanagan College. They accept poetry, prose and short plays. To be eligible to submit, writers must have no more than three previous publications in other journals or magazines, and must not have published any book-length works to date.
Deadline: 1 August 2024
Length: Up to 6,000 words for prose and plays
Pay: $50
Details here.

Cirsova
Their tagline is, ‘Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense’. They have detailed guidelines about the kind of stories they want; apart from Weird Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror, some of the sub-genres are Raygun Romance, Sword & Planet, Space Cops, Lost World, Pre-Historic/Antiquity, South Seas Adventure, Occult Detective/Mystery, Mad Science, Picaresque Adventure, and Monstergirls. They will open a brief submission period soon. Please send your work only during the reading period.
Reading period: 1st – 4th August 2024
Length: 2,000-7,500 words (can take longer – see guidelines)
Pay: $0.0125 (one and a quarter cents) per word
Details here.

Sci Phi Journal
This award-winning magazine wants Campbellian hard science fiction, fictional non-fiction, and speculative philosophy. They also accept translations.
Deadline: 4 August 2024
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: €0.03/word for original fiction, €0.01/word for translations
Details here and here.

Orange & Bee
This is an Australian Substack-based magazine, and they accept work related to fairy tales. They have detailed guidelines, including, “We are seeking original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales. We are interested in works that stretch, expand, test, subvert, and challenge the fairy-tale tradition.” They will soon open for submissions. Please send your work only during the submission period. All their submission periods are listed on their website.
Reading period: 1-14 August 2024
Length: Up to 1,000 words for flash fiction, up to 4,000 words for short fiction/non-fiction, up to 50 lines for poetry
Pay: $80 for flash fiction, $0.08/word for short fiction/non-fiction, $50 for poetry
Details here.

khōréō
You can submit to this magazine only if you identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms (see guidelines). They’re open for fiction (including flash fiction) submissions, as well as fiction translation pitches and submissions (see their submission portal). They accept “fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it — as long as there’s a speculative element. We’re especially interested in writing and art that explores migration. Examples include themes of immigration, diaspora, and anti-colonialism, as well as more metaphorical interpretations of the term.”
Deadline: 15 August 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words for original fiction, up to 3,500 words for translations
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here and here.

Cast of Wonders
This is a young adult speculative fiction online magazine and podcast, from the Escape Artists suite of magazines. They have extensive guidelines about what they consider to be YA, please read them carefully. They also welcome submissions from writers under 18 years of age. They also accept translations and reprints. They’ve opened a submission window for young authors only, those less than 20 years of age as on 31 August 2024 – see details of their revised schedule here and about the special Young Author Showcase call here.
Deadline: 31 August 2024 (young authors only)
Length: Up to 6,000 words (query for longer – see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word for originals
Details here and here.

Loft
This literary magazine is “open for submissions for our next issue (Issue VI) on any theme. All work must be completely free of violence in order to be accepted.” They accept poetry, flash fiction, and short stories.
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).


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

 

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