These magazines/outlets pay up to $500 for short fiction. Some accept other genres too, like non-fiction and poetry. There’s also a separate section for themed calls. Some of the deadlines are approaching quickly. – S. Kalekar
Upbeat Tales
This is a new podcast magazine for upbeat and/or comedic fantasy, science fiction, and horror stories. Submission is via a form, and they say you can ask any questions about their submission process on Twitter.
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: 100-6,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
Solar Press Horror Anthology Vol 1
This is a general horror fiction anthology. Their Tweet says, “Whether you write subtle, Gothic ghost tales, or extreme, high-concept body horror, if it’s good, we want it!” Please read their guidelines carefully, including those for edits.
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here, here, and here.
Orion’s Belt
This is a speculative flash fiction magazine, and they have also expanded into speculative poetry. Please see their detailed guidelines, including the kind of work they want, and what they do not want.
Deadline: 1 September 2023
Length: Up to 1,200 words for fiction, up to 1 poem per submission
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores
They will open soon for their regular submission window. They accept fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. For fiction, they want science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form. They accept both serious and humorous work. Also see guidelines for the kind of work they’re looking for, hard sells, and what they do not want. They also accept reprints. Their submission period is the 1st-2nd of every month (see guidelines).
Reading period: 1-2 September 2023
Length: Anywhere from 1,000 words and up for fiction (see guidelines); poetry up to 40 lines
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $0.02-0.08/word for non-fiction, $1/line for poetry
Details here.
Electric Lit: Recommended Reading
They want fiction submissions for their Recommended Reading series.
Deadline: 4 September 2023
Length: 2,000-10,000 words
Pay: $300
Details here.
Hearth Stories
This is a new speculative fiction magazine, and they are reading submissions for their first issue. Their About page says, “We publish fiction and poetry that explore connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world. The stories often fall into a fantasy, science-fiction, or magical realism sort of “slice of life.”” They have detailed submission guidelines, including on the kind of work they like and what they do not want; please read these carefully. Regarding length, they say, “We accept works from flash fiction up to novella length. However, the ideal length may be something in the 1,500-5,000 word range.” They have shortened their submission period, and will now close on 6th September 2023 (see ‘2023 Note’ on the guidelines page).
Deadline: 6 September 2023
Length: See above
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction; $10 for poetry
Details here.
Cast of Wonders
This is a young adult speculative fiction podcast; they have extensive guidelines, including, “Stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence or pervasive obscene language.” They also accept translations and reprints.
Deadline: 7 September 2023 (see schedule)
Length: Up to 6,000 words; query for longer (see the note on their submission portal)
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
The Ampersand Review
This magazine is affiliated with Sheridan College, and they may prioritize work by Canadian writers (see guidelines). They accept fiction (including flash fiction), non-fiction, poetry, and pitches for reviews. They are reading submissions for issue 5.
Deadline: 8 September 2023
Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: $100 for prose, $50 per poem/page up to $100
Details here.
Fusion Fragment
This Canadian magazine will soon open for a short submission window. They want science fiction or SF-tinged literary fiction. “Although any science fiction subgenre is fair game, our tastes lean towards slipstream, cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, and anything with a little taste of the bizarre. FF prefers character-driven stories, and often skews towards quiet, reflective pieces. If the primary tone of your story is one of high adventure or humour, it’s probably not the right fit for FF. That said, quality always outstrips genre preference in terms of importance, so feel free to send us anything that even vaguely resembles science fiction.” They also publish one reprint story per issue.
Reading period: 1-8 September 2023
Length: 2,000-15,000 words
Pay: 3.5 cents/word (Canadian), up to CAD350
Details here.
The Cincinnati Review
They accept fiction, fiction translations, non-fiction, and poetry for the print magazine. They publish works (including hybrids) for their online feature, miCRo, for most of the year, and for their print magazine thrice a year – September, December, and May. There is a cap on print submissions; submissions open on the 1st of these months, and close when a cap is reached.
Reading period: 1-30 September 2023, or until filled, for print
Length: Up to 40 pages for fiction, up to 20 pages for nonfiction, up to 5 poems for print; up to 500 words for the online feature
Pay: $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the print journal and $25 for miCRo posts or special features.
Details here (general guidelines), here (what the editors look for), and here (submission manager).
THEMED CALLS
Flame Tree Publishing: Mythos Machine
They want stories for a special edition of their newsletter; “sci-fi fantasy flash fiction stories of 1,000 words as a special edition for FantasyCon 2023, 15th-17th September”. The theme is Mythos Machine. “We’re looking for stories that explore the gods, the machines and their relationship with each other, and with humankind. Are we hovering at the edge of the Machine Age? What happens when AI moves beyond interpreting the myths of the ancient, and human, and begins to create its own? Are we living in a Phillip K. Dick movie? Do machines dream of other machines, or explore at the edges of their own knowledge, just as humans have done. Is the human imagination now irrelevant? Are the stories of the gods merely ignorant tales of the ill-educated, or subtle prophecies of hidden truths consumed now by the very machines we created? And can those machines truly reflect the depths of ancient origins? Do the elder gods just laugh at our petty concerns?“
Deadline: 27 August 2023
Length: 1,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here (theme guidelines) and here (general guidelines).
The Off-Season: An Anthology of Coastal New Weird
They want “disquieting and disturbing New Weird horror set in landscapes and communities on the edge of the sea. These coastal stories defamiliarize the ordinary, evoke dread even in the daylight, and haunt like half-remembered nightmares. Think ocean-loving cults, crumbling seaside mansions, empty resort towns, strange fisherwomen, beachside arcades, eerie lighthouses, literal tourist traps, jellyfish swarms, red tides, oil spills, intertidal zones, salt marshes, gaudy luxury hotels reclaimed by sea,” and more. Also, “New Weird is a subgenre of horror-fantasy that slides along the margins of other speculative fiction genres, subverts old tropes and conventions, and/or plays with form, style, and ideas.”
Deadline: 28 August 2023
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.
Underdog Press: The Underdogs Rise Vol. 2 (Working Title)
They publish quarterly themed fiction anthologies. “How you incorporate the quarterly theme in your story is up to you. We do ask that you make sure the theme idea is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the story. We want truly want stories depicting underdogs rising to the occasion when it seems all hope is lost. … If your story is nobledark, noblebright, grimdark, or grimbright or something in the middle of all of those that’s okay.” For The Underdogs Rise Vol. 2 anthology, their guidelines say, “All stories must have science fiction or fantasy elements. … Please no stories dealing with space exploration or colonization in this anthology. We want stories about underdogs that take fantastical worlds or places but want characters to be the focus.”
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: 3,500-12,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
(They also have other anthologies listed on the guidelines page, with later deadlines: The Way of Worlds, focused on space exploration and colonization, deadline 31 December; and Nightmares Before Bed, a horror anthology, deadline 31 January 2024.)
From Beyond Press: Escalators to Hell – Shopping Mall Horrors
This is a shopping mall horror and dark sci-fi anthology. “Submitted stories should have some horror elements, though the tone could be horrific, serious, campy, awe-inspiring, cozy, tragic, or humorous, etc. However, the story has to be set in a mall, or the concept of a mall has to be important to the plot. Stories could take place in the recent past (1950s onward), in a futuristic mall, or in the present, such as a neo-gothic tale set in abandoned or declining malls. The stories can be located anywhere in the world. … We are eager to read diverse takes on the “shopping mall.” The shopping mall should not be incidental to your story; stories that make thoughtful, innovative use of the elements unique to malls as either a physical place or an abstract concept are more likely to be accepted.”
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word
Details here.
Cursed Morsels Press: Why Didn’t You Just Leave
Their About page says, Cursed Morsels Press “specializes in Weird, queer, often splattery horror with an anti-capitalist and anti-fascist spirit.” For this anthology, they want horror stories “that focus on all the possible reasons why people don’t just leave haunted places – including finances, family, legal restrictions, health, etc.
Stories about “ordinary” people and places (including apartments, workplaces, schools, military bases, hospitals, churches, etc.) as well as extraordinary situations.”
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: 500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here and here.
(They also have a horror fiction collection call that will open later in the year, on their guidelines page.)
Inkd Publishing: Hidden Villains – Betrayed
This is a fiction anthology. They want “Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows. Finish it off with a twist of betrayal! Betrayed- double-cross, fail, deceive, cheat, sell-out, let down, stitch up, rat out, turn traitor, rat on, expose, reveal, lay bare, stab in the back. There is no restriction as to how you incorporate the theme into your story as long as the genre falls within Speculative Fiction”.
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: 2,000-8,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word + royalty share (please see their note on print contributor copies for international writers)
Details here.
Necronomi Romcom Anthology
This is a fiction and poetry anthology. “Just because the cosmic flirts with disaster doesn’t mean it can’t flirt with other things! In this anthology, we’re looking for cosmic tales with a light romantic twist. Think couples visiting Leng on blind dates and Carcosa on their honeymoons, Valentine’s Day roses tinted with the Color Out of Space, and brains in jars finding everlasting love with Mi-go. Think the lost pages of the Necronomicon written in sonnet form, Shoggoths shape-changing to impress the objects of their affection, and Nyarlathotep crushing on someone while Azathoth is piping a love song. Send us your best blend of cosmic and romance… just no erotica. Satire is great, and a little bit of dark is always welcome—after all, just because depressed, angry Deep Ones meet cute too doesn’t mean it’s all a bed of roses. That said? We look forward to reading your most imaginative comic romance fantasies!”
Deadline: 31 August 2023
Length: 1,000-6,000 words for fiction
Pay: $5 per poem, $0.01/word for fiction
Details here.
Apparition Lit: Reclamation
Apparition Lit is a quarterly speculative fiction and poetry magazine. “Speculative fiction is weird, almost unclassifiable. It’s fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and literary.” They are reading submissions on the ‘Reclamation’ theme until 31st August 2023 by all writers; also see the note about their equity initiative in the guidelines here (scroll down) – “Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.
We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission.”
Deadline: 31 August 2023 for all writers; an additional week for BIPOC writers (see guidelines)
Length: 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.05/word for fiction, and $50/poem
Details here and here.
(They also publish flash fiction online on monthly prompts, during the first fortnight of every month.)
The Victorian Writer: Rip
This is the magazine of Writers Victoria, an Australia-based organization that supports writers. The theme is ‘Rip’. They publish articles/writing of 600 words and 1,200 words in the print edition with particular interest in the craft of writing and the writing life. They also publish poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
Deadline: 4 September 2023
Length: 600-1,200 words for articles; unspecified for other genres
Pay: AUD70 for poems, and AUD100-200 for articles/writing
Details here and here.
(They are also accepting submissions for contests in various genres, for Australians – see their Submittable page.)
Book Worms: Halloween
This is a mail-order only horror zine. They want horror fiction and nonfiction on the Halloween theme. Please note, submissions have to be mailed.
Deadline: 15 September 2023
Length: Up to 1,500 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Flame Tree Publishing: African Ghost Stories
This is a fiction anthology; they want “tales from African and African-diaspora writers to be included in our powerful collection of African Ghost Short Stories. The volume will explore the deep-seated supernatural element in African storytelling – whether reaching back to the spirits, ancestors and ogres of folklore or the vibrantly modern ghosts of today’s African horror.” They also accept reprints. Flame Tree is partnering with Brittle Paper Magazine for this project.
Deadline: 17 September 2023
Length: The story length most likely to succeed is 2,000-4,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
