The following is a list of short story publishers that pay at $160, and sometimes more, for short stories. All of the publishers listed are currently accepting submissions. (At the time of this article’s publication.)
Deadlines are listed when available.
1. Daily Science Fiction publishes one science fiction story every single day. They pay for all of their stories. They pay 8 cents a word, up to 1,500 words. They are particularly interested in publishing “flash series — three or more flash tales built around a common theme.”
2. Pseudopod is after tales of horror and the weird for their high-quality audio episodes. This award-winning program is a competitive market, but its rates reflect that: Like Escape Pod, to which it is a companion podcast, it pays $0.06 a word for original material or a $100.00 flat rate for reprinted material. Stories should run between 1500 and 6000 words, with 4500 being identified as the sweet spot. Publication with Pseudopod also helps qualify the author for affiliate or active membership with the Horror Writers Association. To learn more, read Pseudopod’s submission guidelines
3. Mad Scientist Journal is currently calling for submissions about haunted houses and other “weird places” for their upcoming issue “Utter Fabrication: Historical Accounts of Unusual Buildings and Structures.” They pay 2 cents per word, up to 8,000 words. A max of $160. The deadline is March 31st. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
4. Podcastle bills itself as “the fantasy fiction podcast,” and seeks quality fantasy fiction up to 6000 words in length. They are also open to much longer reprints, but prospective authors should query first. Podcastle pays $0.06 per word, and a flat fee of $100.00 for reprints. They are currently closed to submissions, but worth bookmarking for teh future. To learn more, read Podcastle’s submission guidelines.
5. Prairie Fire is a Canadian literary journal. They publish short stories, poetry, and art. They pay 10 cents per word, for short stories, up to CAD $350. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
6. Chiral Mad 4 is a forthcoming anthology of collaboratively written dark or speculative short stories. According to their guidelines, “the only required chirality is with the collaboration itself … multiple minds working as one, in other words, to create something entirely new.” They pay pay 6 cents per word, split evenly between the authors. They accept stories up to 20,000 words. The deadline is May 31st, 2017. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
7. Snafu Judgement Day is a forthcoming anthology of post-apocalyptic military horror from Cohesion Press. They want “invading space aliens, demonic invasion as in Doom, DNA-grafted dinosaurs taking over the planet, manmade viral infections that nearly wipe out humanity, or artificial intelligence like in Terminator.” They pay 4 cents (Australian) per word, up to 10,000 words. The deadline is April 30th, 2017. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
8. Cat’s Breakfast is a forthcoming anthology of stories inspired by Kurt Vonnegut. Published by Third Flatiron, they seek to “pay tribute to the imagination and inspiration of the ineffable Mr. Vonnegut.” They pay 6 cents per word, up to 3,000 words. The deadline is April 15th, 2017. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
