The following is a list of short story publishers that pay writers for short stories. The list strongly leans toward genre fiction, especially science fiction. You’ll notice that sci-fi publishers often pay better than other publishers. This is largely thanks to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, which has long worked to promote better pay for writers.

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1. Spark is a quarterly anthology of poetry and fiction. They are affiliated with the California State Summer School for the Arts. They pay 2 cents per word for short stories, up to 12,000 words. To learn more, visit their website.
2. Three Lobed Burning Eye is an online speculative fiction magazine. They publish horror, science fiction, and fantasy. They’ve been around since 1999. They pay $100 for short stories, and $30 for flash fiction. To learn more, visit their website.
3. The Sockdolager is a quarterly internet magazine for original short fiction. They want “stories about lives saved, discoveries made, worlds changed, days seized, and hearts broken or mended.” They pay 2 cents per word, up to 5,000 words. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
4. Aliterate is a forthcoming journal of literary genre fiction. They plan to pay 6 cents per word, up to 12,000 words. To learn more, visit their website.
5. Alliteration Ink is calling for submissions to their forthcoming anthology Steampunk Universe. They are particularly seeking stories from “marginalized writers, especially those who are identify as members of a minority, LGBTQ, and particularly those themselves who do not identify as abled or neurotypical.” The deadline for submission is June 1, 2016. They pay 6 cents a word, up to 4,000 words. To learn more, visit their website.
6. Third Flatiron is a sci-fi and fantasy publisher of quarterly themed anthologies. They publish short stories up to 3,000 words. Payment is 3 to 6 cents per word.  They re-open for submissions on April 15th, 2016, with the theme “Keystone Stories.” To learn more, read their submission guidelines.
7. InterGalactic Medicine Show publishes sci-fi stories of “any length.” They pay 6 cents a word. Writers who exemplify what they’re looking for include Asimov, Tolkien, Yolen, and Hobb. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.