By S. Kalekar
These 12 magazines/outlets pay up to about $700 for fiction. A few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. They’re open now, or will soon open for submissions. There are also some bonus themed calls at the end.
Kaleidotrope
“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.” They will soon open for a brief submission period for fiction and poetry; they’re open for artwork.
Submission period: 19th to 25th July 2026
Length: See above
Pay: $0.01/word for fiction, $5 for poetry
Details here.
Strange Pilgrims
Strange Pilgrims wants flash and short fiction and non-fiction. “We’re not married to any genre, structure, or subject. We love surreal, speculative, and fabulist stories; unhinged, lyric, and fragmented essays; voice-driven experimental narratives and slow-burn realism; cultural and literary criticism; hyper-intellectual riffs and children’s stories — so long as they move. If your work is honest, well-crafted, and offers something emotionally and intellectually vivid, we want to read it.” And, “Each piece will be published alongside a short interview with the author.”
(They’re also open for a contest currently, for which they charge a submission fee.)
Deadline: 20 July 2026 for general submissions
Length: Up to 1,000 words for flash, 1,001 – 10,000 words for short prose
Pay: $50 for flash prose, $200 for longer works
Details here and here
The Alchemy Press: Weird Alchemy
They are accepting submissions for a fiction anthology. “The tentative title is Weird Alchemy … What kind of story are we really looking for? If you’ve read any of the Alchemy Press Books of Horrors, Shadowplays (published by PS Publishing) or No Laughing Matter (to be published by Flame Tree) anthologies, you’ll know what tickles our taste buds. Basically: well written and subtle weird/horror stories.
We want stories of 3,000-6,000 words (contact us before submitting if your story falls outside this range, remembering that below 3,000 words is going to be a very hard sell). Besides the adjectives used above, this is a non-themed book, so your imagination can fly far and wide. But no unnecessary violence or gore for its own sake; and no overt religious metaphors.”
Deadline: 22 July 2026
Length: See above
Pay: 1 p/word
Details here.
Splinter
This Australian journal invites submissions in English (or in other languages with English translation) from writers across Australia and the world. “Splinter is always looking for writing that considers how reality is made and how it can be broken. We are particularly keen on writing that acknowledges that existence is silly and absurd and also, somehow, really serious.
“While we don’t want writers to feel limited by the below list, these are some topics and voices we are particularly interested in for issue six:
- First Nations writers based in regional and remote areas
- Writers based in Tasmania, WA, SA, Queensland, the NT, and the ACT (sorry Vic and NSW – you’re still welcome, we’re just keen to encourage people from other regions)
- Writing about resistance (please keep in mind the Splinter tone – we aren’t looking for didactic or directive)
- Literary criticism that uses new-ish work/s to explore a bigger idea or trend
If considering the themes listed here, please remember that you don’t need to address them directly or literally in your writing. We are looking for work that brushes up against these prompts in interesting and unexpected ways.” They also say, “For profiles, essays, writing about writing, and criticism, we are looking for pitches of ideas (rather than completed works).
For memoir, poetry, and fiction we are looking for submission of completed works.”
Deadline: 30 July 2026
Length: No length guidelines for prose (the longest they have published is 8,000 words – see their note on Submittable), up to 3 poems
Pay: AUD250-900
Details here and here.
NewMyths
This speculative fiction magazine likes balancing each issue “between science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. We publish fiction, poetry, and non-fiction works.”
Deadline: 31 July 2026
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.03/word; $50 for reviews
Details here.
Apex
Apex isa digital dark science fiction and fantasy magazine. They also accept translated stories (see guidelines). They accept pitches for non-fiction, as well.
Deadline: 31st July 2026
Length: Up to 9,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction and additional $0.01/word if story is podcast; $100 for non-fiction
Details here and here.
khōréō
This magazine only accepts speculative fiction submissions from immigrants or members of the diaspora. They accept flash fiction up to 1,500 words and short fiction up to 5,000 words, though they prefer works up to 3,500 words. They accept translated stories up to 3,500 words, as well.
Deadline: 31 July 2026
Length: See above
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here and here
(And Swamp Pink – formerly known as Crazyhorse – is open as well. They’re currently open for fee-free submissions from writers of color in the US. They pay $0.05/word for fiction and non-fiction up to $200 for works up to 7,500 words, and $40/poem – send 3-6 poems. The deadline is 31 July 2026; details here and here.)
Abyss & Apex
They will open for speculative fiction during 1st to 7th August 2026. They want work “with special attention to character-driven stories that examine the depths and heights of emotion and motivation from a broad variety of cultural and social perspectives.” They publish across speculative fiction genres, including slipstream, YA, hypertext fiction, dark fantasy, science fiction puzzle stories, magical realism, hard science fiction, soft science fiction, science fantasy, urban fantasy, military science fiction, ghost stories, space opera, cyberpunk, and steampunk. While they consider dark speculative fiction, they do not want horror.
Reading period: 1st to 7th August 2026
Length: Up to 10,000 words (query for longer)
Pay: $0.08/word for originals up to 1,000 words, flat $80 for longer
Details here
The Dublin Review
“The Dublin Review welcomes submissions of fiction and non-fiction previously unpublished in the English language. We do not accept poetry submissions.
We especially encourage submissions from members of groups traditionally underrepresented in literary magazines and other cultural forums.
Our fee scale starts at €300 for pieces with a published word count of 2,500 and under, and increases based on word count.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Unspecified
Pay: €300 and up
Details here.
Cōnfingō Magazine
This is a UK-based print-only magazine. They publish twice a year – fiction, poetry, and art. “We welcome the submission of original, unpublished work. Stories may be in any style or genre but should not exceed 5,000 words in length. Poems (maximum of three) should be no longer than 50 lines. Artwork must be available in high-res suitable for printing to A5.” Submission is via a form on their website.
Deadline: Open now
Length: See above
Pay: £50
Details here.
Cold Caller Mag
Cold Caller is a Substack-based magazine. It is “a publisher of crime and mystery fiction, and we define those terms broadly. We’re looking for stories of bad decisions and worse consequences; unlucky losers who can’t catch a break; grifters and con men convinced they’re about to score big; good men and women who have very good reasons to do terrible things.” They’ve given a list of stories, as well as TV shows and movies, that match their vibe (see guidelines). And, “We lean toward noir and realism, so generally speaking we aren’t looking for cozy mysteries, spy thrillers, or for cross-genre work such as mystery-romance, mystery-science fiction, mystery-fantasy, etc.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 10,000 words (prefer 2,000-6,000 words)
Pay: $125
Details here.
Room Magazine: Belonging
This Canadian magazine accepts work by persons of marginalized genders only, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. “Send us your takes on belonging, not belonging, longing to belong, otherness, belonging on the fringe, belonging to the future, the past, the now. We welcome your imaginings, experiences, dreams, and fears of belonging in all their manifestations and intersections: poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction as always, but we’re also eager to read your comics, hybrids, graphic essays, and other forms that resist and defy the boundaries of belonging in the art world.” They have different submission categories for US and Canadian writers. Submissions will close by category when they fill.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 3,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: CAD50-200 for writing
Details here and here.
Submissions are open/will open for some other themed calls as well, including:
— Villainess Press: Cozy Fantasy Anthology: They’ll soon open a submission window for a cozy speculative fiction anthology. “Cozy fantasy, to us, means gentle and heartwarming stories that still have meaningful stakes. Tea shops and cats are welcome, but it’s also okay to forgo those tropes for an original speculative element.
Villainess is an indie publisher that prints sub-genres of fantasy and focuses on gender representation. Please make sure your submission prominently includes characters that are women or nonbinary.
Authors of all identities and backgrounds are welcome to submit their work.” They also accept reprints. They pay $0.02/word for stories of 1,500-4,500 words. Their submission form / portal will open during the reading period, from 21st July to 6th August 2026; details here.
— Flash Fiction Online – Aftermath: They publish literary and speculative flash fiction. They’re open for flash fiction on the Aftermath theme. They pay $100 for stories of 500-1,000 words. The deadline is 31 July 2026, or when they reach their submission quota, whichever is earlier; details here.
— Scylla: The Monstrous & The Divine Sapphic Anthology: Authors must be female identifying or non-binary; and the main character/s must be sapphic/wlw. They want short and flash fiction as well as poetry for this anthology. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Submissions should focus on Sapphic goddesses and monsters as you’ve not seen them before. Bring them down from the heavens and out of the caves. While goddesses and monsters aren’t like us, they do still crave the company of ones who love, fear and worship them. Not necessarily in that order.” And, “Sapphic urban fantasy, political fantasy, magical realism, sci-fi of ALL kinds, contemporary fantasy, weird fiction, and/or gender-bent takes are all welcome. Just make it speculative! Special consideration will be given to mythologies outside Greek and Roman (though interesting takes on these are still welcome). We are interested in goddesses and mythic monsters hailing from all cultures and backgrounds.” They also accept reprints. Submission is via a form. Send up to 1,000 words for flash fiction and poetry; 2,500-5,000 words for short fiction; they pay AUD0.10/word up to AUD400 for original fiction; up to AUD100 for reprints; deadline: 31 July 2026 (5 PM AEDT); details here.
— FIYAH: Conjuring Academies & Spellbound Scholars: They only accept Black speculative fiction and poetry. They feature stories by and about Black people of the African Diaspora. This definition is globally inclusive (Black anywhere in the world) and also applies to mixed/biracial and Afro-appended people. For our 40th issue, we’re enthusiastically accepting submissions featuring magical schools. … Take us for a journey through your Pan-African University for Gifted Mages. Give us the trials of alchemy professors positioning themselves for tenure. The boredom of a TA stuck monitoring the dragon eggs over holiday. Or the angst of conjuring gone wrong in the group project (there’s always that ONE person) while the clock is ticking toward deadline.” Also their notes on preferred genre and story length for this issue. Length guidelines are: short fiction 2,000 – 7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words; up to 1,000 words for poetry ; pay is $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poetry. The deadline is 31 July 2026; details here.
— Brink – Invitation: Brink is a journal of cross-genre writing; they publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry (also video essays and cinepoetry), hybrid work, and translations. They want submissions on the Invitation theme for their 13th issue, and have detailed guidelines. Send 3-5 poems, or up to 3,000 words for prose; they pay $25-100. The deadline is 31 July 2026; details 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 Fall issue is: ‘The line of people stretched all the way around the block.’
Length guidelines are 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for non-fiction. They pay $25-50 for fiction, $25 for non-fiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international contributors – see guidelines). The deadline is 1 August 2026 for the Fall issue; details here.
— Sans. Press – AGAIN: This is a fiction anthology; they’re open for submissions until the deadline, or till they hit a submission cap, whichever is earlier. “Doomed by fate or driven by never-ending hope, following destiny or refusing to follow the signs, stories & characters are often shaped by cycles and patterns. Sometimes by being unknowingly framed by them, or by being unable to fully escape the traps laid by fate.
For anthology #12, we want to read stories that deal with time, cycles and patterns, and how characters respond to and are shaped by them. We are looking for broad responses to the theme AGAIN, and what that prompt may mean to different people in different contexts. As always, these patterns may take any shape or form – the generational struggles of magical realism, the self-fulfilling prophecies of fantasy, or the contemporary fight against destructive behaviours – as long as they are a sincere exploration of the theme.… We are looking for stories inspired by our title – AGAIN – and/or the cover artworks below (see guidelines)… Exclusively for this issue, this call will select stories for both issue #12 (Again) and our following issue, #13. All genres of writing are welcome; more than any specific story or style, we want the emotional response the title and artwork evokes in you.” Please note, submissions will close earlier than the deadline if they hit their submission cap. Submission is via a form. Please see their note about contributor copies. They pay €200 for stories up to 5,000 words. The deadline is 4 August 2026, or until they hit their submission cap, whichever is earlier; details here.
— Cult Publishing: Manuscrypt Magazine — Aliens & Cryptids: “We are looking for horror stories meant to entice the reader and leave lasting impressions. Submissions can be poetry, short stories, etc., but there must be an element of horror. … Each issue will revolve around a certain binding theme. Though it is not mandatory that entries fit this theme, stories and art that connect to the theme will be favoured for submissions.” They want work on the Aliens & Cryptids theme for their next issue. Submission is via a form. Work has to be submitted in the Docx format. Art submissions have a September deadline (see guidelines). They pay $50 for stories up to 3,500 words. The deadline is 14 August 2026 5 PM EST; details here.
— Beyond the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: This is a fiction anthology; send a Sherlock Holmes story which is a sequel to one of the stories in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. “Our next Sequels book. This time, the collection will feature sequels to the 12 stories in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes:
“The Adventure of Silver Blaze”
“The Adventure of the Cardboard Box”
“The Adventure of the Yellow Face”
“The Adventure of the Stockbroker’s Clerk”
“The Adventure of the Gloria Scott”
“The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual”
“The Adventure of the Reigate Squire”
“The Adventure of the Crooked Man”
“The Adventure of the Resident Patient”
“The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter”
“The Adventure of the Naval Treaty”
“The Adventure of the Final Problem”
The book will be set up to include the original adventure by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle followed by the sequel(s) to that adventure.” They also say, “No need to claim a story! We plan on publishing multiple sequels to stories (i.e. the anthology could include three sequels to The Musgrave, two sequels to the Naval Treaty, four sequels to the Greek interpreter, etc…).” They pay $100 for stories of 5,000-10,000 words (see guidelines). The deadline is 15 August 2026; details here (scroll down). (They have other projects listed as well, with later deadlines.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.