By S. Kalekar
These magazines and anthologies pay up to $1,000 words for short stories, and one pays more for works of longer fiction. A few of them also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. They are open now, or will soon open for fiction submissions.
Uncanny
This award-winning speculative fiction magazine is currently open for speculative poetry. They will open for short story submissions from 24 August to 7 September 2026. “We want intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel.” Submission is via their Moksha portal.
Deadline: 31 August for poetry; reading 24th August to 7th September 2026 for fiction
Length: 750-10,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.10/word for fiction, $40 for poetry
Details here and here
Owl Hollow Press: The Unopened Door Anthology
This is a fiction anthology. “Some doors are locked to keep danger out. Others are locked to secrets inside.
In literature, we see it often: Narnia’s wardrobe, Alice’s rabbit hole, Coraline’s door to the Other World. These are just a few examples, but any mundane entry could be a story waiting to be told.
An abandoned fallout shelter. A hatch buried beneath Antarctic ice. A forgotten room behind a fireplace. A cave sealed by an ancient civilization. A rusted submarine airlock. A child’s bedroom closet that suddenly appears where no closet existed before.
In this anthology, we will explore stories where someone ignores the warnings and opens something that should have remained shut.
What waits on the other side isn’t always a monster—but it always comes with a price. From mysterious happenings and supernatural suspense to psychological thrillers and dark fantasy, The Unopened Door explores humanity’s oldest temptation: the irresistible need to know what’s hidden behind the next threshold.” Stories can be “any genre, any topic, any gateway your heart desires.”
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Length: Up to 7,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.
Reckoning
This magazine publishes fiction, creative non-fiction, critical essays, poetry, translations, book reviews, and art on environmental justice. About fiction, they say, “The fiction we publish is mostly, but not exclusively, speculative. We appreciate surreal, literary, and experimental pieces as well as strong plotting, but prefer writing that doesn’t lean too far into pulp.” They have detailed guidelines. They are reading submissions for Issue 11. (They are also accepting novellas on environmental justice, of 17,500 – 40,000 words, for which pay starts at $0.02/word. Submit a synopsis initially via Moksha; see here.)
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Length: Up to 15,000 words for fiction, up to 20,000 words for creative non-fiction, up to 10 pages for poetry
Pay: $0.15/word for fiction and creative non-fiction, and S75/page for poetry
Details here and here.
(Reckoning is also accepting flash fiction of 1,000 words or less on environmental themes for a special call – “Outside of flash, what we specifically want are weird stories, dark stories, horror stories . . . and yet stories with some bit of hope to them, even if that hope is simply, We will persist, we will exist, we will endure. You can’t make the world a better place, after all, if you aren’t there to do the work.” The deadline for this call is 31st October 2026. Details here.)
Haven Speculative
They publish speculative fiction and poetry. “We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we’ve finished, and we’re more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and emotional depth. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we’re particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we’re open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra (e.g., science fiction, fantasy, speculative horror, and beyond).” They also publish climate crisis focused Dry and Wet issues each year; scroll down on the guidelines page for details. They accept translations, as well. During each submission cycle, they have one month reserved for submissions from underrepresented writers, and one month, for all writers. In August, they are reading submissions from all writers.
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $20/poem
Details here and here.
Tasavvur
They publish submissions of South Asian speculative fiction of all kinds – fantasy, sci-fi, horror, magical realism, mythpunk, weird fiction, or anything genre-bending during their reading periods. They also accept non-fiction pitches and art on an ongoing basis. You can read the latest issue here and past issues here to get a sense of what they publish. They accept work from “Writers of South Asian origin or association (broadly defined — including diaspora, mixed heritage, or meaningful cultural affiliation)
Non–South Asian writers whose speculative fiction stories are deeply rooted in South Asian themes or settings”.
Deadline: 31 August 2026 for fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.05/word for fiction, $100 for non-fiction
Details here.
Flame Tree: Four Anthologies
They are open for four anthologies: two romantic fantasy anthologies, as well two anthologies in their Myths, Gods, & Immortals series.
— Of Love Forbidden: “Supernatural lore forges together lands, courts and families. It is in place to tighten generations and is knitted together by legend and tradition. If mistreated, it threatens to unravel entire realms. Forbidden love is the trickiest of all, and these compelling stories will explore the heart’s desires set against the backdrop of complicated politics and societal expectations. Where alliances are everything, these flawed romances play out before fae, mortals and beasts. When the head and heart battle one another, one must seal their fate: either keeping peace and harmony or severing deep bonds that could threaten to tear apart worlds… all in the name of love.” (Deadline: 13th September 2026 for Of Love Forbidden.)
— Of Fae & Fire (scroll down): “The world of fae is the perfect bewitching setting for matters of the heart. These mysterious beings can be trickster figures, ruthless and immortal, morally dubious or harmoniously good. They can take a range of forms, and we encourage originality and creativity in imagining how their magic unfolds. Drawing on ancient folklore or reflecting the modern world, we welcome stories that explore the politics and power surrounding fae courts, hidden forest realms, or other fantasy lands beyond human laws. Combined with fire, whether that’s through elemental magic, dragons, precious objects forged in flame, slow-burn romance or intense passion, we’re looking for stories turning up the heat with high stakes!” (Deadline: 13th September 2026 for Of Fae & Fire.)
— Pandora: “Forever identified with the box – or more accurately, jar – that unleashed all the horrors in the world, Pandora is the archetypal first woman of Greek myth. According to Hesiod, she was the ‘beautiful evil’ that set the precedent for all women to follow. Pandora was devised by Zeus (in punishment on mortals for the gift of fire by Prometheus), moulded from clay by Hephaestus and endowed with gifts from other gods. She herself was presented as a gift – and a curse. Variously interpreted through the ages as an act of mild naivety, insatiable curiosity, or malicious intent, Pandora’s opening of the jar and the nature of its contents have often reflected attitudes and beliefs of the times. We’re looking for stories that give voice to the character of Pandora, explore wider events, motives and consequences, or imagine alternative settings and modern equivalents.” (Deadline: 4th October 2026 for Pandora.)
— Icarus: “He is famous for flying too close to the sun, but what else do we know about Icarus? Son of master craftsman Daedalus, he is inextricably linked to the myth of the labyrinth, Theseus and the minotaur. But he does not play the role of hero, merely of a boy who succumbs to hubris, high-flying ambition or weakness in the face of dizzying heights, depending on your interpretation. Mentioned only fleetingly by various classical writers, this character nonetheless possesses strong moral and psychological symbolism that has inspired art and literature throughout the mediaeval, Renaissance and modern periods. Now it is your turn to investigate and extrapolate his possible stories, whether following his path in the mythological era, reinterpreting him for today’s world or setting him in an imagined future, whether literally ‘Icarus’ or metaphorically so. We seek original stories riffing on the theme.” (Deadline: 4th October 2026 for Icarus.)
Deadlines: See above
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word for originals, $0.06/word for reprints
Details here and here.
(And, Flame Tree is accepting 10-minute script submissions for ‘Live & Spooky’ A Halloween Scratch Night; “We want short, sharp, spooky new work that can hold a room in ten minutes flat. Ghosts, curses, folk horror, cosmic dread, the thing under the bed. If it unsettles us, we want to see it. This is a scratch night, which means we’re looking for early-stage, low-tech, high-impact writing. Think fewer props, tighter casts, bigger scares.” They’ll pay £50 for these scripts; the deadline is 23rd August 2026; submit via a form on their website.
Submissions are also open for Exquisite Undead: An Anthology of Vampires, a fiction and poetry anthology. Regarding genre, “Horror, romance, fantasy, sci-fi, historical, a weird blend of everything—all are welcome”. Stories can be flash length of up to 1,500 words, or longer of up to 7,000 words; they pay $30/flash or poetry, $65 for longer stories; the deadline is 1 September 2026; details here and here.)
West Branch
West Branch reopened for submissions on 1st August. They accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and translations. They also accept queries for poetry book reviews. The magazine is affiliated with Bucknell University.
Deadline: 1 April 2027
Length: Up to 30 pages of prose, up to 6 poems
Pay: $100 for poetry, $0.10/word up to $200 for prose
Details here.
(And, Griffith Review is open for their 95th issue, the theme is Bodies of Work; they want fiction and nonfiction submissions, and have detailed guidelines. They mostly accept work from writers in Australia, and some work from overseas writers. Do not send poetry. They pay AUD0.75/word for up to 4,000 words of prose; the deadline is 23 August 2026, 11:59 pm AEST; details here and here.)
More Distant Shores
This is a new magazine, and they opened submissions in July. “More Distant Shores is an upcoming magazine striving to publish the highest quality short fiction, irrespective of genre.” They also say, “First and foremost, the most important criterion in whether we select your piece for publication is the quality of the writing. We want pieces that are clear, tight, and highly edited. Overly literary passages may work against you (or they may not; as with all writing advice, you can flout the rule if you do a good enough job of it).
As mentioned, you may submit pieces of any genre (or pieces that defy genre classification). We are especially interested in pieces that are just a little odd—think The Twilight Zone. If a pieces feels too speculative for a traditional literary magazine, but not speculative enough for an SFWA magazine, it might find a good home with More Distant Shores.” Submission is via a form.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,000-10,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Bullet Points
“Bullet Points publishes speculative military fiction that is sensitive to the complexity, tragedy, and hope of warfare and violence in human (and nonhuman) society. Stories must have both a speculative and a military element … Original stories run between 100 and 5,000 words, although reprints can deviate from this guideline.”
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 100-5,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word for original stories and $0.005/word for reprints
Details here.
Funny Times
They publish cartoons and stories. “Our print publication pokes fun at politics, news, relationships, food, technology, pets, work, death, environmental issues, business, religion (yes, even religion) and the human condition in general. Not much is off limits, so do your best to make us laugh.” And, “Stories — the funniest you have ever written — should be about 500-700 words. Don’t send us things that aren’t funny. We won’t publish them.” And, “There is a lead-time of several months because of our editorial calendar, meaning, i.e., December holiday material should be mailed for consideration in September.”
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 500-700 words
Pay: $75 for stories, $30-$50 per cartoon
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.