10 Fiction Magazines Paying up to $300


By S. Kalekar

These magazines pay for fiction submissions. Some of them also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. A few of them will open soon, for brief submission windows.

Consequence Magazine: The America Feature; the Iran Feature


They publish work “that addresses the human experiences, realities, and consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art.” They accept non-fiction of up to 4,000 words (interviews, essays, and narrative non-fiction), fiction (including flash and excerpts), poetry, translations, and art. All works will be considered for online and print.
They’re also reading submissions for two special features: The America Feature (non-fiction, fiction, poetry, art – “for a special feature on America that documents, illustrates, or addresses geopolitical violence in the United States”), and The Iran Feature (translations – “Consequence Forum invites previously unpublished translations from Farsi into English that examine the manifold human, cultural, psychological, or historical consequences of war in Iran”), apart from unthemed work. See their Duosuma for details on these features. Pay is $30-50 for print prose, $40 for online prose, and $20-30 for poetry. The deadline is 15th October 2026. Details here and here

Griffith Review: Bodies of Work


Griffith Review is an Australian literary magazine and they want fiction and nonfiction submissions for issue 95; the theme is Bodies of Work. “Modern life can be a curiously disembodied experience: we swipe and scroll, crop and click, zoom and control+z; our interactions are often mediated by screens or filters; we no longer look one another in the eye as we once did (or we’re forced to do it on Teams).
Are our flesh-and-blood selves becoming attenuated and atomised by the increasingly digital texture of our days? What’s the fate of the human body in this age of looksmaxxing and biohacking? How do our historic perceptions and misconceptions of bodily states and identities, including disability and gender, inform our present and shape our future?”
They mostly accept work from writers in Australia, and some work from overseas writers. Do not send poetry. They pay AUD0.75/word for prose up to 4,000 words. The submission deadline is 23 August 2026 (11:59 pm AEST). Details here and here

The Academy for Teachers – Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest

They want honest, unsentimental stories, of 6-499 words, about teachers and schools. The contest is open to all writers, whether or not they are a teacher. The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher. Sentimentality is discouraged and education jargon is forbidden. The winning story will be published in Epiphany Magazine, and receive a cash prize.
Value: $1,000, and publication
Deadline: 6 September 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here.

PEN/Robert J Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers

This is an award for 12 emerging fiction writers for their debut short story published during a given calendar year in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website. Submitted stories must be published or forthcoming in the current calendar year (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 2026)
Value: $2,000 each
Deadline: 1 September 2026
Open for: Debut short fiction writers
Details here and here.

The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award

These awards offer publication for two short story collections. Manuscripts must be at least 150 pages. They offer a standard publishing contract. Both winning manuscripts get publication under a standard University of Iowa Press contract. The prize is open for writers who have not published a volume of prose fiction.
Value: Standard University of Iowa Press contract
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.

The Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing: Titles

This year, they want stories on the ‘Titles’ theme; they “we invite writers to create unique stories that are shaped by, and reflect, the title they choose.
A title is often the first doorway into a story. It can suggest mood, setting, character, conflict, or mystery. A strong title can stay with a reader long after the final page, and for this competition we want entries that show how powerfully a title can inspire a story of its own.” For this round, they also say, “Story requirement: Entries must be based on the title of one of Val Wood’s books, and the story must clearly reflect the chosen title.” Regarding genre, they say, “Any (except poetry or brutality/graphic/violent content)”. Please see their detailed guidelines. They want works of up to 1,500 words. The competition is open to anyone over 16 years of age.
Value: £100
Deadline: 31 August 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here.
 

Ink of Ages Fiction Prize

The contest accepts historical and mythological short stories. For historical fiction: “A story set at least fifty years ago, which takes the social, political, or cultural atmosphere of the past into consideration. Alternative history – events that could have happened – is allowed, but no time travel.

Stories set in prehistory, before written records, are welcome if they plausibly evoke the lived experience, worldview, or oral traditions of that time.”

For mythological fiction: “A story set in the past, at least fifty years ago for this contest, which clearly draws from a myth, mythic figure, or cultural belief e.g., Circe from Greek Mythology, or Ravana from Southeast Asia, yakkas from Sri Lankan folklore. 
Stories do not need to be set in the time or place of the original myth.
Fantasy elements are welcome, but stories must remain rooted in specific mythological or folkloric traditions.
Global myths and oral traditions are encouraged; not all cultures had vast pantheons.”
They have two age categories: adults and youth (13-17 years), and “Each author may submit one story strictly between 1,500 and 2,000 words. Youth entries are strictly between 800–1,000 words.” The prize is run by World History Encyclopedia and sponsored by Oxford University Press. Please read the Licensing Terms and Conditions on their submission form carefully.
Value: $500 for the winner in the adults category; second and third prizes are $100 and $50 respectively to spend in the WHE store; youth winner gets custom artwork inspired by their story
Deadline: 22 August 2026
Open for: All writers
Details here, here, and here

Loft

This UK-based magazine accepts fiction and poetry. They are open for submissions for Issue VII “on any theme. All work must be completely free of violence in order to be accepted.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 3,000 words for short fiction, up to 500 words for flash fiction, up to 42 lines for poetry
Pay: £50 for short stories, £30 for flash fiction, £20 for poetry
Details here (scroll down).
(And, an Ireland-based magazine that is open now is Channel, “a literary magazine born out of the climate crisis, publishing poetry and prose with an environmentalist perspective.” Fiction and poetry are open till 30th June 2025, and non-fiction is open on an ongoing basis. They pay €35-250. Details here.)

Death Kit

This is a new magazine, and they’re currently reading submissions for issue 3 – fiction, essays, and they publish 1-2 poems per issue, as well. For fiction, they say, “we want the uncertain, the tensile, the weird. death kit is unplotted.” Book and film reviews are unpaid.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 2,000 words for prose
Pay: £50 for stories, £25 for essays and poems
Details here.

Astrolabe

They want “work about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection. Into the woods. Across a line. Beneath the ocean. Along a seam. Into the branches of an alternate present or the crevasse of an alternate future. Across the rifts between one another. And then, once we find one other, the myths we make. We’re excited to see as many interpretations of this broad theme as there are stars in the night sky. We’re open to work of all genres, with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit.” And, “We’ll happily consider fiction and CNF in all prose forms—prose poetry, micro, flash, and beyond”. Do not send lineated poetry. They will open for submissions on 20th June and close on 20th July 2025, or when they hit their submission cap, whichever is earlier. Do not send work outside of the reading period.
Opens on: 20th June 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose
Pay: $50
Details here.

Interzone

Interzone is a Europe-based magazine that accepts fantastika of up to 17,500 words. And, “Translations are accepted, even if the story has been published previously in a language other than English – please include the name of the translator.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 17,500 words
Pay: EUR1.5¢/word
Details here.

All Due Respect

This magazine publishes hardcore crime fiction. They will open a very short submission window soon. “There will be two submission windows per year in which writers will have 24 hours to send in their work.” Their next submission window is 1st July 2025. Do not send work outside of this date.
Opens and closes on: 1st July 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: 2,000-3,500 words
Pay: $50
Details here.

Chestnut Review

They accept fee-free submissions of flash prose (Black and Indigenous authors can also submit longer prose fee-free – see guidelines), poetry, and art. “We are drawn to beautiful language, resonant images, and we crave narrative.” They read throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues.
Deadline: 30 June 2025 (for the Autumn issue)
Length: Up to 1,000 words for flash prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $120
Details here and here.

SmokeLong Quarterly

They’re open for a special dark fantasy and psychological thriller flash fiction call, for “prose that is troubling, that explores our darkest fears. We're not quite sure we're ready for this to be honest, but that's part of the appeal. We are looking for literary prose. We do not want to weather gratuitous violence or cruelty, but we do--or at least we think we do--want to feel fright, unease, a racing heart. If you are a writer of stories that do this, this call is for you. Think Shirley Jackson. Our usual guidelines apply. … Please indicate that your submission is for the Dark Fantasy and Psychological thriller submissions call.” 
Apart from this call, they’re also open for unthemed flash narratives – fiction, non-fiction, and hybrid (between fiction and non-fiction). They also accept reviews of flash collections, essays on craft, and articles on teaching flash for their blog; these are unpaid. Submissions are fee-free until 30th June; after that, there will be a charge for submissions through the rest of the reading period.
Deadline: 30 June 2025 for fee-free submissions
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $300 for dark fantasy and psychological thriller fiction; $100 for general submissions ($150 with audio)
Details here and here (they have various categories in Submittable, please be sure to submit in the correct one)

Chthonic Matter Quarterly

“Chthonic Matter is a quarterly offering of tales from the darkside. Its contents range in tone from the quiet horror of Shirley Jackson to the bleak stylings of Thomas Ligotti — and everything in between.” And, “All stories selected during this reading period will be published in one of the four issues expected to appear in 2026.”
Deadline: 30 June 2025
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $10 per 1,000 words
Details here.

The Ex-Puritan

This Canadian literary magazine publishes fiction, non-fiction, experimental/hybrid work, interviews, reviews, poetry, and poetry in translation. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month, and read year-round. If a particular genre is closed, it will reopen on the 1st of the following month.
Deadline: 25 June 2025, or until filled
Length: Varies
Pay: CAD150 for fiction; CAD200/essay; CAD100/interview or review; CAD50/poem, capped at CAD100; CAD50+/experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece
Details here and here.

Electric Lit: Recommended Reading

Electric Lit will open on 23rd June for fiction submissions of 2,000-10,000 words for its Recommended Reading section. They will close when they read a submission cap, or on 6th July, whichever is earlier.
Opens on: 23rd June 2025 (see guidelines)
Length: 2,000-10,000 words
Pay: $300
Details here.


Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

 

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