S. Kalekar
These fiction magazines/podcasts pay up to $700 for fiction. A few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry.
Strange Pilgrims
This is a new Substack-based magazine, and they will open for 24 hours only, on 6th March, in honor of Gabriel García Márquez’s birthday. They publish 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.” You can read more about them, as well as their likes and influences, here. They will publish one piece each week, alternating between flash and long-form. Submission is via their portal.
Reading period: 6th March 2026
Length: up to 1,000 words for flash, up to 5,000 words for short prose
Pay: $50 for flash prose, $200 for longer works
Details here and here.
(Plott Hound is also open for submissions till 15th March 2026; they accept speculative fiction starring animals. Send 1,000-5,000 words (prefer 3,000-4,000 words) for fiction, up to 5 poems, 1,000-2,500 words for essays; they pay $0.08/word for stories, $50 for poetry, $100 for essays; details here and here.)
Dark Moon Books: Horror Library
They want “ Original, thoughtful horror-centric short stories”. There is no theme.
Deadline: 9 March 2026
Length: 1,500–5,000 words (see guidelines)
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Waxen
They accept short fiction, poetry, and illustrations. “We are interested in the weird, the occult, the surreal, and the horrific. We love experimentation.” They are open throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues. Their upcoming deadline is mid-March for the Spring issue.
Deadline: 15 March 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $50
Details here.
Apex Magazine
Apex Magazine is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy magazine publishing short fiction, essays, and interviews. During 2026, they will be closed to fiction submission during certain months; “We will be closed in February, April, June, August, October, and December 2026.” They are open during March 2026 for short fiction. They also accept nonfiction pitches (not submissions).
Deadline: 31 March 2026
Length: Up to 9,000 words for fiction
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction; additional $0.01/word if story is podcast
Details here and here.
(Apex also has a themed monthly flash fiction challenge that opens on the 7th of each month for general submissions, see guidelines – scroll down.)
Aurealis
This Australian speculative fiction magazine is open for general submissions (from all writers) during March. “Aurealis is looking for science fiction, fantasy or horror short stories… All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror that are of a “speculative” nature will be considered, but we do not want stories that are derivative in nature. We do not publish horror without a supernatural element.
Although we are an Australian-based publication, we are open to submissions in English from anywhere in the multiverse during specific reading periods.” Please read their guidelines carefully, including about file format.
Deadline: 31 March 2026 (for general submissions; Australian and NZ writers can submit till end-September)
Length: 2,000-8,000 words
Pay: AUD20-60 per 1,000 words (“assume the lower rate for unsolicited submissions”)
Details here.
Hearth Stories
“Hearth Stories publishes slice-of-life stories with a focus on nature, forests, connection, family, romance/relationships, and comfort/kindness. We are primarily focusing on stories set in a pre-industrial-revolution time period (or a fantasy world resembling such), preferably not in city settings.” They also have several other details in their guidelines, including genre – Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Literary (if it fits the other requirements); and vibe – Cozy, Lightly-Romantic…, Mystical, Nature Oriented. This is a vegan magazine (see guidelines). Do not send poetry or non-fiction.
Deadline: 31 March 2026
Length: 1,000-10,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
Banshee
They want submissions from Irish and international authors for issue 22 (autumn/winter 2026) – flash and short fiction, non-fiction, as well as poetry.
Deadline: 31 March 2026
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose, up to 40 lines for poems
Pay: €300 for a story/essay; €100 for flash fiction; €75 per poem (click on ‘We believe in paying writers’ here)
Details here
Night Shades
This is a speculative fiction magazine. They publish four stories a month.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 500 words
Pay: $75
Details here.
The No Sleep Podcast
This is a horror podcast. They accept all kinds of horror stories. They have detailed guidelines (including preference for first-person stories), please read them carefully. And, “For standard episodes, we’re looking at anything from microfic up to stories of about 8,000 words, though the sweet spot is around the 2,000 to 2,500 word range. Anything over 8,000 words is typically reserved for bonus episodes or finales, which are less frequent and therefore require stricter acceptance standards.”
Deadline: Open now
Length: See above
Pay: $60 for flash fiction; $250 for regular stories; $500 for stories of 15,000+ words
Details here.
Folded Space Podcast
“Folded Space is an audio science fiction anthology showcasing short-form science fiction from voices across the spectrum of human existence.”They want science fiction/speculative stories. Regarding atmosphere/tone, they want:
“Gothic space; vast, ancient, and slightly terrifying; Cultural weight, where tradition, language, and the machinery of empire are as real as their spaceships; Cosmic indifference, make the universe feel both beautiful and dangerously indifferent to human life; A laboratory for identity, and what it means to be sentient”. Also see ‘What we’re looking for, which includes “Starships, habitats, ancient ruins, found bobbles, megastructures; Strong worldbuilding and character development; Stories that show what it is to be or not to be a person in a high-tech world” and more.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 3,000-7,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.