These magazines/anthologies pay $50 to about $500 for fiction, and a number of them open for submissions in September. A few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. Some deadlines are approaching quickly. – S. Kalekar
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
This speculative fiction magazine resumes its regular reading period in September after a three-month hiatus, and pay rates have also increased. They publish science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form; see guidelines for the hard sells, and the kind of stories they won’t accept. They also accept non-fiction, poetry, and artwork, as well as reprints of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They read submissions for two days at the beginning of every month.
Reading period: 1-2 September 2021
Length: Anywhere from 1,000 words and up for fiction (shorter works favored); unspecified for others
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $0.02-0.08/word for nonfiction, $1/line for poetry up to 40 lines (lower for longer poems)
Details here.
Dark Moon Books
They want submissions for the 7th volume of their Horror Library. They want stories with a supernatural and dark element, such as horror, dark fiction/ dark fantasy, weird fiction, etc. In terms of tone, they want imaginative and/or harrowing adventure; beauty of darkness; horror (preferably “quiet” horror); exploration through fears or discovery; original monsters and/or strange lands; life events turned slightly askew, etc. The stories have to be suitable for ages 16 years and up.
Deadline: 5 September 2021
Length: 1,500-5,000 words (preference for lower word count)
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
PS Publishing: ParSec
ParSec is a new speculative fiction magazine from PS Publishing, a UK-based publisher. They want science fiction, fantasy, horror, and slipstream stories.
Deadline: 10 September 2021
Length: No word limit; query first for stories longer than 10,000 words
Pay: £0.02/word up to £180
Details here.
Escape Artists: Two calls
The Escape Artists suite has two submission calls that open in September.
— PseudoPod: This is an online and audio horror fiction magazine – “dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction”, according to guidelines. They also accept reprints. Send stories of up to 6,000 words.
Reading period: 1-13 September 2021
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: 8c/word
Details here (guidelines), here (schedule), and here (submission portal).
— Escape Pod: This science fiction online magazine and podcast wants submissions on the ‘Joy’ theme in September and October; they will resume accepting unthemed science fiction submissions from 1 November 2021. They also accept reprints.
Reading period: 1 September-31 October 2021 for the ‘Joy’ theme
Length: 1,500-6,000 words (up to 18,000 words for reprints)
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here (guidelines), here (schedule), and here (submission portal).
Broken Pencil
This magazine publishes commentary, reviews, and articles on indie magazines (they accept pitches for these), as well as artwork. They also publish fiction. Their guidelines say, they want “works of fiction from diverse writers that conform to no principles, no guidelines, and no preconceptions. We want work that hurts you to write, and us to read.”
Deadline: 15 September 2021 for fiction
Length: Up to 3,000 words
Pay: $50-100 for fiction
Details here (general guidelines and fiction deadline – scroll down) and here (Submittable).
Shenandoah
This literary magazine is open for two weeks in September for fiction submissions. The theme is ‘Border Crossing Narratives’. The guidelines say, “Send us your stories of migrations, large and small, of crossings across multiple kinds of borders, physical, psychological, social, spiritual, temporal or theoretical. Send us stories that question who gets to create borders, whether on maps or on the body. How are borders enforced? What power dynamics shift when we cross them?” Hybrid forms are welcome. They are accepting comics year-round.
Reading period: 1-15 September 2021 for fiction; ongoing for comics
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $100 per 1,000 words for prose, up to $500; $50/page for comics, up to $500
Details here and here.
The Puritan
This Canadian literary magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction – interviews, essays (accepts pitches), and reviews – and poetry from all over the world. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month. They’re also currently looking for Editors in Residence for their blog, The Town Crier – this is a month-long virtual position and offers CAD200.
Deadline: 25 September 2021 for fall issue (may close earlier if Submittable cap reached); reads year-round
Length: Up to 10,000 words for fiction, up to 4 poems; various for non-fiction (see guidelines)
Pay: CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD25 per poem (or page, capped at CAD80)
Details here.
The Cincinnati Review
This literary magazine accepts fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry, and poetry translations. Query for drama. They accept online submissions only, except from writers with disabilities or those who are incarcerated. There is no cash payment for micro, their weekly flash feature. They read submissions in September, December, and May.
Reading period: 1-30 September 2021, or until submission cap is reached
Length: Fiction can be up to 40 pages, non-fiction up to 20 pages, and five poems
Pay: $25/page for prose in the journal, $30/page for poetry
Details here.
Mirror, Mirror anthology
Submissions are open for a speculative fiction and poetry anthology titled ‘Mirror, Mirror’. Their guidelines say, “Mirrors can be truth-tellers, wish-granters, face-concealers, illusion-makers, even monster-summoners. Maybe the mirror shows an evil twin, or an echo of the life that should have been. Or a portal to another world.
What happens when it shatters? … You’ve read the classic stories. Now write the lore you’ve always wanted to read. Reflect in your own creative mirror, informed by your roots, culture, and background. Imagine a canon of diverse characters for today’s readers to love and loathe. Tell us new stories, fables, folklore, and fairy tales about mirrors, real or metaphorical. What do you see, and what looks back at you?” They want fantasy, science fiction, horror, magical, history, and romance elements, and are open to classic or genre-bending, grim or whimsical. Stories must be PG-13.
Deadline: 15 October 2021
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.
New Southern Fugitives
They publish literary, mainstream, and experimental fiction. They also accept essays, poetry, art, and book reviews.
Deadline: 30 November 2021
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction and non-fiction, up to three poems, up to 1,000 words for reviews
Pay: $15/page up to $105 for fiction and non-fiction, $40 per poem or book review or photo/art
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.
