S. Kalekar
These magazines / outlets pay for memoir / personal stories. A few also accept other genres, like fiction and poetry. They all have distinctive styles and aesthetic and as always, it is best to read the magazines to see if your work is a good fit. They are open now, or will soon open for submissions.
Independence Literary Review
They are reading unthemed submissions as well as work for their Healthcare and Healing folio. “Please submit one double-spaced creative nonfiction piece up to 7,500 words. In addition to personal essays, lyric essays, essays on place, and cultural criticism, we welcome graphic essays and speculative memoir. We do not publish academic writing. We also welcome flash essays of 1,000 words or less.” They publish fiction and poetry, too. They pay $50 to 200, and the deadline is 1 October 2026. Details here.
Gemini Magazine
“We are open to creative work from writers and artists around the world, and have no rules. As jazz great Charlie “Bird” Parker put it, “There’s no boundary line to art.”
We don’t want to set any boundaries so we use a simple selection process: if it strikes a chord with us we publish it.” They publish fiction, poetry, hybrid pieces, essays, memoirs, short plays, and pay $20. They’re open throughout the year. Details here.
CRAFT
They accept flash (up to 1,000 words) and short (1,000-6,000 words) creative non-fiction: “We review literary nonfiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles including memoir, lyric essays, personal essays, narrative nonfiction, speculative creative nonfiction, and experimental prose.” They also accept flash and short fiction, as well as critical writing and interviews. They offer a fast response to BIPOC and other underrepresented writers – please see the relevant section for details. They pay $100 for flash and $200 for short essays and fiction, and $50-100 for critical writing. They’re also open for a flash prose prize till 13th September 2026, the first prize for three winning writers is $,1,000; there is a submission fee for general submissions, and they offer fee-free submissions to historically underrepresented writers. Details here (see the relevant categories).
Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column by The New York Times. “We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods; September through December, and March through June. Writers are paid. Details here.
The Delacorte Review
“At The Delacorte Review, we accept completed stories of between 3,500 and 50,000 words. … We focus exclusively on original works of narrative nonfiction—think nonfiction short stories or “novellas”—stories driven by plot, drama, and character. Much as we admire exposes, essays, criticism, and investigative work, that is not what we publish.
Reporting is at the core of our stories. If fiction is driven by imagination, narrative nonfiction is driven by reporting. You may have a terrific memoir, but we are looking for a memoir in which memories are examined, interrogated, and challenged by reporting. We are not bound by newsworthiness, or location.
We are open to submissions year-round.” Please take a look at their archives to get a sense of what they publish. The Delacorte Review pays $750. Details here.
Six Hens
Their tagline is, ‘True words by women’. They want scene-driven first-person non-fiction from women writers only. “Six Hens features true stories about the moments that define and redefine. Our writers take us to the places and events that changed what they believe in, changed how they see their place in the world, and changed them. Through their storytelling, they change us. We are looking for powerful, first-person nonfiction about the moments that segment life into before and after. Make us feel something.” They want non-fiction up to 2,000 words. They also accept excerpts from larger works. They pay $50. Submission is via a form on their website. Details here.
Brave Words
This is a project of Paper Angel Press. They accept non-fiction of 2,000-10,000 words. “We are generally interested in inspirational & transformative non-fiction, including memoirs and short essays.” This can be can be part of an ongoing series you’re writing, or previously published. They pay $0.02/word. Details here.
The Walrus
This Canadian magazine publishes online and in print. “The Walrus magazine publishes original reporting, essays, fiction, poetry, and visual essays in the fields of politics, the arts, science and the environment, health, business, sports, technology, and international affairs.” According to their guidelines, they accept fiction and poetry from Canadian writers only. They accept pitches for articles. “Pitches for fiction, poetry, and art should be included as attachments. We also only consider completed drafts for memoir, fiction, and poetry.” You can read some of the personal stories they’ve published here. Pay for short essays of around 1,000 words start at $500; long-form reported features pay up to $1/word (CAD). Details here.
The Ampersand Review
They accept non-fiction essays/memoirs/excerpts (up to 4,000 words), fiction, and poetry from Canadian writers only. And, they accept review pitches (not submissions) for books written by Canadian authors and published by Canadian publishers within the last 12 months, or that are forthcoming; review pitches are accepted on a rolling basis. The magazine is affiliated with Sheridan College. They pay CAD100 for prose, and CAD50-100 for poetry. The deadline is 31 August 2026. Submission is via a form. Details here.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
They regularly publish themed nonfiction prose and nonfiction poetry, up to 1,200 words. Some of their upcoming themes are: Star Wars 50th anniversary book; Count your blessings; Humorous Stories; Married/couples stories; Random acts of kindness; and Stories about using positive thinking. They pay $250. Details here and here.
TOLKA Journal
“We publish all forms of non-fiction: personal essay, memoir, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, and the writing that falls in between. Our guideline word count for work is 1,000–3,000 words.” They publish work by Irish and international writers, and pay €600. They plan to reopen submissions in late October 2026. Details here.
Woods Reader
They only accept submissions from writers in the US and Canada. “Woods Reader is a publication for those who love woodland areas: whether a public preserve, forest, tree farm, backyard woodlot or other patch of trees and wildlife. Our readers like to hear about others’ experiences and insights, especially those that make an impression that they think about long after they have finished the article. Submitted content should center around trees and woodlands.” And, “We buy articles in the following categories with woodland themes: Personal experience; Educational or nonfiction; The Woodland Philosopher; Fiction/fantasy; DIY article using woodland materials (accompanying photographs requested); Humor blog or cartoon; Short poetry; Destinations”. They publish works of 500-1,000 words. “We also buy the occasional longer fiction or true adventure story which may be serialized over up to four issues (2000-5000 words).” They accept reprints, as well. They pay $35 each for short poetry or cartoons, $25 for standalone photos; and $40 to over $100 for longer articles. Details here.
Brick
This Canada-based magazine accepts literary non-fiction only from writers around the world, and they tend toward pieces of 1,000 to 5,000 words. “An average issue of Brick will contain essays, reviews, interviews, belle lettres, memoir, translations, and all manner of incidental literary ephemera.” Their next reading period opens on 1st October, and they will close when they hit their submission cap. They pay $65–720, contributor copies, and a subscription. Do not send fiction or poetry. Their Submittable is open during their reading periods. Details here.
(Electric Lit and Cutleaf also pay for memoir / personal essays, and both have submission caps when they open.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.