S. Kalekar
These magazines and anthologies pay up to about $480 for short fiction and one pays more for longer works. They are open now, or will soon open for submissions. A few calls are themed. Some of these magazines also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry.
Translunar Travelers Lounge
They want fun speculative fiction; stories must have elements of science fiction or fantasy. “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.
Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.” The first week of submissions (15th to 21st September) is reserved for writers of color only. Submission is via their Moksha portal.
Reading period: 15th to 21st September for writers of color only; 22nd September to 15th October 2026 for all writers
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
(Some other fun speculative fiction calls are open now, too:
— Nomadic Delirium Press’s Delicious Doubles series; they want science fiction stories on the Pirates theme. They will be selecting two stories for this publication. They want stories “that have pirates as their main characters. Your stories can be set on a future Earth, or they can be set anywhere in the universe, but pirates have to be central to your story. We are most interested in a good story with believable characters. Good writing is what will give you one of the two spots that are available in this Double.” Stories have to be at least 5,000 words. They pay at least $50 – see guidelines. The deadline is 1 October 2026; details here.
— Thinking Ink Press’s The Neurodiversiverse – Bridging Worlds; this is a speculative fiction, poetry, and art anthology; they want “Speculative fiction about neurodivergent people building bridges between alien worlds—for whatever that means to you”. They have detailed guidelines, and want “stories, poetry, and art with a range of neurodivergent perspectives on building bridges between worlds that are alien to each other. We invite you to put your spin on what that means, or to look to the first volume in the series, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters for inspiration.” And, “For this anthology, we are particularly interested in short stories written by people who are neurodivergent.” Send stories up to 15,000 words (less than 7,000 words preferred), up to 1,000 words for flash, up to 200 lines for poetry (less than 100 lines preferred); they pay $100 per short story; $50 per flash fiction; $50 per poem (more if Kickstarter is funded); deadline: 1 October 2026; details here.
— Whytaker Lyon Press’s Virginia Sideways Anthology; they want alternate history stories with a Virginia element; pure alternate history or blended with elements of science fiction, mystery, thriller, literary fiction, or light speculative fiction. Submission is via a form. Send stories of 3,000-10,000 words; the deadline is 31 October 2026; details here.)
Flame Tree Fiction Anthology
Flame Tree wants fiction submissions for a new anthology in their Beyond & Within series. “The anthology of supernatural and speculative fiction is titled Knock on Wood: Tales of Superstition … From knocking on wood for luck to not walking under ladders, and from black cats and broken mirrors to the number 13 – people are fascinated by superstitions. This anthology will explore not only the well-known ones but also the little-known and various traditions globally connected with this phenomenon. Straddling genres like fantasy and horror, even SF, the scope for stories is massive, and each author will bring something very different to the table. Perhaps even something very personal?” They do not want reprints for this anthology.
Deadline: 27 September 2026
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
(Flame Tree is also open for other anthologies, Pandora and Icarus; the deadline is 4th October; see all of Flame Tree’s open calls here.)
Death Kit
This is a London-based print literary magazine; you can read about them here; “we publish work by writers you know, and those you will know soon enough.”They accept fiction, essays, and reviews.
Deadline: 30 September 2026
Length: 2,000-4,000 words
Pay: £40
Details here.
SmokeLong Quarterly
They publish flash fiction, non-fiction, and hybrid works (between fiction and non-fiction), and have limited fee-free reading periods. “The SmokeLong aesthetic remains an ever-changing set of principles, but it most likely has to do with these kinds of things:
* language that surprises and excites,
* narratives that strive toward something other than a final punch line or twist,
* pieces that are emotionally resonant,
* honest work that feels as if it has far more purpose than a writer wanting to write a clever story.”
They also accept work in other formats – reviews, art, global flash series. They also say, “Payment will be issued via PayPal or Zelle, and in rare cases the writer may be responsible for any associated fees if applicable.”
Deadline: 30 September 2026 (see their post here)
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $100/story or $150/story with audio
Details here.
Gutter
“Gutter is a magazine of new Scottish and international writing. During our two annual submission windows, we accept poetry, fiction and essays from writers in Scotland and beyond.
We look for work that challenges, re-imagines or undermines the status quo, work that pushes at the boundaries of form and function, work that is striking and beautiful. We believe that great writing transcends boundaries, and we reject any distinction between literary and genre, high art and popular culture.” Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 30 September 2026
Length: Up to 2,500 words for prose, up to 3 poems (see guidelines)
Pay: £50
Details here and here
The Phantom Pulse
“The Phantom Pulse is a biannual speculative fiction magazine. We seek the grey corners of humanity, dread that permeates the skin, and the bizarre.
We publish traditional horror, sci-fi horror, dark fantasy, and the weird. We have diverse reading tastes and are open to experimental forms and stories.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 30 September 2026
Length: Up to 3,000 words for originals, up to 5,000 words for reprints
Pay: $0.05/word for original stories, $0.01/word for reprints
Details here.
(And, Book Worms Horror Zine wants fiction, non-fiction, and poetry for their 12th issue; the theme is Occult Horror. “This Spooky Season, Book Worms Horror Zine is celebrating the kind of horror that truly gets under our skin: the things we’re not supposed to know.
Secret societies. Demonic cults. Government conspiracies. Forbidden rituals. A frat/sorority house with a hidden basement. A pajama party Ouija board game that goes horribly, horribly wrong. If there’s a secret—and something sinister lurking behind it—we want to hear about it.
We’re looking for stories that explore the fear of what’s hidden, what’s forbidden, and what might be waiting just beyond the veil of what we think we know.” Please note, submissions by all authors (barring those they have previously published) have to be mailed (see guidelines). Length guidelines are: up to 1,500 words, poem of 20 lines or fewer; pay is $0.08/word for fiction and non-fiction, $25 for poetry; the submission deadline is 1 October 2026 — must be received by this date; details here.)
Kenyon Review
They’re accepting unthemed submissions, and submissions on two themes: Contemporary Caribbean Literature, and Caretaking and the Giving of Care. They accept flash and short fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They also accept excerpts from larger works, and translations.
Deadline: 30 September 2026
Length: Up to 7,500 words for prose, up to 6 poems
Pay: $0.08/word for prose up to $450, $0.16/word for poetry up to $200
Details here and 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 September 2026 (for the Winter issue)
Length: Up to 1,000 words for flash prose, up to 3 poems
Pay: $120
Details here and here.
adventitious
They will soon open a brief submission window for fiction. “Adventitioushopes to be an intelligently mischievous literary magazine for the curious and unclassifiable. … We love speculative, surreal, and literary fiction. We admire its reach, its weirdness, and its refusal to color inside any lines. We believe in the work of the magazines and writers already making noise in that space, and we want to join in the ruckus: to publish fiction that’s as thoughtful as it is surprising, and to do it with style, respect, and a great sense of nonsense.” You can read about them here. “We want stories that offer a sense of wonder through their language, characters, plots, or all of the above. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and all speculative/surreal will always be welcomed, but we’re also happy with stories that shock and delight right here on this plane of existence.” They are looking for stories from micro to novelette length. They will open for fiction submissions on 1st October and close on 5th or when they hit their submission cap, whichever is earlier (they usually reach the cap within hours of opening); their submission portal will open during the submission period.
Submission period: 1st to 5th October 2026 (or until filled)
Length: Flash up to 1,000 words; short fiction of 1,000-6,000 words; novelettes of 6,000-17,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
Belmont Story Review
“Belmont Story Review is a national magazine of literary arts, faith and culture.” They want submissions on the Hope theme. This US-based print magazine accepts fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Please note, they can only pay by check, and you must provide a W-9 Form to be paid. “For those who cannot receive U.S. checks (i.e. outside of the U.S. or Canada), we can pay in kind with additional copies of the magazine. We have no other way to pay you”. Fiction submissions are open until filled; other categories are open until the deadline.
Deadline: Until filled for fiction; 1 October 2026 for poetry and non-fiction
Length: Up to 7,000 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: $100 for prose, $50 per poem
Details here and here.
(Submissions are also open for Bethlehem Writers Roundtable; they want fiction, poetry, and memoir, and the theme is Odd and Even. Send one piece of prose or one poem. Send up to 2,000 words for prose, or 1 poem; they pay $20-50, and the deadline is 30 September 2026; details here.)
Sun Thief Press: Sun Thief Literary Journal
Sun Thief Press publishes literary translation manuscripts, while their biannual literary journal is currently open for short fiction, translations, critical essays, and poetry. “We are interested in work that blurs boundaries between self and other, mind and world, writer and text. We value well-crafted*, difficult* (see guidelines) work that interrogates and grapples with its own form and process, that deals in the experience of writing/living/being, along horizons, borders, between contraries, gulfs.” You can download the submission guidelines for the press and journal from their website; submission is via Google forms.
Deadline: 1 October 2026
Length: Up to 6,000 words for prose, 3-5 poems
Pay: $0.05/word for prose, $10/poem
Details here (scroll down for the link to submission guidelines for their press and journal; the link to their submission form is on top of the page)
Independence Literary Review
They publish online and in print. They accept unthemed fiction, non-fiction (personal essays, lyric essays, essays on place, and cultural criticism, and graphic essays and speculative memoir), poetry, and art. They also want works for their first themed folio, which is on Healthcare and Healing. Prose can be flash length or longer. This literary magazine is affiliated with Baylor University.
Deadline: 1 October 2026
Length: Up to 7,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems
Pay: $50-200
Details here and here.
Night Shades
This speculative fiction magazine publishes two flash fiction stories a month.
Deadline: 11 October 2026
Length: Up to 500 words
Pay: $75
Details here.
Plott Hound
This is a magazine of speculative fiction and poetry starring animals, and they will open for submissions for a brief period next month. Regarding the kind of stories they want: “Stories with anthropomorphized animals as viewpoint characters and protagonists
-Animal-centric speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
-Underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent) that engage with animal myths, tales, and futures
-Stories with uncommonly written about animals as protagonists
-Stories that dig deep into the senses and experience of animals
-Stories that explore the cultures and societies of animals, not just cultures and societies with animals. Think of rabbit language and warren infrastructure in Watership Down, or the clans and warrior code of feral cats in Warriors.” They also welcome translations. They publish one essay per issue, as well. Submission is via their Moksha portal.
Submission period: 1st to 15th October 2026
Length: 1,000-5,000 words (prefer 3,000-4,000 words) for fiction, up to 5 poems, 1,000-2,500 words for essay
Pay: $0.08/word for stories, $50 for poetry, $100 for essay
Details here.
Small Wonders
They are open now for original speculative fiction; “We’re looking for speculative fiction with elements not of this world: fantasy, science fiction, horror. Our very favorite stories are those that don’t rely on a twist or gotcha ending. We love stories with big feelings, and don’t necessarily mind set pieces with very little plot.” They are also open for reprint art. Other genres are closed.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.