These magazines/anthologies publish fiction. Some magazines also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. Some of the calls are themed, and they are in the second half of this list. Deadlines are approaching quickly. – S. Kalekar
Northern Gravy
They only accept work from writers in the UK and Northern Ireland. They publish fiction, poetry, and kidlit (for middle grade and young adult audiences). “You can submit to all three areas but please send three separate emails.”
Deadline: 29 January 2023
Length: Up to 2,000 words for prose, up to 4 poems
Pay: £100
Details here.
Old Moon
This magazine publishes “weird sword-and-sorcery fiction set in a historical paranormal setting or a secondary-world, with a focus on well-rounded characters driving strange action.” They have extensive guidelines, please read them before submitting your work.
Deadline: 30 January 2023
Length: 1,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
Dragon Gems Publishing Summer Anthology
This is an unthemed fiction anthology by Water Dragon Publishing; “Dragon Gems is our publishing program for your short fiction when a novel just won’t do.” Stories should be fantasy or science fiction (or at least contain fantastical elements). They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: 2,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.
Belmont Story Review
This is a US-based magazine of literary arts, faith, and culture. They publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (including translated poetry). Please see their note regarding payment on the FAQ page: pay “will be awarded as a check-in US dollars to residents of the US and Canada, plus one free copy of the journal. To receive monetary payment you must provide a W9 upon request, no exceptions. If you are outside the US or Canada or cannot provide a W9 form, we can offer no monetary payment, but, if we publish you, are happy to send you payment in kind (aka, we will send you extra copies of the volume you are published in).” Also, “We will not publish novels, novellas, or memoirs.”
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: Up to 12,000 words for prose; up to 5 poems
Pay: $100 for prose, $50 for poetry (also see note above re payment)
Details here, here, and here.
Split Lip Magazine
Their website says, “We’re a literary journal that’s totally bonkers-in-love with voice-driven writing, pop culture, and the kind of honesty that gets you right in the kidneys.” They publish fiction, memoir, poetry, reviews, and art. They are open for general fee-free submissions during January, March, May, August, September, and November. Black authors can submit fee-free during all the months, till end-June. General fee-free submissions may close earlier than usual if they reach their cap.
Deadline: 31 January 2023 or until filled for general fee-free submissions; fee-free for Black writers till end-June
Length: Up to 3,000 words for fiction, up to 2,000 words for memoirs, 1 poem
Details here and here.
Event Magazine
This is a Canadian magazine, and is associated with Douglas College. They publish fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and reviews (see guidelines). For fiction, “We look for compelling characters and voice, fresh plots, and narratives that move us.” Currently, poetry and nonfiction are closed, but fiction is open.
Deadline: 31 January 2023 for fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction
Pay: $40/page for poetry, $35/page for prose, up to $500
Details here and here.
Sci Phi Journal
They want Campbellian hard science fiction, fictional nonfiction, and speculative philosophy, and have detailed guidelines for each. They also accept translations.
Deadline: 2 February 2023
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: €0.03/word; €0.01/word for translations
Details here.
Electric Lit
They have reading periods for non-members of Electric Lit. They will open in February for The Commuter – poetry, flash, graphic, and experimental narratives – “We encourage writers to push the boundaries of what is considered fiction”; and Recommended Reading, which is longer fiction. They are always open for detailed essay pitches.
Reading periods: 1-12 February for Recommended Reading; 13-19 February 2023 for The Commuter; always open for essay pitches
Length: Fiction up to 1,500 words, 4-6 poems for The Commuter; fiction of 2,000-10,000 words for Recommended Reading
Pay: $100 for The Commuter, $300 for Recommended Reading
Details here and here.
The Ex-Puritan
This Canadian magazine used to be called The Puritan. They publish fiction, non-fiction, experimental/hybrid work, interviews, reviews, and poetry. You can read more about their new hybrid submissions section as well as their name change here. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month.
Deadline: 25 March 2023, or until filled, for Spring issue; 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; CAD35 per poem (or page, capped at CAD120); CAD50+ per experimental or hybrid work, at an increasing scale depending on the nature of the piece
Details here and here.
Southword
This is the magazine of the Munster Literature Centre, and they accept poetry and fiction.
Deadline: 28 February for poetry; 31 March for fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction; up to 4 poems
Pay: €250 per short story, €40 per poem
Details here and here.
Habitats Magazine
This is a new magazine, and they want “optimistic and uplifting short science-fiction stories on any subject”. They will not consider work written or assisted by AI.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,000-6,000 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
THEMED CALLS
The Bureau Dispatch: Wayfinding
They publish fiction and nonfiction. For Volume 5, they say, “We’re open to all kinds of narratives but are particularly interested in ones about WAYFINDING: stories that explore our relationships with physical (and metaphorical) spaces and places, how we orient ourselves within or among them, and how we navigate and find our way.” Also, “We are not a spec fic journal, but our stories often contain a hint of the speculative, a dash of the intriguing. We want fiction that is compelling and beautifully-crafted; narratives that leave the reader breathless and changed.”
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.
Alpennia: Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast
This is a fiction podcast series on lesbian-relevant themes, and it is open for all writers. They have detailed submission requirements, including, “Stories must be set in an actual historic culture–i.e., a specific time and place in history–and the plot and characters should be firmly rooted in that time and place. (No time-travel or past memories, please.) Stories may include fantastic elements that are appropriate to the historic setting. …Stories must be set before 1900. We’d love to see stories that reach beyond the popular settings of 19th century America and England unless you do something new and interesting in them. … Romance is optional, and romance stories should have some other significant plot element in addition to the romance.” They do not want erotica. This will likely be extremely competitive, as they have three slots to fill from the open call.
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.
Brink Literary Journal: Gravity
They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translations, and cross-genre work; they’re particularly interested in hybrid/cross-genre submissions. They want work on the ‘Gravity’ theme. “Gravity is an invisible, necessary force of nature. It attracts. It pulls. It governs our days. Gravity is strong enough to hold galaxies together and at the same time is so weak that it can be conquered by a toddler lifting a toy off of the ground.
Let’s talk about this fundamental force of attraction. Tell us stories of movement, of tendency, of acceleration. We want to hear about the moment just before being pulled into the very center of the earth. Send us essays and poems that grapple with gravity’s range. What would happen if certain objects suddenly broke free of their gravitational pull? What shape would the world take if it was not constantly being pulled inward? When has gravity saved your life? What happened right before you fell off the swing? Explore how gravity and grave share the same Latin root.
We are interested in work that focuses on the edge, the brink, of gravity.”
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: Up to 3 poems; work of any length for prose
Pay: $25/poem; $50-100 for prose
Details here and here.
Brigids Gate Press: TBD Seers and Sibyls
This is a fiction (including flash) and poetry anthology. The title is yet to be decided; they want work about seers/sibyls/prophets. “We’re looking for stories about the mouthpieces of gods and goddesses. Who interprets their omens, tells their prophecies, sees their visions, and performs their miracles? And to what end?” The work must have a spiritual element (prophecy, omen, vision, conversation with a higher power), and spiritual medium (Seer, Sibyl, Oracle, Shaman, Priestess, Prophet). They can be set in any time period and be in any genre. “Retellings and reimaginings of classic stories are welcome, so long as they offer a new twist.”
Deadline: 31 January 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 500 words for poetry
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction; $50 for poetry
Details here.
Blue Cactus Press: Magical Realist Eco-Fiction Anthology
They want submissions for “a magical realist eco-fiction anthology centered on finding and examining “the sublime” and “the unknown” within our daily lives, and/or addressing the ways in which we interact with them.
We’re looking for eco-poetic prose musings, fantastical short stories, and fictionalized memoirs that lead readers to reconsider the spaces – both natural and manufactured – we encounter and reside in.”
Deadline: 1 February 2023
Length: Up to 4,000 words
Pay: $50
Details here.
fron//tera: Phantoms
This is a bilingual print magazine, in Spanish and English. They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, art, and submissions can be in Spanish or English; they’ll also publish a couple of short dual-language English and Spanish pieces side by side (see guidelines). They’re reading work on the Phantoms theme.
Deadline: 1 February 2023
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose; up to 3 poems
Pay: $25-50
Details here.
The First Line Journal
They want fiction and poetry that begins with pre-set first lines, one for each quarterly issue. They also accept 4-part stories (or 5-part, if also ending with the last-line prompt from The Last Line Journal – ‘Samir was never one to back down from a challenge.’ – see guidelines) from writers who want to use all the 4 (or 5) prompts, but all of these must be submitted by the 1 February 2023 deadline. For nonfiction, they want critical articles about your favorite first line from a literary work. For fiction and poetry, the first lines are:
Spring: ‘I am the second Mrs. Roberts.’ Due date: February 1, 2023
Summer: ‘All the lawns on Mentone Avenue are mowed on Wednesdays.’ Due date: May 1, 2023
Fall: ‘As soon as Harriet entered the building, she headed to the seventh floor.’ Due date: August 1, 2023
Winter: ‘It was the farthest north they had ever been.’ Due date: November 1, 2023
Deadlines: 1 February 2023 for the Spring issue, and for 4-part (or 5-part) stories; later for other issues (see above)
Length: 300-5,000 words for fiction; 500-800 words for nonfiction
Pay: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry (less postage fee for international writers – see guidelines)
Details here.
Cast of Wonders: Seasonal Holidays
Cast of Wonders publishes young adult fantasy, science fiction, and horror in podcast and online format; it is published by the Escape Artists’ suite of magazines. During the first two weeks of February, they will read submissions on Seasonal Holidays (e.g. Christmas, Halloween, Valentines and others); see their submission schedule here. They also take submissions from writers who are under 18 years of age, as well as translations and reprints. They have extensive guidelines for Cast of Wonder submissions, please read these carefully. Their submission portal will open for fiction submissions during the reading period.
Reading period: 1-14 February 2023
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here and here.
(Their sister publication Escape Pod, for science fiction stories, is also open now and has an end-May deadline, according to their schedule.)
The Devil Take You – Tales of Medieval Horror
This is a project by Sentinel Creatives, a publishing and production house based in Cape Town, South Africa. They want fiction submissions for their anthology, and have detailed guidelines, including, “We’re looking for original weird tales set in the medieval period that explore the human (and inhuman) experience through the lens of horror.”
Deadline: 15 April 2023
Length: 3,000-6,000 words
Pay: $125-200
Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
