These websites and literary magazines pay $50 to $300 for fiction, and a few accept other genres like non-fiction and poetry, as well. The markets are open for submissions now, or are scheduled to open shortly. — S. Kalekar
Frozen Wavelets
This speculative flash fiction and poetry magazine encourage writers to push boundaries, in format and topics. Torture porn, vampires, gore and splatter for the sake of it, and racist/misogynist/white-supremacist discourse are hard sells. They also have a list of editor preferences. Very short work (Twitterfiction, Drabbles) is also published, as are translations and reprints. They will be opening submissions for two weeks in August.
Reading period: 1-15 August 2020
Length: Up to 750 words for fiction (500-1,500 for reprints), up to 10 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.08/word for fiction, $1/line of poetry
Details here.
Split Lip Magazine
This magazine publishes online monthly and in print annually – flash fiction, short stories, memoir, poetry, and art. For short stories, they accept literary, mainstream or experimental writing – no genre fiction. August is one of the months when they will accept fee-free submissions. Free submission periods sometimes close sooner than planned due to overwhelming response; they recommend submitting early.
Reading period: 1-30 August 2020 (for fee-free submissions)
Length: Up to 2,500 words for fiction, up to 2,000 words for memoir, one poem
Pay: $50 per author for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, and $25 for interviews/reviews for web issues; payment for print is $5 per page
Details here.
Room Magazine
This is Canada’s oldest feminist literary journal and they accept work by women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They are reopening for submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork soon.
Opens on: 1 August 2020
Length: Up to 3,500 words for fiction and non-fiction, up to five poems
Pay: $50-150 (Canadian)
Details here.
Blue Light Special
This is a fiction anthology, of folktales set in the modern world. They will each be based on a traditional folk tale but re-imagined to feature LGBTQ people grappling with today’s problems. They will each include a blue light as a surreal or supernatural element. Also see guidelines for how a blue light is used as a narrative device.
Deadline: 15 September 2020
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here and here.
Chiral Mad 5
This anthology will feature speculative short fiction, poetry and artwork, and all profits will go to the Black Lives Matter movement. The focus of this anthology is diversity. They want stories from underrepresented demographics only to submit – POC, LGBTQIA+, female (see guidelines). More well-known writers invited to the anthology (there are some big names already attached) will be asked to forego payment to keep cost down. Contributors of underrepresented demographics, however, will be offered professional payment (see details below), but may donate their work in lieu of payment if they so choose.
Deadline: 31 December 2020
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction, up to 50 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.06/word for fiction, $1/line for poetry
Details here (scroll down).
Aftermath Magazine
They publish stories and non-fiction on the theme of the end of human civilization as a result of our destruction of the environment (see guidelines). They also publish work that “celebrates the beauty and importance of our environment, the natural world, the splendour of the wild, the abundance of wonderful creatures, big and small, and our kinship with them, the simple joys and profound enrichments experienced by people who are able to commune with nature.” Submissions can be in English or Dutch.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,500-5,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word for fiction, $0.01/word for non-fiction
Details here.
Legendary Tales
This is an online speculative fiction magazine. They are looking for science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, and supernatural stories. They are interested in strong character-driven stories. They are reading now for their first issue.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,000-7,500 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
The Massachusetts Review: Working Title
Working Title publishes fiction and non-fiction that is longer than what is published in their print magazine. Work in this digital platform will also incorporate visual and interactive elements. They will accept mailed submissions only for Working Titles between May 1 and 1 October, when regular submissions are closed for The Massachusetts Review. There is no fee for mailed submissions.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: 7,000-25,000 words
Pay: $250
Details here.
Joyland Magazine
This magazine is relaunched, and their tagline is ‘A literary journal in multiple timezones’. They accept fiction and creative non-fiction. They read year-round. They charge for submissions, but they have free submissions for Black writers.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 10,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here.
The Voyage Journal
This is a new magazine of inclusive Young Adult writing, for both fiction and creative non-fiction. Their guidelines say, “YA is an ever expanding category of literature that constantly pushes boundaries. While the intended audience of YA is teenagers, almost half of YA readers are adults and Voyage is happy to be at the intersection of both groups. We are not interested in publishing a specific genre of YA, but we are interested in quality work by writers from a variety of backgrounds, especially #ownvoices.” They also consider reprints.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 6,000 words
Pay: $200
Details here and here (FAQ).
Author 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.
