These markets pay $50 to about $560 for fiction, and a couple of them pay more for longer works. Some of these outlets publish other genres also, like non-fiction, poetry, and comics. – S. Kalekar
The Offing
This online magazine publishes creative writing in all genres and art in all media. They want work that “challenges, experiments, provokes – work that pushes literary and artistic forms and conventions.” They are currently open for fiction, Micro (10-560 character work, including spaces, in any genre), translations, and several other columns. For fiction, they want stories of any length. Excerpts of longer works, including soon-to-be published novels and story collections, are welcome, as are translations of work previously unpublished in English.
Deadline: 15 July 2020 for fiction; unspecified for others
Length: No length restrictions for fiction
Pay: $25-100
Details here.
Scare Street
They want short horror stories with a focus on ghosts, the supernatural, paranormal, monsters, and dark tales. “We go for stories that are dark, literary; we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling” according to their guidelines. The magazine also accepts reprints.
Deadline: 25 July 2020
Length: 3,000-7,000 words
Pay: “$10 per 1,000 words” ($0.01/word)
Details here.
34 Orchard
This is a magazine of fiction and poetry. Their guidelines say, “we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad. We like things we can’t put down and things that make us go “wow” when we’ve finished. But our main goal here at 34 Orchard is to publish the stuff we like to read, and you’re not in our heads. So don’t over think it. Just submit.” They are reading now for the Fall issue.
Deadline: 31 July 2020
Length: 1,000-7,500 words for fiction; up to three poems
Pay: $50
Details here.
Feral Cat Publishers: Dear Leader Tales Anthology
They want fiction and poetry for their anthology, ‘Dear Leader Tales’. They want stories of a humorous or satirical bent which illustrate or lampoon an emperor’s hubris (and lack of clothing). They don’t want any real life current or past Dear Leaders named directly, but their known foibles are fair game. Examples beyond the political include CEOs who constantly quote Sun Tzu or Machiavelli incorrectly, cats plotting to overthrow their human overlords, in short anywhere clueless oppressors operate. They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 31 July 2020
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word for fiction, $25 for poetry
Details here.
Bold Strokes Books: In Our Words – Queer Stories from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Writers
Bold Strokes Books recently issued a call for short story submissions on Twitter for an anthology. They want LGBTQ+ fiction from writers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), from all over the world.
Deadline: 1 August 2020
Length: 2,500-6,000 words
Pay: $100
Details here (Twitter call) and here (publisher website).
Third Flatiron: Brain Games – Stories to Astonish
They want science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk, cyberpunk, mythology, and satire fiction for this anthology. Their guidelines say, “The left side of the brain is associated with logical and analytical characteristics, while the right brain with creativity. We’d welcome stories from both sides of the brain. Stories could feature puzzle solving and ingenuity, inverted tv tropes, inventions (clockwork, practical, or Rube Goldberg), masterful creations (like JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations), and social commentary”.
Deadline: 1 August 2020
Length: 1,500-3,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here (scroll down for theme details) and here (general guidelines).
Lagrange Books: Worldbuilding fantasy anthology
This is a call for a themed fiction anthology. Stories must include, as a significant plot element, a political conflict that makes up a key piece of the worldbuilding. They want fantasy stories, broadly defined. This includes traditional high fantasy, urban fantasy, or any other flavor that includes a magical or fantastical element.
Deadline: 1 December 2020
Length: 3,500-7,000 words for short stories; 9,000-15,000 words for novellas
Pay: $100 for short stories, $200 for novellas
Details here.
Dark Moon Digest
They publish dark fiction – short stories and flash fiction reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, and Tales from the Crypt, as well as reviews and columns. They also list the kind of stories they’ve seen far too many times. They close submissions when they hit their monthly limit of 300 in that category, and submitters can try again the following month. They also accept reprints.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,500-7,000 words for short stories, 500-3,000 words for non-fiction
Pay: $0.03/word for short stories, $30 for non-fiction
Details here.
Pulp Literature
They publish any genre or between-genre work of literature, or visual art (black and white for interiors, colour for covers) up to 50 pages in length – short stories, novellas, poetry, comics, and illustrations. They do not publish non-fiction, memoir, or children’s stories. They want entertaining and accessible stories, and publish a mix of serious and lighthearted fiction. They take all genres, not just pulp.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to three poems; for fiction – stories up to 5,000 words have the best chance of publication; if a story is more than 10,000 words, send only the first 10,000, and they’ll ask for the rest of the story if interested
Pay: $0.05–0.08/word for short stories (to 7,000 words), lower for longer; poetry and interior illustrations pay $25–50. Sequential art (graphic novels and cartoons) and illustrations are at a rate of $25-75/page
Details here.
The Missouri Review
This literary magazine publishes fiction, essays, and poetry. Excerpts from book-length general interest non-fiction will be considered, but must stand alone; they also accept queries for non-fiction. There is no fee for mailed submissions.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: No length restrictions, but flash fiction (under 2,000 words) or longer works (9,000-12,000 words) must be exceptional to be accepted; 8-20 pages of poetry
Pay: $40 per printed page
Details here (submission guidelines) and here (FAQ with payment details).
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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.
