These magazines pay $50 to $500 for fiction, and a few also accept other genres, like non-fiction and poetry. They’re open for submissions now, or will open soon. Deadlines for some markets are approaching quickly. – S. Kalekar
Unnerving Magazine
They publish short stories and poetry – they want horror and suspense, generally leaning toward horror. Their guidelines say, “Sex, gore and violence are welcome in moderation. Action over emotion, every time. Please no hard science fiction, sword and sorcery fantasy, romance, humor that isn’t sinister or literary works that venture so far into experimental that they become nonsense, no cop dramas unless hard boiled gumshoe, no fan fiction, no war stories, no stories where rape is the lead character’s motivator, and no blatant rip-offs. No Lovecraft characters, locations, or wording.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Length: 1,500-8,000 words for fiction, 12-100 lines for poetry
Pay: $0.03/word for fiction, $0.20/line for poetry
Details here.
(Submissions are also open for Negative Space 2 – A Tale of Survival Horror anthology by Dark Peninsula Press. They pay $50 for survival horror stories of 2,000-7,500 words. The deadline is 31 October 2021.)
Escape Pod: Joy
This audio and online science fiction magazine is open for submissions on theme of Joy. They will resume unthemed submissions starting 1st November.
Deadline: 31 October 2021
Length: 1,500-6,000 words for original fiction; longer for reprints
Details here.
(Submissions are also open for three anthologies from JayHenge Publishing: Titanic Terastructures, the deadline for which is 31 October 2021; as well as Grandpa’s Deep-Space Diner, and Phantasmical Contraptions, both of which are open until filled. Pay is $5/1,000 words for stories up to 15,000 words.)
Starward Shadows Quarterly
This is a dark speculative fiction magazine. They accept submissions of Cosmic Horror, Sword and Sorcery, Sword and Planet, High/Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos inspired tales, Gothic Horror, Space Opera, Dark Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, New Weird, Grimdark, Slipstream, and Cyberpunk – and they’ll read anything in speculative fiction. See guidelines for the tropes they love (including vampires, monsters, themes of neurodivergence, and trickster kings), and ones they don’t.
Reading period: 31 October – 7 November 2021
Length: 500-6,000 words
Pay: $0.01/word
Details here.
If I Die Before I Wake: Tales of Savagery and Slaughter
This is a fiction anthology by Sinister Smiles Press, titled ‘Tales of Savagery and Slaughter’. “Submissions must contain elements of savagery and slaughter, conducted by a person, an animal, a being other than human, or an unknown/original type of perpetrator. We are very much interested in stories with extremely original plots and not the typical “person slaughters a bunch of other people” type stories. Bonus points if the setting of the story is unique.” Writers can send more than one story.
Deadline: 8 November 2021
Length: 4,000-12,000 words
Pay: $30-50
Details here.
Shoreline of Infinity
This is a science fiction and fantasy magazine; their guidelines say, “We are looking for an engaging science fiction or fantasy story, something that gives reality a tweak on the nose – an idea that makes us stop and think.” For 2021, their submission period has been during 11th-13th of certain months for fiction. Sci-fi poetry is open year-round, and payment for that is a six-month subscription.
Reading period: 11-13 November 2021; year-round for poetry
Length: Up to 6,000 words for fiction
Pay: £10/1,000 words for fiction
Details here.
One Story
They accept literary fiction, and publish one story a month. “We are looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone.” They do consider reprints, provided the story has been published in print format only, outside of North America. Apart from cash, accepted writers also get 25 contributor copies.
Deadline: 14 November 2021
Length: 3,000-8,000 words
Pay: $500
Details here (guidelines) and here (Submittable).
The Margins
This is the magazine of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. They publish flash fiction by Asian, Asian American, and Asian diasporic writers. They are reading submissions for their flash fiction series. “Some of the most fascinating and perhaps strangest and most experimental writing exists in short, finished pieces that were never meant to be novels or full-length stories. Our hope is for the flash fiction we publish to be shared and perhaps read aloud, where flickers of a campfire match the ferocity of the page.” They publish fiction, auto-fiction, and prose poems. See guidelines for the kind of work they are looking for.
Deadline: 15 November 2021
Length: 500- 1,000 words
Pay: $120
Details here.
Matter Press: The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
They want compressed creative arts. “We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way.”
Deadline: 15 December 2021
Length: Up to 600 words (varies for Topical Thursdays and Triptych submissions)
Pay: $50
Details here.
Book XI: Be Careful What You Wish For
This journal is housed at Hamilton College’s Arthur Levitt Center for Public Affairs. They publish personal essays, memoir, fiction, science fiction, humor, and poetry with philosophical themes. They are reading work on the theme, ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’. They can accept a limited number of submissions via Submittable.
Deadline: 31 December 2021, or until submission cap is reached
Length: 2,000-7,000 words; can publish up to 10,000 words
Pay: $50/poem, $200/prose
Details here.
Gumshoe Review
They publish short fiction mysteries and nonfiction articles about the mystery field.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 1,000 words
Pay: $0.05/word, up to $50
Details here.
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.
