These magazines accept mystery/crime/thriller fiction. Some of them are also open to other genres. Many of these magazines pay writers. Most, but not all, of them are open for submissions now.
Pulp Asylum
Their editor says, “I publish a variety of traditional pulp genres: horror, mystery, crime, science fiction, fantasy, adventure, western, and just plain weird stories are all welcome. I am not interested in experimental fiction. Regardless of genre, I am looking for straight-ahead, fully-formed stories with an inventive plot, lively action, and memorable endings. I don’t mind violence or gore, and there are no taboos, but any of the strong stuff should be meaningful in the context of plot. Overall, you’ll have a much better chance of getting under my skin than you will of grossing me out.” Pay is $15 for stories up to 3,000 words. Details here.
(And, Pulp Literature is also a multi-genre magazine accepting many genres, including mystery; they pay, and are scheduled to stay open through March 2025, but may close early if submissions are overwhelming.)
Wallstrait
Their tagline is, A Journal of Hard-to-Define Fiction. “We welcome flash fiction, longer stories, hybrid, and experimental stuff you can’t quite define. We publish a new story every two weeks.” They publish many genres; “We’ll read and publish short stories in the realm of action, adventure, coming-of-age, crime, detective, drama, dystopia, fairytale, fantasy (high/low/second-world/portal/Eldritch/magical realism/paranormal; just go for it), gothic, horror, humor literary, mystery, noir, philosophy, psychology, politics, realism, romance, satire, science fiction, steampunk, supernatural, thriller/suspense, tragedy, Western, etc. Send us your work. If your genre isn’t on this list, just pretend it is and send it.” They prefer works of 500-3,000 words, but will read up to 5,000 words. They pay $25. The deadline is 1 June 2025. Details here and here.
Black Cat Weekly
Black Cat Weekly publishes mystery, as well as science fiction and fantasy fiction. They have distinct guidelines for each genre. For mystery, they say, “stories must include a crime. It isn’t a mystery if it doesn’t have a crime.We prefer traditionally plotted stories rather than experimental or literary fiction. Think Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, John D. MacDonald, etc. The good stuff. We prefer not mixing fantasy with mystery. Werewolves, ghosts, talking cats, etc. are fantasy. … No gimmick stories, no surprise endings. PG-13 rating.”
Please note, they have one portal for submitting mystery, and another for submitting science fiction and fantasy. They prefer stories of 1,500-15,000 words, but can accept up to 45,000 words. Pay is $0.01/word up to $50. Details here (mystery guidelines), here (sf & f guidelines), and here (submission portals).
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
They publish every kind of mystery short story: the psychological suspense tale, the deductive puzzle, the private eye case – the gamut of crime and detection from the realistic to the more imaginative (including “locked room” and “impossible crime” stories). They are not interested in explicit sex or violence, nor do they want true detective or crime stories. They also publish poetry. Length is 2,500-8,000 words, though they occasionally publish stories of up to 12,000 words. Shorter stories are also considered, including minute mysteries of as little as 250 words. They also accept 1-2 short novels every year, up to 20,000 words, from established writers. Pay is $0.05-0.08/word, sometimes higher for established authors. Details here and here.
(Also see Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, which belongs to the same group.
And, Belanger Books is accepting pitches/submissions for some upcoming Sherlock Holmes themed anthologies; they pay.)
Red Neck Press: Tough
Tough is a crime fiction journal publishing short stories and self-contained novel excerpts, and occasional book reviews and essays. They are particularly interested in stories with rural settings. Length guidelines are 1,500-7,500 words for fiction, and they pay $50. They also accept novellas and short story collections, and pay $100 for those. At the moment they seem to have two websites, see their old website here and the new one here; see guidelines here, here, and here.
Shotgun Honey
They publish crime, noir, and hard-boiled flash fiction, of up to 700 words. And, “ We have published western and horror fiction in the past, but unless otherwise stated, do not submit works outside the crime genre.” Pay is $15. You have to register / log in to view their submission form. Details here.
Black Fox Literary Magazine
They publish biannual issues. Apart from fiction (up to 5,000 words), they also accept poetry, nonfiction, blog posts, and art. “We enjoy receiving submissions from under-represented genres such as: YA, romance, flash fiction, mystery, etc.” They pay $20. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions each month. The deadline is 31 May 2025. Details here and here.
Gumshoe Review
They want a complete mystery in 1,000 words or fewer. They also accept nonfiction about the mystery field. Pay is $0.05/word, up to $50. Details here.
The Genre Society
The Genre Society publishes fiction in various genres; horror, science fiction, thriller, mystery, romance, fantasy, and magical realism. Their submission portal will open from 1st April and will close on 1st June 2025 or when the issue is filled, whichever is earlier. Details here.
Cold Caller Mag
Cold Caller is a new Substack-based magazine. They publish crime and mystery fiction; “and we define those terms broadly. We’re looking for stories of bad decisions and worse consequences; unlucky losers who can’t catch a break; grifters and con men convinced they’re about to score big; good men and women who have very good reasons to do terrible things.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “We lean toward noir and realism, so generally speaking we aren’t looking for cozy mysteries, spy thrillers, or for cross-genre work such as mystery-romance, mystery-science fiction, mystery-fantasy, etc.” They prefer stories of 2,000-6,000 words, though they accept works up to 10,000 words. They pay $125. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
