These magazines accept young adult (YA) fiction; there are both literary and genre magazines in this list. Most of them also accept other genres. A few pay writers. Not all of them are open for submissions now.
Cast of Wonders
This audio and online magazine of YA speculative fiction, from the Escape Artists suite of magazines, has detailed guidelines. They want “Stories that evoke a sense of wonder, have deep emotional resonance, and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without gratuitous or explicit sex, violence or pervasive obscene language. Think Percy Jackson or The Hunger Games. … We’re looking for fiction with strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, and clear action. We like a proper narrative structure and a prose style not laden with clichés and over-worn idioms. We like fiction that makes us think, but the main elements should be thrilling entertainment, adventure and emotional connection.” They want science fiction, fantasy, and horror up to 6,000 words. They also accept translations, reprints, and submissions by authors under 18. They pay $0.08/word. Watch for their next submission period. Details here (guidelines) and here (schedule). Submission is via a portal, which opens during the submission period.
Freedom Fiction Journal
They accept flash (up to 500 words) as well as short (1,000-12,000 words) fiction. “Fiction Short Stories of All Genres such as Literary, Pulp fiction, SciFi, Fantasy, Horror, Detective, Crime, Romance, Adventure, Western, Young Adult, Humour, Satire, etc. are welcome.” Details here.
Starspun
This magazine publishes fantasy stories for children and young adults. “Stories must be fantasy (adventure, sword and sorcery, literary, high, etc.) and set in a different world. We do NOT accept urban fantasy. … Dark fantasy is welcome but a hard sell.” They also welcome submissions from writers under the age of 18. They prefer stories up to 3,500 words (accept up to 5,000 words). Details here.
Good River Review
They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama/scripts, writing for children and young adults, as well as review pitches. “Those writing for children and young adults may submit work in any of our categories: prose, lyric, drama. See guidelines in each area for specifics on length and content.” Good River Review is affiliated with Spalding University. Details here.
After Dinner Conversation
This magazine publishes short stories on philosophical / ethical themes, and have extensive guidelines. They publish work for adults, as well as young adults and children. Submission is via a form.
Length guidelines are: Children’s Stories – under 1,500 words; Young Adult – under 3,500 words; Adult – 1,500-7,000 words (see their notes for story length in the last category). They pay $75. Details here and here.
The Quiet Ones
“The Quiet Ones is a free-to-download e-zine that centers LGBTQIAP+ and women’s voices in the subgenres of quiet horror and intimate dystopian fiction, both for YA and Adult audiences.” Watch for their next submission period. They pay. Their submission form will be active during the submission period. Details here.
Black Fox Literary Magazine
“We’re always looking for quality fiction to publish in our biannual issues. We accept work based on merit and not based on genre. We enjoy receiving submissions from under-represented genres such as: YA, romance, flash fiction, mystery, etc.” They also accept creative nonfiction and poetry, as well as blog posts. The deadline is 30 November 2025 for their Winter issue. Details here.
Issues in Earth Science
“Fiction should be written for the feature, “Eww, there’s some geology in my fiction!” We are interested in MG and YA fiction that incorporates Earth Science concepts as key, rather than incidental, elements. Stories with adult characters but written for MG or YA will also be considered. The science element should be more substantive than “cool facts” or jargon that is slipped into a story. Rather, the Earth Science concept should both be integral to the story and represent a key idea that might be taught in an Earth Science classroom.” They also accept nonfiction. They pay $0.10/word for fiction and $100 for nonfiction. Fiction submissions will reopen in early 2026. Details here.
All Worlds Wayfarer
They have detailed guidelines, including, “We love stories that take us on tours through the fantastic—whether in other dimensions or in the hidden spaces of our own world.” They publish flash and short fiction in the adult, new adult, and young adult age ranges. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.
StarShipSofa
This is a science fiction magazine. “From the soft, social science fiction to the weird pulpy stuff to the vigorous hard SF and YA adventure. We welcome all sub-genres and all variety of punks in all their colours. From high-octane action to quiet philosophical stories, we’re after it all. Science fiction is a rich and diverse genre, push its boundaries as far as you can go.
We welcome translations and are very interested in stories that take place/written by authors outside the US/Anglo-sphere, as well as as alternative movements and styles.” They also accept some reprints (see guidelines). And, “Paid story length runs from 3,000 words up to 7,000 words. Most of the stories we accept are between 3500 and 5000 words.” Do not send fantasy or supernatural horror stories.
They pay: $50. Details here and here.
BONUS: One Teen Story Contest
One Teen Story Contest is a popular annual contest for teen writers, from One Story. “For our One Teen Story contest, we ask writers ages 13-19 to enter their original, unpublished fiction. We are interested in great short stories of any genre about the teen experience—literary, fantasy, sci-fi, love stories, horror, etc. What’s in a great short story? Interesting teen characters, strong writing, and a beginning, middle, and end.” See their guidelines for details. One winner in each category (13-15, 16-17, 18-19) will have their stories published on the website, and win $500. The deadline is 1 December 2025. Details here and here.
(And, One Story will open for literary fiction submissions on 3rd November, and close when they hit a submission cap; details here. Please note, the kind of stories One Story is looking for are quite different from those that are intended for One Teen Story; do not send the same story to both outlets.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
