These are markets for creative nonfiction. Some of these geared towards specific topics/niches or demographics, including youth, women, memoir, illness, death, epiphanies, Christianity, parenting, new and emerging writers, humor or satire. A few also publish other genres, like fiction and poetry. Most of these pay.
Mask Magazine
This is an online youth-centred style and living magazine. They have regular themed issues and publish personal essays about an adventure or tribulation that the writer learned from, as well as other kinds of nonfiction, including investigative pieces on subcultures. They pay $40-200. Details here.
Liguorian Magazine
This Christian magazine publishes personal essays of up to 1,000 words, as well as articles and fiction on an ongoing basis. Pay is $0.12-0.15/word. Details here.
The Introspecionist
This feminist magazine follows a theme every month. Their nonfiction includes essays, creative nonfiction and in-depth information pieces, of 100-5,000 words. They also publish fiction and poetry. Pay is $25-200. Details here.
The Threepenny Review
They publish creative nonfiction, including memoir, as well as poetry and fiction. They accept memoirs of up to 4,000 words. Pay is $400 for prose, and $200 per poem or Table Talk piece. Details here.
Bellevue Literary Review
This magazine publishes writing to do with illness. For creative nonfiction, they want essays of up to 5,000 words that reach beyond the standard illness narrative and develop the work in an engaging, original manner. They also accept fiction and poetry. They pay an honorarium. Details here.
Months to Years
The editors want to cultivate an online space to share creative nonfiction and poetry (as well as art and photography) that explores mortality and terminal illness. They eventually want to provide resources for spouses of the terminally ill, especially younger spouses. They publish creative nonfiction of up to 2,500 words and poetry that explore mortality, death, and dying-related topics. While they will consider stories about pets dying, they are primarily interested in human stories. Details here.
Brick
This venerable Canadian magazine publishes memoir and literary nonfiction, widely interpreted – their guidelines say, “We welcome humour, we welcome depth, we welcome the unclassifiable, and we welcome playfulness” with the nonfiction form. For 2018, apart from their regular reading periods, they will also read submissions in the month of June. They tend up publish work of 1,000-5,000 words. There is no fee for mailed submissions. Details here.
The Masters Review: New Voices
The New Voices section of this magazine publishes narrative nonfiction and fiction by writers who have not had a novel of narrative nonfiction or fiction published. They like writers to bend genres and experiment with structure. They accept work up to 7,000 words and pay $0.10/word, up to $200. Details here.
DAME Magazine: First Person
The First Person section of this feminist magazine publishes memoiristic, sometimes semi-reported essays. They also publish reported features, essays pegged to the news, interviews and opinion pieces. They accept pitches, not completed pieces, and pay competitive rates. Details here.
Motherwell
They accept essays on a variety of parenting-related themes: culture, family life, obstacles and overcoming them. They pay for personal essays and perspective pieces, but not for writing featured in The Well. For personal essays, they want “evocative first-person narratives that have a unique focus, or take a novel angle, on a slice of the parenting experience.” Details here.
The Sunlight Press
This online magazine, published twice weekly, wants to “hear the ways people turn toward light and hope, whether it is through the arts, culture, spirituality, or humor, and also how they respond to the darkness and navigate unknown spaces. Epiphanies are born from the ordinary and the extraordinary; whether it’s a reflection unfolding during a morning walk, after the loss of a loved one, or in the middle of unexpected laughter, we want to know about these moments.” They accept personal essays (650-1,000 words), as well as fiction, poetry, reviews, reflections and interviews. They publish both new and established writers, and they pay. Details here.
Sasee
They want essays, humor, satire, personal experience and features on topics related to women. Work is 500-1,000 words and pay varies. Details here.
Narratively
They publish nonfiction stories with a narrative arc. Most work fits into these categories: memoir, renegades (profiles of those against powers that be, and making an impact), super subcultures, hidden history (stories from the past about people who had an impact but never made it into the history books) and secret lives (both profiles and personal essays). Pay is competitive and varies according to the pitch. Details here.
New Haven Review
They like their writers to have a connection with the New Haven area, though this is not mandatory. They like pitches in the form of cover letters with their nonfiction. They also publish reviews, fiction and poetry. Pay is at least $500 for prose. Details here.
The Sun
This award-winning magazine publishes nonfiction, fiction and poetry. They tend to favour personal writing, but are also looking for provocative pieces on political and cultural issues. Pay is $300-2,000 for nonfiction. Details here.
