These are new literary magazines – they were launched about a year or less ago. Many have published at least one issue, so you can get a feel for what they’re looking for, but not all of them have; a few are accepting submissions for their first issue.
They are publishers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. A few of them pay. Many, but not all, of them are open for submissions now.
Also please remember, for new magazines, submission guidelines can evolve/change quickly, so double-check those before submitting.
Macrame Literary Journal
Their website says, “Here, we celebrate the works of poetry and fiction which display the DNA of the author on every page. We want to be inspired and moved by your work, motivated to reach for new heights.” They want poetry (up to 3), micro (up to 250 words), and short (up to 1,500 words) fiction. They want stories in all genres. The deadline is 1 April 2024 for their inaugural issue. Details here.
Upbeat Tales
This is a new speculative fiction podcast for upbeat and / or comedic tales. They pay. They post open calls on X, formerly Twitter. For their earlier call, they paid $0.01/word for stories of 100-6,000 words, and had accepted submissions via a form that was available when they were open. See the website here.
Frozen Sea
Their first issue was published in October 2023; they’ve published three issues so far. Their website says, “Frozen Sea is excited by a wide range of poetry. We love playing tennis without the net so of course we’ll consider free-verse, as well as the carefully-constructed corsetry of form. … A large part of our mission is to publish exciting emerging poets who do not yet have, or have recently published, a full-length collection. Feel free to send work if you don’t quite fit that category—we hope to lead readers to their next favorite poets.” Send 3-5 poems of up to 30 lines. They also publish visual art. The deadline is 1 March 2024. Details here.
Spooky
This is a cozy horror magazine. “Cozy horror. Fun horror. Classy horror. Dare we say, wholesome horror? … perhaps the easiest way to understand what we mean is to read stories by some of the old masters we love: Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Roald Dahl. Watch classic episodes of Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery. Read old horror comics. Listen to radio dramas like Suspense, Quiet, Please, and Inner Sanctum Mysteries. … In short, we’re looking to provide a space for a type of storytelling that has largely gone out of style – dark and scary, but playful and approachable with an emphasis on plot.” They have a detailed list of things they like (including high concept settings and situations reminiscent of the pulps — Androids, ghosts, aliens, old castles, vampires, dinosaurs, deals with the devil, mad scientists, Wild West gunslingers), and what they don’t. Length guidelines are up to 5,000 words (prefer 2,500-3,000 words), and pay is $0.01/word. Their next scheduled submission period is May-July for the fall/winter issue; they also open in October-December for the spring/summer issue. Issues will be available in print and electronic copies. Details here.
topograph
They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and reviews of place, according to their bio on X. Their website says, “Topograph is an online (for now), place-based literary journal that wants to add depth and meaning to the map. We want to show what makes places distinct; uncover the historical and emotional topographies of land; and reveal aspects of where people live and have been, ugly or beautiful, that are essential to understanding those places.” And, “Show us the where. We want work in which the setting is a character. We want work that examines a place’s meaning. We want work that reveals the boundaries between places. We prefer work about places we don’t hear too much about.” They have published one issue so far. Watch for their next submission period. Details here and here.
Concord Ridge
This is a print-only poetry broadsheet. You can read about them here. Poems should be a maximum of 40 lines, including stanza breaks, and each line should not exceed more than 60 characters. They also accept black and white photography/visual art. They have yet to publish their first issue, though they have put together a sample issue. They pay $10 for poems and $20 for art, and are open throughout the year. Details here.
Flickers of Fear
They publish horror microfiction and poetry, and had a theme for their first submission call. Pay is $10 for stories of 300 words and poetry. Details here.
The Fabulist Flash
The Fabulist Flash is a project by The Fabulist, a speculative works magazine. Their website says, “Debuting in 2024, The Fabulist Flash is a new digital subscription project featuring fresh, fantastical and speculative writings of up to 1,000 words, delivered to subscribers each week.” Their first submission call is closed; they expect to open again in 2024. They paid $100 for stories during their last open call in November 2023 (now closed). Details here (scroll down to The Fabulist Flash).
(The Fabulist also pays for speculative fiction, when they are open for submissions; they’re currently open for visual art).
The Mersey Review
Their website says, “The Mersey Review is a quarterly online literary journal obsessed with the written word, the unwritten word, the yet-to-be-written word, & the forgotten word. We love artistry, brevity, community, & incredulity. Our favourite piece of writing advice isn’t really writing advice at all, but a line from an Emily Dickinson poem: ‘Tell all the truth but tell it slant—’.” They publish flash fiction and CNF (up to 750 words), and all forms of poetry. “Feel free to be as traditional or as experimental as you like here. The main thing we’re after is engaging writing that makes us feel.” Their first issue was published on in December 2023. They are closed to submissions and reopen April 1st. Details here.
Baubles From Bones
This is a science fiction and fantasy magazine, and they’re reading submissions for their first issue. “We’re open to most subgenres and themes but have a particular fondness for compelling adventures, folk-retellings, stories of hope in the dark, emotional healing, love of all sorts, environmentalism, and the humanity (or lack of it) among the fantastical and speculative.” They accept fiction of 1,000-10,000 words, and pay $0.01/word; they also accept poetry and prose of up to 600 words (see guidelines), and pay $6 for these pieces. The deadline is 21 February 2024. Details here.
Prose Poems
They publish prose poems and flash. Their first issue was published in November 2023. “We only publish prose poetry, but short-shorts and flash fiction are fine, as long as they are a paragraph. Each poem should be a page long, maximum. Please, do not send any other styles (free verse, formal verse), or individual poems longer than a page.” They also accept translations. Payment per author/poet is $10. Details here.
Epic Echoes
This is “a digital magazine that reverberates with the pulse-pounding spirit of vintage pulp fiction while resonating with the modern sensibilities of today’s diverse readers” – they want stories in various genres – “Science fiction, fantasy, mystery, crime, adventure, horror, and everything in between. We love genre-bending stories and unique takes on classic tropes. Grounded, more realistic stories are also welcome.” Their first issue was published in September 2023. They pay $10 for stories of 1,000-3,000 words, the deadline is 29 February 2024. You can read about them here and download the guidelines here.
Chismosa Literary
This literary magazine accepts poetry, prose, fiction, and creative nonfiction (see guidelines). Their website says, “Our debut issue is themed “CHISMOSA.” To celebrate the beginning of our magazine, we will be awarding $100 to the piece that best captures the spirit of chismosa that lives in all writers. We want work that explores the idea that to be a writer is to gossip; it is to people-watch and eavesdrop and turn the things we observe into protagonists and plot-devices. Give us a story brimming with gossip, or write a poem to tell us about the art of eavesdropping. Tell us what being a chismosa writer means to you.” And, “We accept all genres of writing, and we encourage work that is experimental. Pieces that are heavily inspired by real people and events are encouraged.” The deadline for magazine submissions (and the contest) is 1 March 2024. Details here.
The Mantlepiece
This is an Iceland-based journal. Their first issue was published in July 2023, and you can read their previous issues here. They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translations. “We pay (via PayPal) competitive, professional rates for all the material published on our website and in our magazine.” Details here.
Imagitopia
This is a podcast and ezine from Android Press, and they only accept fantasy reprints. Sub-genres include, but are not limited to, high fantasy, low fantasy, mythpunk, urban fantasy, steampunk/gaslamp, magical realism, aetherpunk, science fantasy, solarpunk fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, slipstream, and fairy tales. They pay $0.01/word for stories up to 5,000 words. Details here, here, and here.
The Garlic Press
Their website says, “The Garlic Press is an online literary magazine for extra pungent poetry and prose—by which we mean vivid, mean sticky and raw, mean flavorful, biting, sharp-edged.” And, “We’re happy to accept excellent pieces from writers at any stage of their career, in any genre, in traditional or experimental forms.” They accept up to 3 poems, or up to 2 short pieces of prose (see guidelines). They plan to have open submissions through the year, with cut-off dates for issues; they’re are reading submissions for their first issue until 31st March 2024. Details here.
Big Wing Review
Big Wing Review publishes essays, prose, flash fiction, poetry, spoken word, and visual art works. You can read about them here. They publish online and in print. Length guidelines are up to 4,000 words for prose, and up to 3 poems. Their last submission call was based on a theme, and they pay $5-10. They’ve published one issue so far. Watch for their next submission period. Details here and here.
Solstitia
Their website says this is “A twice-yearly zine that celebrates all things genre.” They’re reading submissions for Issue 1, and the theme is ‘Pets in Space’. “Our theme is a loose through-line for the magazine and not strictly enforced. We accept all genres (yes, even literary fiction) and all submission types (fiction, non fiction, poetry, art).” They pay $50 for stories up to 20,000 words. The deadline is 1 March 2024. Details here.
The Wild Umbrella
Their website says, “Our team met as postgraduate creative writing classmates mastering our respective crafts; since then, we have been united in the goal of discovering, promoting, and publishing the best and most interesting works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction we can find in Ireland and beyond. It’s free to submit to us, and we also aim to pay our contributors.” They have published some work online, so you can get a feel of what they’re looking for. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.
My Galvanized Friend
They is a print publication and they seek submissions of prose and poetry from LGBTQ+ writers in the US. You can read about them here and here and here. “Each 40-page issue includes fiction, nonfiction, and essays between 500 and 3,500 words as well as works of poetry and original works of art by queer artists across the United States. Submissions must be LGBTQIA+ content created by LGBTQIA+ identified submitters.” The theme for their first issue is ‘Firsts’, and the deadline is 1 March 2024. They pay $25 for prose of 500-3,500 words and $10/page for up to 2 pages of poetry. They read year-round, with cut-off dates for issues. Details here.
Haymaker Literary Journal
This is the graduate literary journal for Kent State University. They accept poetry, short fiction and nonfiction, drama, visual and graphic narratives, and translations (from German, Italian, Spanish, and Urdu). “Haymaker was founded as a magazine to reflect our small, Midwestern college town, surrounded by farms and nature, unique among its bigger Rust Belt neighbors. We are interested in thought provoking work, grounded in that natural world. We believe the quotidian, daily world to be consequential and essential to human experiences. While these environs may sound like traditional Americana, work that expresses them need not be. We intend Haymaker to be a space for formal experimentation to exist alongside new work in traditional modes.” They are open for submissions through March. Submission is via a form. Details here.
The Hog
Their website says, “The Hog wants to publish writing about landscape and nature that’s bold and unruly. We don’t adhere to any firm definitions of landscape or nature writing, and welcome the speculative as well as the literary. We want to know where the land strikes you in the chest, how it changed you, or how a long-dead hand has caught at your hood from across the ages.” And, ““We don’t adhere to a strict definition of nature and landscape writing, and we’re not confined to the rural.” They accept short fiction, flash fiction, poetry and literary criticism on a quarterly issue to rolling basis. Details here.
Last Syllable
They publish fiction and creative nonfiction of 5,000-25,000 words, up to 3 poems, and open-genre works (song lyrics, multimodal stories, comics, and other experimental forms). They have published one issue so far. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.
Hearth Stories
This is a speculative fiction magazine. They want “speculative fiction slice-of-life stories with a focus on connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world.
We accept works from 1,000 words up to 10,000. However, the ideal length may be something in the 1,500-3,500 word range. We do not currently accept poetry, non-fiction, or non-speculative work (there needs to be a fantasy or science fiction element present in the work).” Pay is $0.01/word for fiction. Their next submission period is 1-31 March 2024. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here
