These magazines and anthologies publish literary fiction. Most of them also accept other genres, like nonfiction and poetry. Some of these pay writers. Most, but not all, of them are open now for submissions. They are listed in no particular order.
Mslexia
They accept submissions by women-identified authors only, of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, pitches, and fun projects. For fiction and poetry, they want work on Ghosts (deadline: 6 March) and Poison (deadline: 5 June) themes. They also have interesting sections in each genre; in fiction, they have a section called The World’s Wife, in which they want a fictional prose monologue in the voice of the wife, mistress, sister, daughter, mother of a famous real or fictional person; there’s also the Bedtime Story, short stories intended to be read aloud to a child at bedtime. Some of their submission sections are for subscribers only, and a few are closed, but most of them are open to all writers. Details here (scroll down and click on various sections/genres).
Heimat Review
They want prose (up to 3,000 words), poetry, and art. Their website says, “It is a journal of treehouses and chipped coffee mugs; creaky floors and dusty corners. A place to tape your work to the kitchen fridge.
We are interested in your reflections and nostalgia, your narratives of familiarity and strangeness, the things that draw you back to where you are – and where you hope to be.” The deadline is 15 March, for issue 3. Details here.
Duck Head Journal
“We publish quarterly, on or near the first day of each season. Submissions are open on a rolling basis. Poetry, short fiction, artwork, and photography submissions are accepted. In order to be considered for the next issue, submit your work on or before the last day of the month prior to its launch.” The deadline for the Spring issue 28 February 2023; you can see the issue deadlines, and the guidelines, here.
The New Quarterly
They accept submissions from Canadian writers only – fiction, poetry, and art; at the time of writing, nonfiction was closed until further notice. They have two submission periods, March 1st and August 31st, and September 1st and February 28th – they have submission caps for each genre. They have reached their fiction and poetry submission online and mailed caps for the September-February reading period, and submissions will reopen on 1st March. Send fiction of up to 6,000 words. Pay is CAD275 for fiction, and CAD50 per Postscript and poem. Details here (click on the relevant category).
Canthius
This is a Canadian intersectional feminist magazine that publishes poetry and prose by writers of marginalized gender identities, including trans, Two Spirit, non-binary, agender, cis women, genderqueer, GNC, and intersex writers, in English and Indigenous languages. They accept prose (up to 3,500 words) and poetry, and welcome experimental work, and play excerpts. Pay is CAD50-150. Please note, they have a monthly submission cap – so submissions may close early each month, during the submission period. The deadline is 15 March 2023. Details here.
White Enso
They want short fiction (up to 10,000 words), essays, creative non-fiction and artwork that encapsulates the Japan experience. They also have a section/podcast called Kaidankai, for ghost/supernatural stories. Submissions for White Enso are open till 15 March 2023. Details here.
ShortStory Substack
This is a newsletter and they accept short stories of 6 words to 10,000 words. They accept one short story a month – send a story by the end of the month, and the winner is announced by the 15th of next month. Pay is $100 + 50% of the subscription revenue. Details here.
(The editor is also starting a similar poetry project called Poetica, which you can read about here – scroll down.)
Common House
This is the University of Ottawa’s online literary magazine. They publish fiction (up to 4,000 words), including flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, reviews, comics, visual art, and multimedia art. They are reading for their second issue; the deadline is 28 February 2023. Details here and here.
Split Lip Magazine
They accept fiction (1,000-3,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, interviews, reviews, and art. They want literary, mainstream, or experimental writing, but no genre fiction. Their upcoming fee-free submissions periods are March, May, August, September, and November; there is a submission cap, so free submissions might close early. Pay is $25-75. Details here.
The Paris Review
This magazine will open for prose submissions in March. They have a submission cap for online submissions, which they hit early on, and they also accept postal submissions during the reading period. Details here.
Sheepshead Review
This print and online magazine publishes fiction (up to 3,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, art; “In addition, we are accepting interactive pieces! Platforms include Twine, YouTube, Google maps, and more.” For fiction, “The fiction staff goes for originality almost as much as the poetry staff. Keep it succinct, keep it human. Short doesn’t denote shallow, neither does long, sophisticated.” The magazine is Wisconsin-based, and is affiliated with UW-Green Bay. The deadline is 26 February 2023. Details here and here.
Gordon Square Review
They want fiction (up to 7,500 words), creative nonfiction, and poetry. They pay $25 for prose and $10 for poetry. The deadline is 1 April 2023. They also have editorial mentorships – see guidelines. Details here.
(And they have a fee-free call for Northeast Ohio writers for a staged reading during a literary festival – see Submittable.)
The Woodward Review
This is a new journal affiliated with Wayne State University, and they publish poetry, fiction (flash and short), nonfiction, art, hybrid and digital media, and the conversations these different forms can inspire. “Whether it’s pure fiction, nothing but the truth, or somewhere in between, we welcome anything you might call prose. In addition to traditional short stories and flash, creative nonfiction submissions can be lyric essay, memoir, researched narrative, or a personal obsession you discovered on Wikipedia but can’t stop thinking about. We’d really like to see prose writing that makes us wonder what it should be called.” Pay is $50. Reviews & Responses is open through end-July, other genres are open till 1 April 2023. Details here and here.
COMP
This magazine is affiliated with Piedmont University; they want creative and critical writing with accompanying process notes and/or author interviews. They publish fiction (no minimum or maximum word count), creative nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre work, critical prose, and will publish short comics in future issues. This is a new magazine; they have published one issue, so far. The deadline for this submission window is 28 February 2023. Details here.
Friday Flash Fiction
Their website says, “The essential challenge of Friday Flash Fiction is to write a fresh new story of 100 words (or just under) in time for publication that following Friday.” Also, “we also accept short poems and some flash fiction of up to 500 words, too, subject to some restrictions. However, every newcomer is expected to submit – and have published – two classic 100-word stories before we allow them to branch out.” Details here.
The Threepenny Review
They want fiction (up to 4,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, and submissions for the ‘Table Talk’ column. Pay is $400 for fiction and nonfiction, and $200 for poetry and Table Talk. The deadline is 30 April 2023. Details here.
Block Party Press
They publish work mostly by Canadian, and occasionally by international writers – you can read about them here. They want voice-driven chapbook manuscript submissions – fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and chapbook manuscripts of 15-24 pages. Pay is royalties. The deadline is 1 March 2023, for their inaugural Fall chapbook publication season. Submissions to Block Party Magazine are currently closed. Details here.
Embark: A Literary Journal for Novelists
They want the opening of your novels, of 2,500-4,000 words; you can read about them here. They showcase 10 novel openings in each issue. Novels must be unpublished at the time of submission, and can be in any genre. They also want an artist’s statement, that might offer a summary of the plot, the intentions behind the novel, a meditation on its theme—whatever the author feels is most important or meaningful about the project. Only the openings of novels (works of fiction 50,000 words or longer) will be considered. The deadline for their next issue is 1 March 2023. Details here.
Knight Writing Press Anthologies
They’re open for five anthologies, around these themes: autumnal stories, set around the fall; dark Halloween stories; spooky but mostly fun stories; winter holiday stories of warmth and miracles; and dark winter stories. The deadline is 1 March 2023. Pay is royalty share. Details here (click on each anthology name for details).
West Branch
West Branch is affiliated with Bucknell University. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translation. Pay is $50 for poetry and $0.05/word for prose, up to $100. The deadline is 1 April 2023. Details here.
Alternative Milk Magazine
They prioritize inclusion and elevation of the work of marginalized voices. They are reading submissions for their first issue; send fiction up to 4,000 words. “We are looking primarily for poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction/essays and art submissions, but if it’s good, please send it.” They pay. The deadline is 1 March 2023. Details here.
New Feathers Anthology
They want fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, videos, and music for their unthemed anthologies. “We welcome literary fiction submissions of all forms, including those that incorporate experimental or genre elements. We are happy to consider self-contained excerpts of novels and long stories.” Send fiction of up to 6,000 words. They are open for submissions from February 1 to March 1 for their spring issue, June 1 to July 1 for the summer issue, and October 1 to November 1 for the winter issue. Details here.
Liars’ League
They want themed stories, of 800-2,000 words – these are performed on stage (in the UK), and published. Their upcoming themes are: Royalty & Revolution, deadline 5 March; Heroes & Villains, deadline 7 May; Women & Girls, deadline 2nd July; Doom & Gloom, deadline 3 September 2023. Details here.
Southword
This is the magazine of the Munster Literature Centre, and they accept fiction (up to 5,000 words), and poetry. Pay is €250 per short story, and €40 per poem. The deadline is 28 February for poetry; 31 March 2023 for fiction. Details here and here.
Cerasus Magazine
They publish fiction (can be micro or flash, a short story, a novella strong enough to be serialised, or a standalone extract from a novel), nonfiction, poetry, and art. Publication months are April, July, October and January. Their rolling submission deadlines are 15th March, 15th June, 15th September and 15th December. Contributors get a PDF copy, and can buy a discounted print copy. Details here.
Sink Hollow
This is a literary journal affiliated with Utah State University, and they only want writing and from undergraduate students worldwide. They want “provocative, resonant, polished pieces”. They accept flash and short fiction, of up to 7,500 words, as well as nonfiction, poetry, and art. The deadline is 31 March 2023. Details here, here, and here.
Epoch Magazine
This magazine is affiliated with Cornell University. They accept fiction, essays, poetry, and comics. There is no fee for mailed submissions; for these, the submission period is September to February (see guidelines). Online submissions follow a different reading schedule, and are charged. Pay depends on funding, and is currently $100-500. Details here and here.
Defenestration
This is a literary magazine dedicated to humor. Currently, they’re open for short story (up to 4,000 words), poetry, nonfiction, fake nonfiction, and visual submissions. The deadline is 5 April 2023. Details here.
About Place Journal: On Rivers
Their website says, this is “a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society”. They want “submissions of prose, poetry, visual art, and hybrid and multi-modal work pertaining to rivers. Rivers are deep sources of connection and memory, holding very different meanings for different communities, and this issue seeks to honor the many types of relationships we have with rivers.” They have detailed guidelines on the theme. Send fiction of up to 4,000 words. The deadline is 15 April 2023. Details here.
Hermine
This is a print annual, and they publish fiction. Send stories of up to 4,000 words. They pay. They are scheduled to reopen for submissions in Spring 2023. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
