These are magazines for poets, and none of them charge a fee to submit, or they have fee-free options. Many pay writers, and all are open for submissions now. They are listed in no particular order. Several of these magazines accept other genres too, like fiction and nonfiction. There are also some awards, grants, and fellowships for poets with upcoming deadlines at the end of this list, which are open now. None charge a fee. For those wanting to submit manuscripts, see Emily Harstone’s recent article, 85 Poetry Manuscript Publishers Who Do Not Charge Reading Fees.
West Branch
This literary magazine publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. Send up to 6 poems. Pay is $50 for poetry, and the deadline is 1 April 2020. Details here.
Diode Poetry Journal
They welcome all types of poetry (including, but not limited to, narrative, experimental, visual, found and erasure poetry) – send 3-5 poems. They also accept poetry translations, and collaborative poems. They accept submissions of book reviews, interviews, and essays on poetics. Submissions are accepted year-round. Details here.
Acron
They want submissions of original unpublished haiku not under consideration elsewhere. Send 5-15 poems. They are reading submissions until end-February 2020. Details here.
Room Magazine
They accept poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and art by women (cisgender and tranasgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They also accept pitches for book reviews. They are reading for an unthemed issue; send up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD50-150, and the deadline is 30 April 2020. Details here.
El Chapo Review
They accept poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. They are reading now for their Summer issue. Send up to 5 poems. They pay $100 in total for poetry, irrespective of how many poems they accept. The deadline is 15 March 2020. Details here.
Hiram Poetry Review
Their tagline is ‘distinctive, witty, and heroic poetry since 1966’. They are now accepting work via Submittable, and ask writers to limit submissions to one per reading period via Submittable – US-based writers can send more submissions by post, and international writers can send work by email. Send 3-5 poems. They also publish poetry translations, and reviews of poetry books, collections, and anthologies. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, and folks with disabilities are encouraged to submit. They are reading now for their annual Spring issue. Details here and here.
The Cincinnati Review
This literary magazine accepts poetry, poetry translations, fiction, literary non-fiction, and art. Query for drama submissions. They also have a weekly online Flash feature called micro (payment for this is a digital contributor copy). They accept online submissions only, except from writers with disabilities or those who are incarcerated. Send up to 5 poems, no more than 10 manuscript pages. Pay is $30/page for poetry – see the poetry editor’s comments for the kind of work they are looking for. Deadline is 1 March 2020. Details here.
Grain Magazine
This Canadian literary magazine publishes poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, and art from Canadians and from writers around the world. Queries for submissions of work in other forms (i.e. short plays, comics, etc.) are welcome. Artwork submission is mainly by invitation, but artists are welcome to query. Send up to 6 pages of poetry. Pay is CAD50/page, up to CAD250. They are also reading submissions for their Queer Writers Issue. Deadline is 29 February for the Queer Writers Issue, and 15 May 2020 for the general issue. Details here.
Epoch Magazine
This literary magazine is edited by faculty at Cornell University. They publish poetry, fiction, essays, cartoons, screenplays, graphic art, and graphic fiction. Submit no more than 5 poems in one envelope. They consider poetry in all forms, including the long poem. The deadline is for unsolicited submissions; they read work from literary agencies year-round. Submissions must be sent by post. Pay is $50 per poem, and the deadline is 15 April 2020. Details here.
Antioch Review
This is one of the oldest continuously publishing literary magazines in America, founded in 1941. They publish poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. They do not want light or inspirational verse. Writers can submit 3-6 poems, and submissions have to be sent by post. Pay is $20/page. The deadline is 30 April 2020 for poetry (postmarked). Details here.
Gyroscope Review
They publish poetry in all genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Their guidelines also say, “Rhyming poetry is a hard sell unless extremely well done. We are open to traditional forms, but again, they must be well done. Poems about writing poems are generally a pass.” Send up to four poems. They are reading poetry for the Spring issue until 7 March, but sometimes submissions close early due to overwhelming response. Details here.
Unsplendid
This is a triquarterly online journal that accepts poetry written in received forms, which include, though not exclusively: Sonnet, Villanelle, Sestina, Ballade, Rondeau, Pantoum, Ghazal, Tanka, Heroic Couplets, and Blank Verse. They do not want unpattered free verse. They also accept translations. Send up to 5 poems or a prose piece. Details here.
Ninth Letter
This literary magazine publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Send 3-6 poems for the print magazine. They also accept translated works. They want work that experiments with form, narrative, and non-traditional subject matter, as well as more traditional literary work. Submissions for the online issue on the ‘Debts’ theme (send up to 3 poems), with a later deadline, are also open. They can review two submissions per author per reading period. Pay is $25/page, up to $150 for print, and $25 per poem for online. The deadline is 28 February for the print edition, and 20 March 2020 for online. Details here.
Rascal
They accept poetry, essays (including on poetics), and artwork. Work that induces care, enhances lives and contributes to vital efforts of sustainability is overwhelmingly encouraged, as is work that takes a broader-than-human perspective on its subject. They like themes of attention, affection, ecology and human-to-nonhuman relationships, holonic or holistic investigation, original mythology, non-dualism and poetics. They do not like art for art’s sake. Essays on poetics should preferably be either appreciations of poets or pedagogical tracts on elements of craft. Send 1-7 poems. Pay is $20 for poetry. Details here.
Colorado Review
This literary magazine is open for submissions of poetry and short fiction; nonfiction is accepted year-round. Online submissions are charged, but there is no fee for mailed submissions. Send up 5 poems. Pay is $10 per page of poetry ($30 minimum). The deadline is 30 April 2020. Details here.
Southword Literary Journal
This is a print literary journal published at least twice a year by the Muster Literature Centre. They are accepting poetry and fiction for their autumn issue, which is open to unsolicited submissions. Send up to 6 poems. Pay is €40 per poem, and the deadline is 28 February 2020 for poetry. Details here.
Muddy River Poetry Review
They prefer free verse, and do not want ‘mushy’ or religious poems. Submit 1-3 poems. They are reading submissions until 1 March 2020 for the Spring issue. Details here.
The Threepenny Review
This respected quarterly journal accepts poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and submissions for their ‘Table Talk’ column. Send up to 5 poems. Pay is $200 per poem, and the deadline is 30 June 2020. Details here.
AGNI
This well-regarded literary journal accepts poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, and translations. They are interested in prose poems, formal poems, blank verse, and free verse. All submissions will be considered for print and online publishing. Send up to 5 poems. Pay is $20/page of poetry (up to $150). The deadline is 31 May 2020. Details here.
Planet
This Welsh magazine publishes unsolicited poetry and fiction. They also accept pitches for articles. Send 4-6 poems. Pay is £25 per poem for the print magazine. Details here.
Eye to the Telescope: House and Home
This speculative poetry magazine is accepting submissions on the ‘House and Home’ theme. Send 1-3 poems. Pay is $0.03/word, up to $25. The deadline is 15 March 2020. Details here.
Gingerbread House
They publish poetry and fiction with a magical element. They read submissions year round, and publish six times a year. Send up to 5 poems. Details here.
Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
They publish fiction, memoir, and poetry. Send up to 2 poems. They read for themed issues, and the themes for 2020 issues are: Spring Fever (April-June); Lazy, Hazy, Crazy (July-September); and Migration (October-December). There are other themes listed, too, for next year. Submissions are due at least one month prior to the theme issue. Pay is $5 for poetry. Details here.
Guernica
This wonderful arts and politics magazine accepts poetry submissions, as well as translations – send 4-5 poems. They also accept fiction and nonfiction. Details here.
Salmagundi
This respected quarterly accepts 5-6 poems at most, fiction, personal essays, and cultural criticism. Details here.
Hanging Loose
This magazine accepts up to 6 poems. They have a section where they publish work by high school age students, as well. They also publish fiction, and they rarely publish non-fiction. Artwork and book manuscripts are by invitation only. They read throughout the year. Details here.
Blackbird
Send up to 6 poems at a time. They also publish fiction, nonfiction, plays, and accept queries for video essays. Details here.
Bracken Magazine
This magazine explores human nature as part of nature. They consider any style of poetry, but have a bias toward the lyrical. Their guidelines say, “We look for natural-world, and especially arboreal, elements in the poems we receive.
Send us poems through which we rediscover our own nature in the whole of nature—poems that slip in under our skin and change the light in the room.” Send up to 4 poems. They also accept pitches for fiction, and art. They are reading submissions until end-March 2020. Details here.
The Paris Review
This acclaimed magazine accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Send up to 6 poems. They also accept translations, and are reading work until end-February 2020. Details here.
CONTESTS
The Mastheads Writers’ Residency
This is for five writers across disciplines (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, translation, playwriting, comics, and more), who are awarded residencies. The residency runs for the month of July in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The application includes a 10-page writing sample. Writers get $900, travel stipend, and a room in a communal house. The deadline is 29 February 2020. Details here.
Speculative Literature Foundation Working Class Writers Grant
This international speculative literature grant is for working class, blue-collar, poor, and homeless writers who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction. Writers are to send a work sample (up to 10 pages of poetry, 10 pages of drama, or 5,000 words of fiction or creative nonfiction), and a short statement. The prize is $1,000, and the deadline is 29 February 2020. Details here.
Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts
Translators and authors of multilingual texts are encouraged to submit their work for The Gabo Prize. Writers should indicate whether the translation falls under poetry or prose, and include the original work along with their translation. Original, bilingual work qualifies for the Gabo Prize. The prize is $200, and the deadline is end-February 2020. They also run a prize for creative nonfiction in February. Details here.
Baltimore Science Fiction Society Poetry Contest
For this contest, poets are required to submit poetry on the science fiction/fantasy/horror/science themes. Up to 3 entries are allowed per person, of up to 60 lines each. The first prize is $100, second prize is $75, and third is $50. The deadline is 1 March 2020. Details here.
International Writers Project
This is a fellowship with residency to provide sanctuary and support for established creative writers – fiction writers, playwrights, and poets – who are persecuted in their home countries or are actively prevented from pursuing free expression in their literary art. The Fellow will be a member of a supportive community at Brown University, Rhode Island. The fellowship will be accompanied by a series of lectures, readings and other events that highlight the national artistic and political culture of the writer and address the global issues of human rights and free expression. Fellows can apply themselves or be nominated. They get a stipend, residency, relocation funds, and health benefits; aid for Visa and relocation process. The deadline is 1 March 2020. Details here.
Speculative Literature Foundation Older Writers Grant
This is for a writer who is aged 50 years or older at the time of grant application, and is intended to assist such writers who are just starting to work at a professional level. The writing application sample could be of poetry, fiction, drama, or creative non-fiction. A writing sample (up to 10 pages of poetry, 10 pages of drama, or 5,000 words of fiction or creative nonfiction — if sending a segment of a novel, novella, or novelette, include a one-page synopsis as well) is part of the application. The grant is for $1,000, and the deadline is 31 March 2020. Details here.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
This prize is for humor poetry. Submit a poem of up to 250 lines. The prize is $1,000 and a subscription to Duotrope, second prize of $250, and 10 prizes of $100 each. The deadline is 1 April 2020. Details here.
There are also other grants and awards, though these are only for America-based or American poets. These include:
– Creative Capital Awards ($50,000, and an additional career development services worth $50,000, deadline 29 February 2020);
– US-Japan Creative Artist Exchange Fellowships ($20,000 for three months; additional $4,000 a month up to five months, cover sheet deadline 1 March 2020);
– National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships ($25,000, deadline 11 March 2020);
– Cave Canem Residency for African American poets ($1,000, deadline 15 March 2020).
Author Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.
