These magazines publish creative nonfiction of various stripes. Most of them also accept other genres, like fiction and poetry. Some of the magazines pay writers.
Most, but not all, of them are open for submissions now. A few calls are themed. They’re listed in no particular order.
Cimarron Review
This venerable literary magazine has been published since 1967, and is affiliated with Oklahoma State University. You can read about them here. They accept nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. “For nonfiction, we are seeking literary essays of all kinds (memoir, lyric essay, personal essay, nature writing, literary journalism, etc), as long as they have emotional depth, crisp language, an engaging voice, and a strong, coherent structure. Essays should surprise us with their imagery and their insights about life. We have no set page lengths for any genre, but we seldom publish pieces longer than 25 pages.” Details here and here.
The Sunlight Press
They publish personal essays, poetry, reviews, and Artist on Craft series (interviews/reflections by artists on their process of the art of choice), and fiction. They pay $35-50. Details here.
Tolka
This is a biannual literary journal of nonfiction. You can read about them here. “We publish all forms of non-fiction: personal essay, memoir, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, and the writing that falls in between.” They accept works of 1,000-3,000 words, and pay €500. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.
Jelly Squid
They accept prose (up to 4,000 words), poetry, and visual art. “Jelly Squid was created out of a desire to seek out and uplift voices that feel innovative and new. We want to see work so raw and full of life that it practically bleeds – work so fresh and unique that it changes the way we read. If you feel that undeniable ache to share it, we want to see it. Send us your experimental narratives, your ergodic autofiction, your unfinished-but-finished manuscripts – send your offputting, your abstract, your authentic.” They are especially interested in publishing works by emerging writers. They’re reading submissions on the Proximity theme, and the deadline is 29 March 2025. Details here.
Glint
They publish creative nonfiction (up to 25 pages), short fiction, poetry, and other forms of hybrid writing. “We appreciate lyric essays, prose poems, flash fiction, collaborations, visual poetry, graphic fiction, literary fantasy, and excerpts from verse novellas or verse biographies.” The submission deadline is 30 April 2025. Details here.
The Audacity
This is a newsletter by Roxanne Gay. Twice a month, they feature essays and memoir by emerging writers only – those with fewer than three article/essay/short story publications and no published books or book contracts. Don’t send fiction, poetry, or any genre apart from nonfiction. Send essays of 1,500-3,000 words. They pay $1,500. Details here.
Lavinia Press
Livina Press’s motto is “whatever you want to write about is what we want to read.” They accept nonfiction (100-5,000 words), fiction, and poetry for their literary magazine. They also accept works for their blog (in which you can submit works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry year-round), see here for blog submission guidelines. The deadline for the magazine is 30 March 2025. Magazine submission guidelines are here.
(Lavinia Press also publishes one issue of Midnight Ink annually; fiction, nonfiction, and poetry “dedicated solely to all things spooky, haunting, gothic, and everything in between”, and accepting submissions until 31 October 2025, details here.)
Gordon Square Review
This is a magazine of Literary Cleveland, for emerging writers. They accept flash nonfiction (up to 1,000 words), as well as fiction and poetry. The deadline is 31 March 2025. They also provide editorial internships (see guidelines). Details here and here.
(Literary Cleaveland is also currently open for a project called Transitions, where they invite works in all formats by Black Trans women for an exhibition they will hold. The deadline for submitting work for Transitions is 21 April 2025, see the relevant section here.)
Potomac Review
They’re reading submissions for a special themed issue, The Unseen; see here for details on what they want in their essays. They accept poetry, short fiction, essays, and meditations for this theme, and the deadline is 1 April 2025; they accept submissions via Submittable. You can read more about the magazine here. Details here.
The Summerset Review
They accept nonfiction (up to 8,000 words), literary fiction, and poetry. They also have links on their guidelines page, to get an idea of what they’re looking for – recommended reading, additional advice, and an interview with their editor. They publish online, and occasionally in print. Details here.
Vernacular
This quarterly journal “enthusiastically welcomes submissions on anything and everything that falls under the theme of vernacular.” And, “Vernacular is anything that reveals a sense of place. Vernacular is the local and the vulgar – food, music, buildings, speech, flora, fauna, etc. Something regional that serves as a means of reaffirming or establishing identity. Familiar forms in an informal city.” They want “non-fiction, fiction, art, photography, music, poetry, comics, interviews, dream interpretation, a playlist, a menu for a nonexistent restaurant, etc. The weirder the better.” Send pieces of 1,500-2,000 words; they encourage you to send photos with written pieces. The deadline for their Spring issue is 13 April 2025. Details here.
Lunchbreak Review
This is a new magazine; their first issue will be published in the Fall of 2025. “For our first issue, we’re looking for work that explores remnants, remainders, and reminders. Is a coffee ring just a stain when it outlives the mug? Does a footprint exist?” Their About page says, “Lunchbreak seeks to promote the valuable connections that are formed in the most likely of places – which are often the most overlooked. You meet a man, the cashier at your Ohio grocery store, who tells you his story of falling off a mountain in Colorado. You meet a woman while shopping for coffee mugs in a Texas antique store whose sons attended your college in Vermont. You are named for a hiker your parents met while backpacking the Appalachian Trail. We look for writing and artwork with a vision of intimacy, promoting the ordinary in order to highlight the remarkable.” They want creative nonfiction, essays, fiction, poetry, and visual art. The deadline is 1 May 2025. Details here.
The Threepenny Review
This respected literary magazine accepts nonfiction, including memoir and critical articles, fiction, poetry, and submissions for their ‘Table Talk’ column. Pay is $400 per story or article, $200 per poem or Table Talk piece. The deadline is 15 April 2025. Details here and here.
Juice Press Mag
They want writing centred around fruit – creative nonfiction (especially flash), fiction, and poetry. You can read about them here. “Whether it’s an essay about the symbolic significance of an apple in mythology, a short story where oranges play a central role in a family’s reunion, or a poem that finds deeper meaning in a single peach, we are drawn to the many ways fruit can weave itself into our understanding of the world.” They’re reading for their first issue; there is no deadline given. Details here.
(Their sister magazine is Crescent Currents, an experimental literary magazine.)
Ruby
They publish “short-form food narratives that strive for voice, artistry, and character.” Send creative nonfiction, fiction, or hybrid forms, of up to 1,000 words. “Like language, food is interpretable and symbolic; it serves to make meaning as narrative. When we describe what we eat—how we prepare and experience it, where we obtain it, how we nourish ourselves and others, the spaces in which we eat, and how we share food—or don’t—we reveal who we and our characters are.” The deadline for their next issue is 17 April 2025. Details here and here.
Brick Magazine
This Canadian magazine only accepts creative nonfiction, and will open for submissions via Submittable on 1st April; they will close for fee-free submissions when their cap is reached. They tend toward pieces of 1,000-5,000 words, and pay $65-720. Details here.
Twenty-two twenty-eight
Their tagline is, ‘For people who watch the world’. They accept nonfiction (500-2,000 words), fiction, poetry, visual art, music, and videos. Pay is $30. Details here.
Trans Survivors: Healing in Action zine
This is a new zine for trans and nonbinary writers. “It’s more important than ever to highlight trans and nonbinary art, to uplift trans joy, and to share stories of healing and connection. … We welcome content that focuses on trans voices, survivorship and healing from harm/trauma/violence, creative expressions of all kinds. We welcome your full range of emotions and expressions. We encourage content focused on race and anti-racism; bodies and disabilities; class, housing, survival realities; and content that focuses or encompasses our complex, intersectional lives. We welcome a variety of artforms, including visual art, poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction (fiction/nonfiction under 1000 words).” Pay is $25, and the deadline is 15 April 2025. Details here.
The New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column of the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, March through June, and September through December. Writers are paid. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US. Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.)
The Georgia Review
They publish literary fiction. “Although we are willing to read work of any length, we rarely publish prose works 9000 words or longer. We expect translators to acquire translation rights before submitting.” They also publish nonfiction and poetry. Online submissions from non-subscribers are charged, but there is no fee for mailed submissions. Pay is $50/printed page of prose and $4/line of poetry, up to $800; $150 for reviews published on GR2. The submission deadline is mid-May 2025. Details here.
Midstory Magazine
They want work by midlife women; previously unpublished personal essays about life, love, loss, and friendship at midlife. Pay is $75 and they prefer essays of 750-2,000 words. Details here (scroll down).
West Branch
West Branch is affiliated with Bucknell University. They accept nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and translation. Send up to 30 pages of prose. Pay is $100 for poetry and $0.10/word for prose, up to $200. The deadline is 1 April 2025. Details here.
Matter Press: The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
They publish fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as fiction and creative nonfiction prose poetry, as long as it is compressed in some way. Pay is $50 for works up to 600 words. They have two reading periods; March 15 to June 15, and September 15 to December 15. Details here and here.
The Writer’s Workshop Review
They publish creative nonfiction and fiction. “We love strong narratives, compelling characters, stories told with style, verve and wit. Send us narrative nonfiction, personal essays, short stories, short shorts, as well as travel, food and wine writing with a strong narrative element.” Send works up to 2,500 words. They also publish one interview per issue on the art and craft of writing. Pay is $25 per story and $50 per interview. Details here.
The Stinging Fly: Climate Crisis
This respected Irish journal is accepting creative nonfiction pitches (not complete submissions or work in any other genre), for the Climate Crisis theme. Your pitch should be submitted through this form. Also, “we are interested in reading work from international writers, especially those able to bring into focus details, effects or potential solutions particular to their communities. Of course, as an Irish literary magazine, we also intend this issue to include specific engagement with climate through an Irish lens.” They pay €45 per magazine page of nonfiction, with a minimum/maximum payment of €325/€1,200; and for shorter essays (1 – 2 pages), they pay €150. The deadline is 31 March 2025 for CNF pitches. They will be open for fiction and poetry submissions during the first two weeks of May. Details here, here, and here.
The Journal
This journal is affiliated with The Ohio State University. You can read about them here. Apart from nonfiction (up to 6,000 words), they accept fiction, poetry, photo essays, author interviews, and reviews of new books of poetry and prose. For nonfiction, “We value writing that leaves us thinking about the world in new ways and look for work that is fresh, honest, and self-aware. We publish across styles and forms, including lyric essays, experimental work, hybrid forms, personal essays, new journalism, and non-academic cultural criticism, though we are especially interested in writing that pushes the boundaries of what nonfiction can do.” The deadline is 1 May 2025. Details here.
Lake Effect: An International Literary Journal
This print journal accepts creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. They are affiliated with Penn State Behrend. “Lake Effect is looking for well-crafted and lively literary or personal essays. We are not looking for literary criticism, but essays that engage literature in the context of a lived life are certainly welcome. If your essay is longer than fifteen pages or so, please query first. Lake Effect seeks essays from both established and new and emerging voices.” Details here and here.
Craft Literary
This magazine publishes fiction, creative nonfiction, essays on writing craft, critical essays, and book annotations. They also accept completed interviews/hybrid interviews, or pitches. Send up to 1,000 words for flash fiction and creative non-fiction, up to 6,000 words for short fiction and creative non-fiction. Pay is $100 for flash, $200 for short fiction and creative non-fiction, and $50-100 for craft essays. Details here.
The Dublin Review
This is a Dublin-based quarterly magazine of essays, memoir, reportage, and fiction. You can read about the journal here. “Our fee scale starts at €300 for pieces with a published word count of 2,500 and under, and increases based on word count.” Submission is via a form on the guidelines page. Details here.
In Short
This is a journal of short-shorts (up to 100 words), micro (up to 400 words), flash (up to 1,000 words) nonfiction. “We love memoir, hermit crabs, lyric essays, experimental pieces, straightforward narratives, and everything in between. If it’s short and beautiful and true, we want it.” Do not send fiction or poetry. The deadline is 31 March 2025, or until filled. Details here and here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
