These magazines/podcasts pay for genre fiction – fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, crime, and more. They also want a variety of sub-genres – one magazine publishes furry fiction, another publishes cozy fantasy, one wants fun science fiction, and one, atmospheric horror. Many do not specify the sub-genres they want in their guidelines, but as always, reading the work available on the website gives you a good feel for their preferences. A few also accept other genres, like nonfiction and poetry. Not all of them are open for submissions now, but many are, or have announced when they will open next. They’re listed in no particular order. – S. Kalekar
Translunar Travelers Lounge
They want fun speculative fiction; stories must have elements of science fiction or fantasy. “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.
Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.” They pay $0.03/word for stories up to 5,000 words. The first week of their reading period is reserved for writers of color. Until 21st September, they want submissions from writers of color only; the deadline for general submissions by all writers is 15 October 2023 – see guidelines. Details here.
Mystery Magazine
They accept submissions of mystery stories and story or You-Solve-It mysteries, of 1,000-7,500 words. Pay is $0.02/word. Details here.
Shoreline of Infinity
They accept science fiction stories. They will open for a brief period soon, during 21st to 24th September 2023. Send stories up to 6,000 words. They pay £20 per 1,000 words. Details here.
Tough
This is a crime fiction journal publishing short stories and self-contained novel excerpts, and occasional book reviews and essays. They are particularly interested in stories with rural settings. They publish every Monday. Length guidelines are 1,500-7,500 words for fiction, and they pay $50. Details here.
Crimson Quill Quarterly
This is a new magazine and they plan their first issue in 2024. They want sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, and grimdark subgenres of fantasy fiction, of up to 10,000 words. Pay is $25. The deadline is 31 October 2023. Details here.
Escape Artists Magazines
They have speculative fiction podcasts focusing on various genres; EscapePod, for science fiction, recently reopened for science fiction, and the deadline is 31st May 2024, see their schedule; Cast of Wonders, for young adult (YA) speculative fiction, will open during 24st to 31st October for Halloween-themed stories, see schedule; PodCastle, for fantasy, will open during 1st to 30th November, see their schedule; PseudoPod publishes horror, see their schedule; and CatsCast publishes fun speculative cat stories, and opens occasionally for submissions, see their submission portal. These magazines only accept submissions via their submission portals, which open during the reading period, and pay $0.08/word for original fiction.
Factor Four Magazine
This is a quarterly speculative flash fiction magazine. They want stories that focus on four speculative fiction genres, or which are a combination of any of these: science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, and super hero. They accept fiction up to up to 1,000 words, and pay $0.11/word. Details here.
New Myths
They publish speculative fiction of every kind, and they like each issue to have a balance of works: science fiction and fantasy, dark and light, serious and humorous, hard and soft science fiction, and longer and shorter works. They also publish reviews. They accept stories up to 10,000 words. Their pay for stories has doubled in 2023 to $0.03/word. Their reading periods are January-February and June-July. Details here.
Zooscape
This magazine publishes furry fantasy fiction. “All stories must be furry. That means an anthropomorphic animal figure should be significantly featured in your story — it could be anthropomorphic in body or only intelligence. We’ll consider any type of furry fiction from secret life of animals to fox in Starbucks. We love science-fiction with animal-like aliens and fantasy with talking dragons, unicorns, or witch familiars.” Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 10,000 words. They also accept reprints. They are scheduled to reopen for submissions in December 2023. Details here.
Imaginary Comma: Thirteen Podcast
“We are an audio-drama/audio fiction podcast specializing in feature length (~ one hour) productions that are characterized by slow-burn, atmospheric stories, horror and ghost stories.” And, “Our audience comes to us for slow burn, atmospheric, character driven stories. They want to know the characters and see them grow and change just as much as they want a good scare. Stories that aren’t character driven won’t be a good fit. Submissions of 5,000 words or more are most likely to be selected for wide release. Shorter submissions may be selected for special double feature episodes or episodes exclusive to Patreon supporters and other financial supporters of Imaginary Comma. … Stories with a first person central narrator and supporting characters work best for our format.” Pay is $50-75. Details here.
Ill-Advised Records: The Dark Door
“The Dark Door takes inspiration from 70s and 80s pulp horror fiction zines, and breathes new life into the format.” They publish fiction, illustrations, and dark music. For fiction, pay is $15 for under 500 words, $25 for 500 to 10,00 words, and $50 for 1,000+ words (pay rates on the submission form). They accept submissions on an ongoing basis. Details here.
The Dark
This magazine publishes horror and dark fantasy stories. “Don’t be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary; be different—try us with fiction that may fall out of “regular” categories. However, it is also important to understand that despite the name, The Dark is not a market for graphic, violent horror.” Pay is $0.05/word for stories of 2,000-6,000 words. They also accept reprints. Details here.
Seize the Press Magazine
They accept fiction submissions and non-fiction pitches. “Seize The Press Magazine is an anticapitalist publication looking to publish dark speculative fiction. Bleak sci-fi, dark fantasy, horror and all kinds of weird, messy, genre-defying stories that defy labels. We’re looking for stories that aren’t didactic or moralistic. We want stories where everything isn’t wrapped up neatly at the end. We want to promote a diverse range of voices from authors who write messy characters, so give us your problematic queers and your angry women—we want your difficult and morally questionable characters in unpleasant situations who don’t slide neatly into a narrow definition of positive representation and don’t fit the model minority mould.” They pay 3 pence (GBP) per word for stories up to 5,000 words. Details here.
Flash Frog
They want flash fiction of up to 1,000 words that is “Small. Brightly Colored. Deadly to the Touch.” They accept general submissions year-round, with some exceptions. They pay $25. Details here.
Heartlines Spec
This is a Canadian online and print magazine. Please note, they will publish at least 50 percent Canadian content in each issue. “We’re looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don’t want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years.
Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that’s ok.
We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules.” Send 1,000-3,500 words for fiction, or up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD0.08/word for fiction and CAD60/poem. The deadline is 30 September 2023. Details here.
The Last Girls Club
This is a feminist horror magazine. Their upcoming theme is ‘Crones, Drones, and Ready Made Meals’. They accept fiction and poetry submissions, and nonfiction pitches. Their next reading period begins 1st October, and will close on 1st November 2023, or when they reach their submission quota. Send up to 2,500 words for fiction, or up to 3 poems. Pay is $0.015/word for fiction, and $10 for poetry. Details here and here.
Seaside Gothic
Seaside Gothic magazine will open for a brief submission window in October; they want seaside gothic fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Their website says, “There are three criteria that define seaside gothic literature.
It is led by emotion, not reason, exploring the human experience mentally and spiritually as well as physically… ; It addresses duality—land and sea, love and hate, the beautiful and the grotesque…; It connects to the edge, living on the seaside either literally or figuratively, and has one foot in the water and the other on solid ground…” Pay is £0.01/word for stories up to 1,000 words. Their upcoming submission period is 9th to 15th October 2023. Details here.
Dark Yonder
They want neo-noir stories, and they publish four times a year. “There are no setting requirements, but all stories submitted must be loosely categorized as “neo-noir.” We’re not looking for your grandfather’s noir fiction. We’re looking for new, unique voices and interpretations of dark literary fiction (crime, horror, speculative lit, etc) that fit into our rapidly evolving world. Everyone is well versed in the fiction that America is raised on; we’re looking for fiction that takes us… yonder” Their sweet spot is for fiction of 3,000-5,000 words – they do not want flash fiction. They pay $50. Details here (scroll down).
Wyngraf
This is a cozy fantasy magazine (no science fiction or urban fantasy). “Often fantasy means the presence of magic, but not always… Low-magic and no-magic stories are welcome”. Stories should have a pre-modern technology level (their cutoff is about early 19th century). They want secondary worlds, do not want stories set on our earth, prefer fantasy to fairy tales, and human-only settings are welcome; see guidelines for these, and other, details. They pay one and a half cents per word for stories of 3,000-8,000 words. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.
The Colored Lens
They publish speculative fiction – “the fundamentals of good storytelling always come first: stories with characters we enjoy reading about and a solid plot. As long as your story includes them, we’d love to read it. We publish all varieties of speculative fiction, from alternate history, to high fantasy, to nuts and bolts hard science fiction, to dark fantasy, so long as it meets the guidelines above. Whatever the genre, the focus should be used to comment on our world and society rather than exclusively to keep the reader turning pages.” They publish works up to 10,000 words, and can serialize works up to 20,000 words. Pay is $20. Details here and here.
Tales & Feathers
Tales & Feathers publishes slice-of-life fantasy stories. It is the sister magazine of speculative fiction magazine Augur. Watch for their next submission period. Pay is $0.11/word for stories up to 2,500 words, for Tales & Feathers. Details for both Tales & Feathers and Augur magazines are here.
Gumshoe Review
They want a complete mystery in 1,000 words or fewer. They also accept nonfiction about the mystery field. Pay is $0.05/word, up to $50. Details here.
Mysterion
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories (up to 9,000 words) that engage meaningfully with Christian themes, characters or cosmology. The stories need not teach a moral, or be close to an approved theological position, or be pro-Christian. They are especially interested in stories that show Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. They also accept translations and reprints. They have two annual reading periods for fiction, January and July. Art is accepted through the year. They pay $0.08/word. Details here and here.
Shotgun Honey
They publish crime, noir, and hard-boiled flash fiction, of up to 700 words. Pay is $15. Watch for their next submission period. Details here and here.
Dell Magazines: Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
This well-regarded mystery magazine publishes every kind of mystery short story: the psychological suspense tale, the deductive puzzle, the private eye case – the gamut of crime and detection from the realistic to the more imaginative (including “locked room” and “impossible crime” stories). They are not interested in explicit sex or violence, nor do they want true detective or crime stories. They also publish poetry. Length is 2,500-8,000 words, though they occasionally publish stories of up to 12,000 words. Shorter stories are also considered, including minute mysteries of as little as 250 words. They also accept 1-2 short novels every year, up to 20,000 words, from established writers. Pay is $0.05-0.08/word, sometimes higher for established authors. Details here and here.
(Dell also publishes other premier genre magazines: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and Analog’s Science Fiction and Fact.)
Apparition Lit
Apparition Lit is a quarterly speculative fiction and poetry magazine. “Speculative fiction is weird, almost unclassifiable. It’s fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and literary.” They run themed issues. They usually have a two-week open submission period for all writers every quarter, which extends by a week for BIPOC writers; also see the note about their equity initiative in the guidelines here (scroll down) – “Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.
We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission.” Send 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, or up to 5 poems. Pay is $0.05/word for fiction, and $50/poem. They have listed their future submission periods and themes on the website. Their next open submission period is 15-30 November 2023, and the theme is Blight. Details here and here.
(They also publish flash fiction online on monthly prompts, during the first fortnight of every month.)
Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine
They publish traditional mysteries. “Every fifth issue is exclusively about Sherlock Holmes, so send in your Watsonian pastiches and parodies. We are also interested in reader-solvable mysteries and crime stories, and will consider the occasional fantasy or SF tale, as well as ghost stories, as long as they contain strong mystery elements.” Pay is $0.03/word for fiction, up to $250. At the time of writing, they were closed to fiction submissions, but open to nonfiction. Details here.
Pulp Literature
They want any genre or between-genre work of literature up to 50 pages in length. They accept short stories, novellas, poetry, and comics. They take all genres of fiction, not just pulp – including fantasy, romance, mystery, literary. They do not publish nonfiction, memoir, or children’s stories. They take more short fiction than novellas, and stories under 5,000 words have the best chance of publication. They also publish poetry. They pay $0.05-0.08/word for short stories, and the rates get lower for longer stories and novellas. They also publish reprints. At the time of writing, poetry was open, and fiction submissions were closed. Details here.
DBS Press: Dracula Beyond Stoker
Dracula Beyond Stoker publishes fiction issues (with some poetry) featuring characters and more from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. You can read about them here. For their upcoming submission period, they want work on ‘The Brides of Dracula’. “We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines – unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting.” Pay is $0.05/word for stories of 1,500-5,000 words. Submissions will open on 1st November, and will close on 31st December 2023. Details here.
Anterior Skies
This is an annual anthology of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. They will publish “cosmic and weird stories, ranging from fantasy (preferably low fantasy, but high fantasy will be considered) to sci-fi to noir, as long as there’s a dab of horror somewhere in there.” Pay is $0.01/word, up to $50. They are scheduled to reopen for submissions on 1st December 2023. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
