These magazines publish literary fiction. Many also accept other genres, like nonfiction and poetry. Some pay writers. Many, but not all, are open for submissions now. They’re not listed in any particular order.
Two Hawks Quarterly
They accept flash (up to 1,200 words), short fiction (1,200-5,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, experimental/cross-genre work, and art. They want “exquisitely crafted work that will astonish, surprise, challenge, and delight us.” Their fiction guidelines say, “We are seeking literary fiction that is layered, contemporary, and has a social conscience.” Details here and here.
The Threepenny Review
This respected literary magazine accepts fiction (up to 4,000 words), nonfiction, 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.
Emerge Literary Journal
They accept fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. “We will consider most genres, except horror and erotica, so long as the piece has literary undertones.” Send works of up to 750 words. They also have a section called the Esperanza Corner, where they showcase works of about mental illness awareness in each issue. The deadline for fee-free submissions is 28 January 2025, see their Submittable. Details here.
The Barcelona Review
This magazine is a “multi-lingual review of international, contemporary cutting-edge fiction. Founded in April 1997, TBR is actually three separate reviews —English, Spanish and Catalan —with occasional translations from one language to another” – you can read about them here. They are currently open to submissions of short fiction, articles and essays. About fiction, “TBR is open to all genres and to a variety of styles and techniques. We’re after original, potent and powerful writing with a contemporary feel that is literarily sound; writing marked by a strong sense of imaginative distinction. … Novel extracts will not be considered unless they are entirely self-contained pieces.” Details here.
The Sunlight Press
They publish fiction (up to 2,000 words), personal essays, poetry, reviews, and Artist on Craft series (interviews/reflections by artists on their process of the art of choice). They pay $35-50. Details here.
The Summerset Review
They accept literary fiction (up to 8,000 words), nonfiction, and poetry. They have a few links on the guidelines page, to get an idea of what they’re looking for – recommended reading, additional advise, and an interview with their editor. They publish online, and occasionally in print. Details here.
The Ampersand Review
They are affiliated with Sheridan College. They accept fiction (up to 3,000 words), nonfiction essays/memoirs/excerpts, and poetry. They are reading submissions for Issue 8. And, they accept review pitches for books written by Canadian authors and published by Canadian publishers (see guidelines). They pay $100 for prose, and $50-100 for poetry. Details here and here.
West Branch
West Branch is affiliated with Bucknell University. They accept fiction (up to 30 pages), nonfiction, poetry, and translation. Pay is $100 for poetry and $0.10/word for prose, up to $200. The deadline is 1 April 2025. Details here.
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 Snakes (deadline: 10 March) and Blue (deadline: 9 June 2025) 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. They pay. Details here (scroll down and click on various sections/genres).
The New Quarterly
They accept submissions from Canadian writers only – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. They have two reading periods for each genre; their next reading period for fiction will open 1st February, and close when a cap is reached. There are no length limits on fiction but they rarely publish anything over 6,000 words. Pay is CAD350 for fiction, and CAD75 per Postscript and poem. Details here (click on the relevant category).
ShortStory Substack
This is a Substack-based project, and they accept short stories of 6 words to 10,000 words. They publish 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. They pay $100 + 50% of the subscription revenue; they publish author payouts and other details in their monthly stats, and you can see the December 2024 stats here. Details here.
The Paris Review
They will open for prose submissions on 1st February, and will accept submissions via Submittable until they hit their submission cap, or end-February, whichever is earlier. They will continue to accept postal submissions of prose till end-February (postmarked). Translations are welcome. They have listed their open reading periods for poetry and prose on the website. (In January, they are open for poetry only – see guidelines). Details here.
Sheepshead Review
The Wisconsin-based magazine is affiliated with UW-Green Bay. They accept fiction (up to 3,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, art, and digital media/interactive pieces. “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. Hemingway could roil a stomach in six words.” They will be open from late January to late February, see the note on their Submittable. Details here.
The Forge
They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions of fiction and nonfiction. “Free submissions open on the 1st of each month. If there is no free link, we’ve hit our quota. We close tip-jar submissions mid-month. (Exceptions include September, when we run our contest, and December, when we are closed.)” They prefer works up to 3,000, words, but will accept up to 5,000 words. They pay $100. Details here and here.
Southword
This well-regarded print magazine, from the Munster Literature Centre, publishes work from writers around the world. They will open for fiction, for works up to 5,000 words, on 1st February 2025, and close when the submission cap is reached. They also accept works in translation, and pay €300 per short story. Their reading period for poetry opened on 1st January, and will stay open until a submission cap is reached. Details here and here.
3Elements Review
For their next issue, they want fiction and nonfiction with all of these three words incorporated: prophecy, attic, isolation. “We appreciate good writing in any genre. We especially like edgy writing that offers insight into darkness. We prefer character-driven stories as opposed to plot-driven ones.” The deadline is 28 February 2025. Details here.
Apple Valley Review
“We consider short stories, flash fiction, personal essays/creative nonfiction, poetry, and prose poetry.” They also accept translations. Send stories of up to 4,000 words. They do not want genre fiction, but will accept writing with genre elements. Details here.
The Masters Review: New Voices
For the New Voices section, they say, “Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
We accept fiction and narrative non-fiction. We do accept a variety of genres and styles; our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. But please, send us polished work.” Pay is $100 for flash works in this section (up to 1,000 words), and $200 for longer (up to 7,000 words). They also have a fast response section for underrepresented writers. And, they publish book reviews and interviews. They have both fee-free and fee-based opportunities for writers. Details 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 fiction, essays, memoir, and reportage. 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.
Ink In Thirds
For prose, “submit up to 600 words max … This includes 3 word stories, 100 word stories, drabbles, microfiction, flash fiction, and whatever your imagination can conjure. In reality, our only absolute requirement is to make us feel something! Sad, fine. Tormented, better. Angst, gah. Happy, meh—we’ll take it. Most importantly, move us with your words.” They also accept poetry and art. Submission is via a form on their website. The deadline is 31 January 2025. Please note, they cannot provide contributor copies. Details here.
Maryland Literary Review
They accept fiction (including flash), nonfiction, and poetry. They read submissions on an ongoing basis. Details here.
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. They opened their submission period mid-August, and the submission deadline is mid-May 2025. Details here.
Mount Hope
This print and online magazine is affiliated with Roger Williams University. They accept literary fiction (up to 5,000 words), as well as nonfiction and poetry. Details here and here.
Out of Print
This is a quarterly online journal. “We seek original writing in English or translated into English that is strong, well-crafted and reflects the pace and transition of our times. Based out of India, we view writing with a connection to the subcontinent with particular interest but are open to submissions from around the world. We encourage new writers and we encourage writing that tells a story.” Details here.
Mud Season Review
They publish fiction (up to 6,000 words), nonfiction, and poetry. For fiction, “We are looking for fully realized stories that remind us of what it means to be human, that take risks, that show us something new, and that stand up over multiple reads, deepening with each encounter.” For the current reading period, they will close by category on 31 January, or when they reach their submission cap, whichever is earlier. They pay $50, and $15 for poets and artists whose work appears in The Take: Mud Season Review. Details here and here.
StoryBottle
“We’re looking for literary fiction, speculative fiction, and genres our readers haven’t seen in a while. Dust off the tropes of an old, abandoned genre and send it our way. We prioritize no theme or narrative style. Just tell us a story we can’t turn away from.” Send stories of up to 8,000 words. Details here and here.
Toronto Journal
This journal publishes in print and sound. You can read about them here. They accept short stories from anywhere in the world, and nonfiction pieces about local history (Toronto, the GTA, or surrounding areas – see guidelines). Pay is $50 for works up to 7,500 words. They are reading for their Summer issue, and the deadline is 1 March 2025. Details here.
Fiction
This magazine is affiliated with City College of New York. “We publish literary and experimental fiction and translations of works previously unpublished in English. We favor stories of under 7,500 words.” They do give contributor copies, and the amount of payment is determined at the time of publication. Do not send works of under 1,000 words. Submission is via a form. The deadline is 31 January 2025. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
