These are 31 outlets for poetry and they are open for submissions now. Many also accept other genres, like fiction and nonfiction, and about half of the outlets listed here pay writers. A few are currently accepting themed submissions. Here they are, in no particular order. Some deadlines are approaching quickly.
The Puritan
This Canadian literary magazine publishes poetry (send up to 4 poems), fiction, and nonfiction from all over the world. They read year-round, and will read until 25 June 2020 for their Summer issue. Pay is in Canadian dollars – $25 per poem (or page, capped at $80), and more for other genres. Details here.
Alegrarse
They want poetry, nonfiction essays, and close-readings. Send up to 5 poems, or up to 10 pages of poetry. They prefer exceptionally emotional poetry, with exciting language, fun or shocking enjambments; poetry that is heavily imagery-based, that is strange fantastical, and awe-inspiring. They love political poems, love poems, angry poems, profound poems, poems that startle, poems that bend, that distort the tangible, and especially wildly experimental poems. They pay $10 per poem. Details here.
The Dark Sire
This is an online literary journal for poetry (send up to 2 poems), short fiction, and art. They want work by authors and artists who delve into the mystery, psychosis, suspense, and looming darkness of the fantasy, gothic, horror, and psychological realms. Suitable subject matter may include, but is not limited to, vampires, monsters, old castles, dragons, magic, mental illness, hell, disease, or decay of society. They accept multiple submissions. Details here.
Fiyah Magazine: Joy
This speculative fiction and poetry magazine only reads work from Black writers of the African Diaspora. They also read reviews. Also, citing the traumatic circumstances of the moment, and the difficulty through which Black writers are currently writing, donors have contributed funds for the October 2020 Joy issue (see this Twitter update), and rates have now increased for this issue. Pay is $100 for poetry, and up to $1,200 for fiction for this issue. Details here.
Ashville Poetry Review
This is an annual literary journal publishes 180-220 pages of poems, interviews, translations, essays, historical perspectives and book reviews. Send 3-6 poems, of any length or style. The deadline is 15 July 2020. Details here.
The New Verse
They publish politically progressive poetry on current events and topical issues. Details here.
Impossible Archetype
They want poetry by LGBTQ+ folk. All styles and forms are welcome. Send up to 4 poems; submissions should be under 10 pages. The deadline is 1 August 2020. Details here.
Meetinghouse
This is a new literary journal by Dartmouth College, and they are reading poetry (send up to 3 poems) and prose for their inaugural issue. They also accept translations. The deadline is 1 July 2020, and they pay $100 for poems, according to this tweet. Details here.
Writer Shed Press: Love and Sacrifice
This journal is open for its second issue, and the theme is Love and Sacrifice. Apart from poetry, they also accept fiction and nonfiction; submissions must be no more than 2,500 words. Contributors are paid $20 (see guidelines). The deadline is 1 July 2020. Details here.
The Fairy Tale Review: The Gold Issue
They accept work on various fairy-tale related themes. For their Gold Issue the guidelines say, “Anne Sexton published six volumes of poetry between 1960 and 1974, including the vanguard fairy tale collection Transformations (1971) in whose 50th Anniversary year The Gold Issue of Fairy Tale Review will appear. Anne Sexton’s magic takes many guises through fairy tales, feminism, and domestic sorcery. In celebration of Anne Sexton, The Gold Issue will feature poetry, fiction, and nonfiction about and inspired by Transformations.” They are accepting poetry (send up to 5 poems, totalling up to 10 pages), prose, graphic novels, comics, drama, and translations on the theme, and the deadline is 30 June 2020. Translations of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry are open year-round. Details here.
Vastarien
This journal is a source of critical study and creative response to the corpus of Thomas Ligotti as well as associated authors and ideas. They want literary horror poetry (up to 50 lines), fiction, and articles pertaining to these themes. Pay is $50/poem, and the deadline is 30 June 2020. Details here.
Magma Poetry: Dwelling
This UK-based magazine is accepting poetry (send up to 4 poems) on the theme of Dwelling, now through 31 July 2020. See their extensive guidelines for details on the theme. They also accept reviews. Details here.
Poetry Pea
This magazine is currently looking for haiku and senryu, and they also have a podcast. Send up to 10 pieces. Details here.
Elephants Never
They want poetry (up to 3 poems) in any style, including light verse, experimental, traditional verse, or prose poems. They also accept flash fiction, art, creative nonfiction, and hybrid or other work. They take submissions until the 24th of each month for publication the following month. Submissions need not include or feature a pachyderm. They love pieces that engage in wordplay and will always enjoy references to or variations on the phrase, “Elephants never forget.” They sometimes have themed calls. Details here.
Horozons: Ecology; Faith & Politics; Privilege & Power
This is a Christian magazine. It is published by Presbyterian Women, Inc. for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). They seek poems, stories, and articles on specific themes. For July/August, the theme is Ecology; for September/October, it is Faith & Politics; and for November/December 2020, it is Privilege & Power. They pay. Details here (download submission guidelines), and here (scroll down for themes).
Surreal Poetics: The Penetrating Gaze
This magazine is for the surrealist and founded on the tenets of Surrealism. For their fourth issue they are reading poems on ‘The Penetrating Gaze’. Their guidelines say, “We are interested in how and what the eye reveals to those who are endowed with supersensible vision—to see what is within and without, to see through and beyond—to see and experience, with all of the senses, that which is hidden from common perception.” Details here.
Montana Mouthful: Quarantine
They expect many variations and perspectives on the ‘Quarantine’ theme. They want up to 1,000 words of poetry (up to 3 poems), and they also publish fiction, nonfiction, and artwork. The deadline for this theme is 7 September 2020. Details here.
U.S. Kids – Humpty Dumpty
This is a magazine for children 2-6 years old. They accept poetry of 4-12 lines, and pay $25 and up for these. They also accept fiction, mini-fiction, and craft. Also see Jack and Jill, their magazine for older children. Details here.
Spoonfeed
This is a new magazine and their first issue will be out in September 2020. They want creative food writing in all its forms: poetry (up to 4 poems), short or flash fiction, creative nonfiction, creative reviews, as well as hybrid and experimental writing. The deadline is 30 June 2020. Details here.
Cough Syrup Magazine
For poetry, they are looking for free-verse, haiku, non-traditional, traditional, ecstatic/inspired writing (not religious though), experimental, long or short; send up to 5 pieces. They love work that is Weird, Mind-Bending, genre-bending, surrealism, experimentalism, literary, gonzo, beat. They also publish fiction, nonfiction, and art. Details here.
The Threepenny Review
This respected quarterly journal accepts poetry (up to 100 lines), fiction, nonfiction, and submissions for their ‘Table Talk’ column.
Pay is $200 per poem, and the deadline is 30 June 2020. Details here.
Mizmor Poetry Anthology: Spirituality
Mizmor is an annual anthology of poetry that expresses spiritual experiences with a strong emphasis on the relationship between the modern world and ancient wisdom. They favor true experiences with striking imagery, but do not accept devotional-religious poetry. This anthology is open to all writers of any background and/or affiliation. The deadline is 15 August 2020. The anthology is from Poetica Publishing Company and they also run the Poetica Magazine, which publishes poetry and prose on the Jewish experience. Details here.
Volney Road Review
They are open now for poetry (up to 3 poems, no more than 3 pages per poem), fiction, and nonfiction. They pay $10 per accepted piece. The deadline is 1 August 2020. Details here.
The Willowherb Review
The Willowherb Review aims to provide a digital platform to celebrate and bolster nature writing by writers of color, including Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) writers, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) anywhere in the world. They are reading now for their third issue. They will accept non-fiction especially, but will consider fiction and poetry (send up to 3 poems) as well. Above all, submissions should have a great sense of place and attention to the natural world. The deadline is 30 June 2020; they pay €50 for poetry. Details here.
The Elephant Ladder: Pride
They are reading work for the Summer issue and the theme is ‘Pride’; they accept work from both LGBTQ+ creatives and allies. Send poetry (any form or length), fiction, or creative nonfiction. Pay is $10, and the deadline is 1 July 2020. Details here.
Red Rover Magazine
This is a mental health focused literary magazine and they are reading work for their fist issue. Their guidelines say, “Just because we are a mental health focused magazine doesn’t mean we only accept artwork that focuses upon well-being as a product. We’re more interested in artwork that inspired well-being as a process. We ask you to submit the artwork that made you feel proud, satisfied, joyous, happy, or invoked any other state of well-being in you”. They accept poems (up to 6 pieces), fiction, and artwork. The deadline is 31 October 2020. Details here.
Hubub
They ask contributors to send them 3-6 typed poems in the mail for their annual issue. Poems selected for publishing get a small honorarium. They also have prizes chosen by external judges from entries for a previous issue: the Vern Rutsala Award of $1.000; the Vi Gale Award of $500; the Kenneth O. Hanson Award of $200; and the Stout Award of $175. Details here.
Fourteen Poems
This is a UK-based magazine and they accept work from Queer poets anywhere. They specially invite Black and other queer POC writers to submit. Send up to 5 poems. Pay is £25 per poem accepted. Details here.
Three Line Poetry
They consider all forms of three-line poems, and accept work from both established and new poets. Submit up to 3 poems. They offer token payment. Details here.
Quaranzine
This is a new online magazine from Third Estate Art (which is formed by a group of artists and activists in Chicago). They are interested in any kind of art with an underlying social justice theme, or any kind of activist work that the author would like an eclectic audience for. They accept poems, stories, essays, videos of performances, visual art, artist talks, instructional videos, comics, and anything else that they can reasonably put into this format. Payment is $20. Details here.
Palette Poetry
Submissions for their Featured Poetry category are open year round to poets at any stage of their career. Featured Poems are published online only and will spotlight a number of poems from new authors each month. They highly encourage emerging authors to submit. Send up to 5 poems (and the total submission should be no more than 10 pages). Pay is $50 per poem, up to $150. Details here.
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.
