There are many literary magazines that accept stories of up to 5,000 words, or shorter; this list, however, has magazines/outlets that take longer fiction, of up to 6,000 words or more. Many also accept other genres, like nonfiction and poetry. Some of these pay writers. Not all of them are open for submissions now, but many are. They are listed in no particular order.
Arcturus Magazine
Their website says, “We have no restrictions on the content we publish, except that we’re passionate about publishing new perspectives — new ideas, new voices, new worlds, new challenges, new ways of seeing — a theme that can take an infinite number of shapes, including speculative fiction, flash fiction, experimental poetry, political essays, narrative reportage, and virtually everything else.” Send prose of up to 7,000 words. This is a sister publication of the Chicago Review of Books. Details here.
L’Esprit Literary Review
This magazine accepts short fiction (up to 7,000 words), creative nonfiction, novel extracts, literary criticism, and book reviews. “We look for ambitious, voice-driven literary fiction that emphasizes consciousness and interiority in the Modernist tradition. Please no genre work. We seek writing that takes risks on the sentence level and is propelled by dynamic, poetic language.” They pay a small honorarium. Details here.
Grub Street
This is Towson University’s student-run literary magazine. They publish fiction (up to 6,000 words), nonfiction, poems, plays, and art. Also, “We’re excited about receiving genre-defiant submissions including (but not limited to): Poetry Comics, Prose Poems, Flash Fiction, Flash Essays, Lyric Essays, Graphic Novel Excerpts, Graphic Memoir Excerpts, Video Essays, Speculative Nonfiction”. And for the next issue, “we are especially excited about pieces with: dark vs. light imagery, trans and intersex experiences, feminist themes, climate change, works written in other languages that are translated into English, and familial or emotionally charged relationships.” They have a print and an online version. The deadline is 15 December 2022. Details here and here.
The Stinging Fly
This Irish magazine publishes fiction and poetry from Ireland and abroad, as well as essays. They also welcome translated works. The current submission period is for the May 2023 issue. “If you are a new writer and you have questions about sending us work, we are hosting a free information session online on Tuesday November 22” (see guidelines). They also accept artwork. While there are no length guidelines for fiction, they do take longer works. Pay is €40/page for fiction and nonfiction, up to €1,200; €30/page for poetry; and €400 for featured poet. The deadline is 30 November 2022. Details here.
The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Anthologies
They publish two anthologies annually, of Canonical mysteries, where Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are heroes. Stories have to be 6,000-10,000 words. They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully before submitting. The anthologies are usually published twice a year, an unthemed “Annual” on May 22nd (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday), and a themed set in the late fall. This is a charity anthology; contributors receive a copy as payment. The deadline for the unthemed spring volumes is December 31st, and June 30th for the themed fall books (watch for the theme announcement on their website). Details here.
(Apart from this, a few presses are also open now for paying anthology submissions of long fiction: Outcast Press, open for a crime/noir/neo-noir anthology until 1 December 2022; Zombies Need Brains, open for four speculative fiction anthologies until 31 December 2022; Grendel Press, open for four anthologies in the dark fantasy, horror, and romance genres, till 1 January 2023; and JayHenge Publishing, open for three speculative fiction anthologies until filled.)
Fat Coyote Literary Arts
They only accept submissions from neurodiverse writers – fiction (up to 6,000 words), nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, and comics. Pay is $1/line, or $30-70, for poetry; $0.03/word, or $30-120, for prose. They will open for submissions next year. Details here.
Black Moon Magazine
They publish fiction, poetry, interviews, reviews, and art, and they like experimental work. “We will accept up to 3 short stories between 1,000 and 8,000 words. We will also accept up to 5 flash fiction pieces (1,000 words or less). You may also send a combination of flash/full length stories. Please do not send us more than 5 stories at once.” Their fist issue was in January 2021. They publish quarterly, and accept work on an ongoing basis; the deadline for their next issue is 31 December 2022. Details here.
Escape Artists: PodCastle; Cast of Wonders; Escape Pod; PseudoPod
Escape Artists has a suite of magazines that publish speculative fiction in online and audio format. Three of them are open now, and two of have deadlines in November. PodCastle publishes fantasy of all kinds, and is open till 30 November 2022. Cast of Wonders accepts young adult (science fiction, fantasy, and horror) stories, and is open till 30 November 2022. Escape Pod, which accepts science fiction, is open through May 2023. And PseudoPod, which is a horror publisher, will likely open next year for original fiction, see their schedule here (schedule subject to change – they may open earlier for reprints). All four of them accept original fiction of up to 6,000 words, pay $0.08/word for these, and also accept reprints.
(They also have CatsCast, where they release cat-related speculative fiction monthly, and are sometimes open for submissions.)
Blue Mesa Review
This magazine is associated with the University of New Mexico. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. Send prose of up to 6,000 words. They have a rotating editorial board. They pay $25, and can accept submissions from all over the world; please note, they can only process payment to US-based contributors. The deadline is 28 February 2023 for their Spring issue. Details here.
One Story
One Story publishes one story a month, in print, of 3,000-8,000 words. They want literary fiction. Stories “can be any style and on any subject as long as they are good. We are looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone.” They pay $500, as well as 25 contributor copies. They also accept translations, and consider some reprints. They accept work via Submittable, but incarcerated writers can mail their submissions. Their next submission period is scheduled to be 15 January-31 May 2023. Details here.
(They also publish One Teen Story; the stories for this are sourced from a fee-free contest for writers ages 13-19, from whom they accept shorter fiction, of 2,000-4,500 words, about the teen experience. There are three prizes of $500 each, one each for ages 13-15, 16-17, and 18-19; winners also get 25 contributor copies. The deadline is 27 November 2022.)
BreakBread Magazine
BreakBread is a magazine for creatives under 25 years. They accept fiction (up to 7,500 words), nonfiction, poetry, as well as art/comics/visual narratives/hybrid format works. They accept work through Submittable; pen-and-paper submissions are only accepted from young creatives in detention facilities. Please note, they can only send print contributor copies to a US postal address. They are reading till end-February 2023. The magazine is part of the BreakBread Literacy Project. Details here.
Press Pause
Their website says, “Press Pause is a literary magazine with zero social media presence. No Facebook. No Twitter (#amwriting). No Insta, no Snapchat, and none of whatever that TikTok thing is. We want to create an online (and real-life) place away from the usual spaces—a primarily quiet place.” They publish fiction and nonfiction up to 20 pages, poetry, art, and music. They also publish work by writers under 18 years. They have ongoing submissions. Details here.
The Acentos Review
They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cross-genre work, translations, and art from Latinx writers. They want stories of 500-7,500 words; all forms, themes, and styles are accepted. The deadline is 1 February 2023, for the April issue. Details here.
The Puritan
This well-regarded Canadian literary magazine publishes fiction (up to 10,000 words), nonfiction, interviews, reviews, and poetry. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions every month. Pay is CAD200 per essay; CAD150 for fiction; CAD100 per interview or review; CAD35 per poem (or page, capped at CAD120). The deadline is 25 December 2022 for Winter issue; they read year-round. Details here.
Barrelhouse
They publish prose for online and print issues, and poetry. They do not publish prose more than 8,000 words, and pay $50. At the time of writing though, they were only open for reviews, and flash fiction of up to 1,000 words for a special issue on the ‘New Beginnings’ theme, which had capped submissions. Details here.
The Georgia Review
They publish literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and accept translations. There is a fee to submit online for non-subscribers, but postal submissions are free. While they have no length guidelines for prose, they rarely publish anything over 9,000 words. Pay is $50 per printed page for prose and $4 per line for poetry, up to $800; $150 for book reviews published on GR2. The deadline is 14 May 2023. Details here.
GigaNotoSaurus
They publish science fiction and fantasy (or any combination thereof). They publish one story a month, of 5,000-25,000 words, and pay $100. Details here.
(And Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is also open for submissions. “Our fiction word limit is a soft 10,000 words, although we are willing to serialize at a maximum of 50,000 words over four issues. You may submit up to three poems, with a cumulative maximum of 30 pages. “ Pay is $25-100 for fiction, and poetry pays $12.5-25. The deadline is 7 December 2022.)
Degenerate Art
They want short stories (up to 8,000 words), flash fiction, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction (including reviews and theory), and poetry, or anything else, be it traditional or experimental that represents a written encounter with visual art. Art could “include painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, photography, video art, performance art, conceptual art, and so on – including art forms not yet named or invented.” They do not want artwork. They will reopen submissions in 2023. Details here and here.Channel Magazine
They publish writing from an environmental perspective – “work that engages with the natural world. We have a particular interest in work which encourages reflection on human interaction with plant and animal life, landscape and the self.” They also publish translations. Pay is €50 per poem and €50 per page for prose, up to €150. They are open for fiction (up to 6,000 words) and poetry until 15 December 2022. Essays and essay pitches are accepted year-round. Details here.
(And Reckoning accepts submissions on environmental justice, including fiction, of up to 20,000 words. They pay $0.08/word; for their regular issues, the deadline is in September. Keep an eye out for the next issue theme.)
Sundial Magazine
This is a new magazine of historical fiction and poetry. They accept stories up to 20,000 words. Watch for their next submission period. Details here.
Hexagon
They publish speculative fiction (up to 7,500 words), poetry, graphic narratives, and art, in English or French. Fiction genres include science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, cyberpunk, sword and sorcery, magical realism, paranormal horror, dystopian epics, eldritch horror, superhero, space opera, afrofuturism, weird west, etc. Pay is CAD0.01/word for fiction, CAD5 for poems and cartoons, and CAD40/page for comics. The deadline is 30 November 2022. Details here.
Third Coast Magazine
This magazine is associated with Western Michigan University. They publish fiction (up to 7,500 words), nonfiction, poetry, drama, as well as book reviews and interviews. Authors receive a print contributor copy. Watch for their next regular submission period. Details here.
On Spec
This is a Canadian speculative fiction (up to 6,000 words) and poetry magazine. They have detailed guidelines. Pay is CAD100 for poetry and fiction up to 2,000 words, and CAD0.05/word for longer stories. The deadline is 30 November 2022. Details here.
Sweet Tree Review
They are “obsessed with ineffable connectivity”, and you can read more about the kind of work they are interested in here. They accept fiction (up to 7,500 words), nonfiction, and poetry year-round. Details here.
FIYAH
This speculative fiction magazine only takes submissions by and about Black writers from Africa and the African Diaspora (see guidelines). For non-fiction, they want queries only. They also publish reviews. Length guidelines for fiction are 2,000-15,000 words, and pay is $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poetry, and $0.10/word for non-fiction. They’re reading submissions until 31 December 2022 for an unthemed issue. Details here.
Lover’s Eye Press
They publish fiction (up to 7,000 words), creative nonfiction, poetry, and art. The deadline is 28 November 2022. Details here.
Fantasy Magazine
Fantasy Magazine publishes fantasy and dark fantasy stories, of up to 7,500 words. They also publish speculative poetry. They do not accept direct submissions for essays, but do accept pitches. They’re open only for BIPOC author submissions through 2022, though these plans are subject to change. Fantasy also accepts work previously rejected by sister publications, Lightspeed (science fiction) and Nightmare (horror) magazines (both of these magazines also take longer submissions and pay $0.08/word, though they are not open now). Fantasy pays $0.08/word for fiction, and $40/poem. Details here.
(A couple of other pro-paying speculative fiction magazines with occasional submission periods for long fiction are Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and Solarpunk.)
The Journal
This is the literary magazine of Ohio State University. They want fiction, nonfiction, poetry photo essays, author interviews, and reviews. “We welcome literary fiction submissions of all forms, including those that incorporate experimental or genre elements. Though we generally do not publish straight genre fiction, we are always excited to read speculative work and frequently publish non-realist fiction. … We are happy to consider self-contained excerpts of novels and long stories, but please note that historically it is unusual for us to publish stories longer than 8,000 words.” They have a print and online version. The deadline is 1 December 2022. Details here.
The Cincinnati Review
This respected literary magazine has a print and an online version. They accept fiction and fiction translations, of up to 40 pages, as well as nonfiction and poetry for print; query for drama. They pay $25/page for prose and $30/page for poetry in the print journal and $25 for miCRo (online) or special features. For the print version, submissions are open in May, September, and December; they have a submissions cap, so it’s a good idea to submit early during the submission period. Online submissions are open on an ongoing basis. Details here.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
