“It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.”
– W.H. Auden
As someone who makes their living writing about writing and publishing, I can attest to how truthful Auden’s quote is. It is hard making a living as a writer, but it is even harder making a living as a poet or an author of short fiction.
Many literary journals do not pay their writers. This is because most are projects of passion, are not for profit, or are run by an individual or a small group of people who love to write and read, but do not necessarily have a lot of money. Many of these journals are run by schools with underfunded English departments. I would say that over 75% of literary journals do not pay their writers. I have no problem with that, but it is nice to be paid occasionally.
For your reading pleasure are 45 literary journals that do pay. They may not be the most prestigious journals (although some of them are), and not all are open to submissions right now, but most are. All of them do pay their authors. Some pay well and others pay a token amount.
1. The Threepenny Review
We have reviewed this literary journal before, so you can learn more of the details by reading that review here. The Threepenny Review is one of the most respected print journals out there and they also pay their writers $200 per poem or $400 per short story. You can visit their website here.
They are primarily interested in short stories, articles, memoir, and poems. They read submissions from January through June.
2-5. Escape Artists (Escape Pod, PseudoPod, Cast of Wonders, PodCastle)
Escape Artists is the publishing group that publishes all of its stories in audio and text formats. They are known for their genre podcasts and have a large following. Each publication has a separate focus. For example Cast of Wonders focuses on a young adult audience whereas Escape Pod only publishes sci-fi. The various publications pay $100 for full-length reprints and more for original works.
6. Banshee
Banshee, a print literary journal from Ireland, accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction. All authors published in the journal will receive payment, as well as a copy of the magazine. Visit their website here.
7. Frontier
Frontier Poetry accepts submissions year-round. They accept work from both new and emerging poets who have not published more than one full-length collection of poetry. Authors of any number of chapbooks and story collections may submit. Frontier pays poets $50 for each published poem, up to $150. To learn more, read our full review here.
They’re also currently reading for Types of Burns – New Series for Black Voices.
8. Clarkesworld
Clarkesworld Magazine is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine that publishes short stories, interviews, articles and audio fiction on a monthly basis. They pay very well. Read our full review here.
9. The Rush
The Rush is a new online literary magazine produced by the students of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles. They pay writers, and are seeking poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual art, and photography in all forms and styles. They hope to publish high-velocity work that captures the rush of human experience. Any topic is fair game, but they don’t accept work about graphic or gratuitous violence or sex. Read our full review here.
10. The Malahat Review
The Malahat Review is an established and respected print magazine based out of Canada. They purchase first world serial rights and, upon acceptance, pay CAD65 per published page, plus a one-year subscription. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication. To learn more, visit their website here.
11. Terra Preta
Terra Preta Review publishes poetry, translations, creative nonfiction, craft essays, literary reviews, art, collages, and photography. They pay all contributors. Apart from regular submissions, they are also accepting writing and art for an Anthology of Pandemic Creativity. Learn more about Terra Petra here.
12. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
This paying and competitive magazine publishes short stories and novellas in the mystery genre. To learn more, read their submission guidelines here.
13. Breath & Shadow
They publish only authors who have disabilities, although they define that term broadly. The pay scale is $20 for poetry, and $30 for fiction and nonfiction. To learn more, visit their website here.
14. Contrary Magazine
Contrary Magazine publishes short stories, flash fiction, essays, and poetry. They pay $20 per author per issue — the length of the piece does not factor into the payment. To learn more, visit their website here.
15. Claw & Blossom
All work they publish must contain elements of the natural world and most issues are themed. They publish poetry and prose. They pay $25 per accepted piece. Visit their website here.
16. Eye to the Telescope
Eye to the Telescope is an established online journal that focuses on publishing speculative poetry. They pay authors 3¢ per word, rounded up to the nearest dollar. They pay a minimum of $3 per poem, and a maximum of $25. Learn more here.
17. Upstreet
A respected literary journal. They offer between $50 and $250 for short stories or essays, and do not list poetry rates. If your work is accepted, you will also receive a contributor copy. Learn more here.
18. The Sun
A wonderful, advertisement-free magazine. They pay from $300 to $2,000 for fiction, essays, and interviews, and $100 to $250 for poetry. They also give contributors a complimentary one-year subscription to The Sun. Learn more here.
19. THEMA
A literary journal that pays $25 for short stories and $10 for flash fiction and poetry. They usually have themed submission calls. To learn more, visit their website here.
20. The Virginia Quarterly Review
This established literary journal publishes poetry and prose and they pay very well. Learn more here.
21. Poetry
Poetry Magazine was founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912. The magazine established a reputation early on by publishing many important poems of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams, and many others. They pay a minimum of $300 per poem. You can visit their website here.
22. Blood Orange
They are a new magazine seeking poetry tarot cards. Only certain cards are still available because they are looking for a complete deck. They pay CAD15 per card. Learn more here.
23. AGNI
This is a respected and established journal. They are published by Boston University. You can visit their website here.
24. Bennington Review
Bennington Review has recently been re-founded. They publish two print issues a year and they pay their writers. Prose writers receive up to $200, poetry writers are paid $20 per poem. To learn more, visit their website here.
25. Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine is one of the better-paying markets there is out there, for science fiction content. They predominantly favor character-oriented short stories and poetry. You can visit their website here.
30. CŌNFINGŌ MAGAZINE
CŌNFINGŌ MAGAZINE publishes new short fiction, poetry and art from around the world. The journal is a beautiful print-only magazine. They pay £20 to all contributors. Learn more here.
31. One Story
One Story publishes one short story every three weeks. They have a print and e-versions of the story that they publish. Often, the published story is accompanied by an interview with the author of the story. They pay $500 per story and offer 25 contributor copies. To learn more, read our review here.
32. The New Yorker
It would be strange if such a list did not mention The New Yorker, which is legendary for how well it pays its writers, among other things. The New Yorker does not release the exact amount they pay on their website, although they pay very well. It is more a popular magazine than a literary journal, and publication in the New Yorker can greatly help one’s reputation as a writer. Often it leads to book deals and many other publications. Of course, because of this, it is very hard to get a piece accepted by the New Yorker. Many famous authors still try for years. It is easy to submit online, and a wonderful opportunity. To learn more, read their submission guidelines here.
33. The Wanderer
The Wanderer is an online poetry journal, launched in April 2016 as a weekly feature in Harlot Magazine. Now, as Harlot has evolved into a monthly e-zine, The Wanderer has also evolved into a new online magazine, distinct from Harlot. They pay $25 per poem. Read our review here.
34. The Forge
They pay $60 for nonfiction and fiction. Learn more at their website here.
35. Grain Magazine
Published four times per year, Grain Magazine is an internationally acclaimed literary journal that publishes engaging, surprising, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists. They pay a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $250 CAD. Learn more here.
36. The Paris Review
This is a very respected print journal and they do not disclose the amount they pay, only say that they do. To learn more, visit their website here.
37. Analog
A respected science fiction journal that publishes everything from short stories to novellas. They pay well. Read their full submission guidelines here.
38. SCUM
An established online literary journal with “filthy feminist leanings,” they publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, rants, memoirs, and more. They pay AUD60 per accepted piece. Learn more here.
39. Strange Horizons
39. Strange Horizons
They have a very low acceptance rates, pay professional rates, and most importantly, they publish very good stories in the science fiction genre. Learn more here.
40. Blackbird
Blackbird is one of the oldest and most respected online poetry journals. They offer payment although they do not state how much. Visit their website here.
41. MARY
MARY: A Journal of New Writing, is a thoughtfully designed online journal sponsored by the MFA in creative writing program at Saint Mary’s College of California. Contributors are paid $50 per piece. Learn more here.
42. Frozen Wavelets
An e-zine focusing on speculative flash fiction and poetry that pays their contributors. Learn more here.
43. The Puritan
This Canadian literary journal publishes and pays for poetry and prose. Learn more here.
44. The Gettysburg Review
An established publisher of poetry and fiction. They have a fee for electronic submissions but all postal submissions are free. You can learn more here.
45. Blue Marble Review
Blue Marble Review is a quarterly online literary journal that publishes art and creative writing by people between the ages of 13-22. They pay them $25 per piece, or $75 for cover art. Learn more here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, The 2019 Guide to Manuscript Publishers, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The Authors Publish Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Publishing.
She occasionally teaches a course on manuscript publishing, as well as a course on publishing in literary journals.
