These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. Not all of them are open through the month.
Slugger: Stories that hit you in the mouth
This is a new horror magazine. “In general, we are open to all subgenres of horror (dark fantasy, sci-fi, noir all accepted as long as horror plays a central role). Body horror tickles our fancy the most if we had to pick a subgenre, but SLUGGER will be open to all horror stories. We love subversive and transgressive fiction. Anything that fits the punk ethos is likely to get our attention. Stories can be speculative or not. Our guidelines may change over time, but we are open to the full spectrum of genre to literary fiction, conventional storytelling to experimental, and plot driven to vibes only.” Issue 0 will be published in late 2025. Submission is via a form.
Deadline: 15 July 2025
Length: 1,000-4,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here and here.
Diabolical Plots
They want fiction – “science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element, even horror).” Please read their detailed guidelines. What they like includes, but is not limited to: Weird fiction, Sense of wonder, Strong character and plot arcs, and Strong worldbuilding, hinting at more to see around the edges of the story.
Deadline: 21st July 2025
Length: Up to 3,500 words
Pay: $0.10/word
Details here.
Escape Artists: PodCastle
This is a fantasy podcast and online magazine. They accept all the sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy. “Above all, we’re looking for stories that are fun to listen to. Humor is encouraged. … We’d particularly like to see more stories set outside America, and stories that feature characters who represent a range of backgrounds and ethnicities.” They also accept translations, as well as reprints.Deadline: 31 July 2025
Length: Up to 6,000 words (longer for reprints – see guidelines)
Pay: $0.08/word for original short fiction
Details here and here.
(And, two other magazines from the Escape Artists suite of magazines are also open for submissions: Cast of Wonders, which publishes young adult fiction, is open for flash fiction submissions; send stories of 100 to 1,500 words; they pay $0.08/word for originals, and the deadline is 14 July 2025; details here, here, and here;
and PseudoPod, their horror magazine, is open for reprints of stories published / to be published in 2025, deadline 31 July 2025; do not send original fiction during this submission window; details here, here, and here.)
Big Score Lit
This is a new biannual print magazine. They want narrative prose (fiction/nonfiction/memoir/what-be-it), poetry, and criticism (also accept criticism pitches). They will close for submissions on 10th August, or when their submission cap is reached, whichever is earlier.
Deadline: 10 August 2025, or until filled
Length: Prefer 1,500-3,500 words for narrative prose; up to 5 poems; 4,000-12,000 words for critical prose (see guidelines)
Pay: $400 for prose, $100 / poem, $400-1,200 for commissioned critical prose (see guidelines)
Details here.
Iterant
They publish poetry. Send up to eight poems. Submission is via a form on their website.
Deadline: Open now
Length: Up to 8 poems
Pay: $50 / poem
Details here.
(And, The Paris Review is also open for poetry submissions. While their Submittable cap has been reached, they are still reading mailed poems, postmarked through July. All their reading periods are on their website. Details here.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine.
