Written by S. Kalekar October 11th, 2024

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in October 2024

These magazines accept fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and are a mix of literary and genre magazines. Please note, not all of them are open through the month.

Translunar Travelers Lounge
They want fun speculative fiction; stories must have elements of science fiction or fantasy. “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.
Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.”
Deadline: 15 October 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.03/word
Details here.
(And, Cast of Wonders, a young adult speculative fiction online magazine and podcast from the Escape Artists suite of magazines, is also closing soon. They have extensive guidelines about what they consider to be YA, and are open till 14 October 2024, see their schedule, including for translations and reprints. They pay $0.08/word for original stories up to 6,000 words; details here and here.)

Trollbreath Magazine
This is a new journal of “speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, publishing electronic issues on a quarterly schedule. Our interests are as varied as the endless amount of genres, from dark fantasy to hope punk to surrealism, and everything in between. We have a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms, but what motivates us most are great stories by wonderful authors eager to share their visions of the past, the future, the in between, and everything that lies outside the margins. Coloring beyond the lines encouraged.” They also accept fiction reprints, poetry submissions, and queries (not submissions) of nonfiction. During their current submission window, they will read work for March and June issues of the following year.
Deadline: 31 October 2024 for fiction and poetry, open for nonfiction queries year-round
Length: 1,500-7,500 words for fiction (prefer 4,000-5,000 words),  up to 3 poems
Pay: $0.04/word for original fiction, $40 for nonfiction, $25 for poetry
Details here.

Banshee

This print journal, from Banshee Press, accepts fiction (including flash), nonfiction, and poetry from Irish and international writers. They are reading submissions for their 19th issue (spring/summer 2025). They welcome work from underrepresented writers.
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Length: Up to 5,000 words for prose, up to 4 poems
Pay: €250 for a story/essay; €75 for flash fiction; €50/poem
Details here (also click on ‘We believe in paying writers’ in their submission guidelines for rates.)
(And, UK-based Lunate has recently opened a short reading period for fiction, memoir, and “work that occupies the intriguing hinterland between fiction and non-fiction”. They do not want genre/commercial fiction. They pay £100 for works of 2,000-10,000 words, and the deadline is 20th October 2024. Details here.)

Tales & Feathers
This Canadian magazine publishes cozy short fantasy, including flash of up to 800 words. They have detailed guidelines about the kind of work they enjoy, including quiet character-driven storytelling, gentle moments, rich fantastical worldbuilding. They also welcome stories that blur genres, and are especially interested in high fantasy, fairy tales, and myth. They accept translations, as well. They’re open to all writers through October, and have an extended submission window internationally to writers who are BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled during the first two weeks of November.
Deadline: 31 October for all writers, 1-14 November 2024 for underrepresented writers (see guidelines) 
Length: Up to 2,500 words
Pay: CAD0.14/word for short fiction, CAD112 for flash fiction
Details here.
(And the sibling magazine, Augur, is also open for speculative fiction and poetry, and translations; they want unthemed as well as submissions around the theme, ‘A Natural Desire’. They are open for general submissions for all writers until 31 October, and have an extended submission period for Canadian writers who are BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled during 1st to 14th November 2024. Send up to 5,000 words for fiction, or up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD100/poem and CAD0.14/word for prose, details here.) 

Phano
This is a new magazine of science (no fantasy) and literary fiction, and they began reading submissions for their first issue on 1st October 2024; there is no deadline given. They want stories that provoke a sense of wonder, touch an emotional core, center on well-developed characters, take tasteful, calculated risks, and more. They also accept essays and have detailed guidelines about the kind of work they prefer, including: look to futures near and far, study past and present signals of emergent change, ponder philosophical themes, expose new frameworks of thinking, are narrative and/or reflective, and more. They do not want poetry.
Deadline: Open now
Length: 1,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here and here
(– The Paris Review is also open for fiction, including translations, and poetry via Submittable until they hit a submission cap, and by post thereafter, postmarked until 31 October 2024. Details here and here.
— And, Brick is open for fee-free literary nonfiction submissions via Submittable until they reach a submission cap; they tend toward works of 1,000-5,000 words, and pay $65–720. Details here and here.)


Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.

 

 

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