These markets pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and they’re open in January. Also see this list for themed (and paying) submission calls that are open now.
Nashville Review
This literary magazine accepts fiction, nonfiction (memoir excerpts, essays, and imaginative meditations), translations, poetry, and comics in January, May, and September. Submissions for literary comics and featured artist are open year-round.
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: Up to 8,000 words for prose, including novel extracts; up to 3 poems; anything from one-page comics (no single-frame cartoons) to graphic novel excerpts
Pay: $100 for prose and art, $25 for poetry
Details here and here.
34 Orchard
This is a magazine of fiction and poetry. Their guidelines say, “we like dark, intense pieces that speak to a deeper truth. We’re not genre-specific; we just like scary, disturbing, unsettling, and sad. We like things we can’t put down and things that make us go “wow” when we’ve finished. But our main goal here at 34 Orchard is to publish the stuff we like to read, and you’re not in our heads. So don’t over think it. Just submit.” They are reading submissions in January for the Spring issue, and will open in July for the Fall issue.
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: 1,000-7,500 words for fiction; up to three poems
Pay: $50
Details here.
Departure Mirror
They want fiction and poetry, all of which must be broadly “speculative fiction” — science fiction, fantasy, alt-history, magical realism, slipstream, or in some other way altered reality. Their guidelines say: “The January submission period is for the Spring 2021 issue. We expect our greatest need from the slush will be for middle-length short stories (around 3,000-4,000 words). We will be deliberately restricting the number of dark and downbeat stories in the Spring issue … we’re going to be avoiding stories about kids at schools for magic, furry stories, apocalypse pieces, European fairytale retellings, steampunk, and antihero stories.”
They will be particularly looking for pieces about rebuilding, and stories that celebrate diversity (click on the ‘Current Needs’ tab).
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: 12,000 words or fewer preferred; 30 lines or fewer for poetry
Pay: $0.10/word up to 3,000 words, flat rate of $300 after that for fiction; $10/poem
Details here.
Timeworn Literary Journal
They want submissions of unpublished historical fiction stories set before 1996, rooted in history and voice-driven. They want historical fiction from the fringe, which means anything with a bend toward the surreal, the dream-like, the strange. They like their spec subtle, with low-key elements of historical fantasy, fabulism, slip-stream, magical realism, and science fiction. Their guidelines also say, “Stories do not need to necessarily be about a specific historical event, only set within history.
Pick a time; pick a frock or a waistcoat. Let’s dance!”
While general fiction submissions are open until end-January, they now have rolling submissions for #ownvoices short stories only (where the protagonist and author share a marginalized identity – see guidelines).
Deadline: 31 January 2021 for general submissions
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $25
Details here.
Upstreet
They want fiction and creative nonfiction. They aren’t looking for unsolicited poetry, but do accept queries for these.
Deadline: 1 March 2021
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $50-250
Details here.
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.
