Most literary journals are interested in literary work, by which they mean, not genre work. The definition of genre is a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
However, in the context of writing, genre can refer to poetry, prose or nonfiction in terms of form. Or it can be a subject matter classification referring to science fiction, romance, mystery, or various other established types of stories.
Most literary journals assume that you will not submit genre work to them, because many don’t consider it to be literary. This leaves many genre writers with fewer options in terms of short story and poetry publication. However, there are journals that just publish genre work.
The majority of these focus on science fiction and mystery. But there are also horror, western, romance, fantasy, thriller, and other genre publishers on this list. We tried to focus on literary journals that specialize, not ones that were open to every genre in the book.
Not all of these literary journals are currently open to submissions but many are. A link to their website or our full review of the publisher is embedded in their name. The genres they accept are mentioned in the brief description.
Unlike most literary journals, the majority of these pay.
The Five-Two
Always open to submissions, this online journal publishes crime poetry.
A literary journal that focuses on publishing a wide range of young adult fiction and nonfiction.
EscapePod
This is an audio science fiction journal that pays.
PodCastle
This is a fantasy audio journal by the publishers of Escape Pod, and pays.
PseudoPod
This is a horror audio journal by the publishers of Escape Pod, and pays. They currently have an open call for reprints of horror fiction that was published/will be published in anthologies/collections in 2022.
This young adult short fiction market, by the publishers of Escape Pod, publishes flash fiction and short stories up to 6,000 words in length. They publish primarily science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They are a paying market and they publish reprints. They will open submissions for their Banned Books Week in May – see the schedule here.
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
This paying and competitive magazine publishes short stories and novellas in the mystery genre.
This online magazine publishes original mysteries as well as interviews and articles about mysteries.
This literary journal focuses on regularly publishing gritty fiction about crime. They will also consider western, science fiction and maybe fantasy stories, as long as they are gritty.
Asimov’s Science Fiction
Stories in Asimov’s have won many Hugo and Nebula awards. They pay well.
Analog
This is a respected science fiction journal that publishes everything from short stories to novellas. They pay well.
Cowboy Jamboree
They publish short fiction and flash fiction in the western genre, though not traditional western – they describe themselves as a “Grit-lit magazine focused on the rural working class and revisionist western writing.” They are reading for three themed issues, inspired by Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and Larry McMurtry.
Suspense Magazine
All stories must be in the suspense/thriller/mystery/horror genres.
Frontier Tales
They publish western and historical short fiction.
Apex Magazine
Apex Magazine is a beautiful publication that publishes science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They are a paying market.
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
They publish every kind of mystery short story: the psychological suspense tale, the deductive puzzle, the private eye case – the gamut of crime and detection, from the realistic to the more imaginative.
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.
They have a very quick response time, sometimes within a day, but often within two weeks. They focus on publishing dark fantasy and horror. They pay good rates.
Lightspeed is an established monthly electronic publisher of science fiction and fantasy writing. Many of the works that have been published there have gone on to be nominated for prestigious genre awards, including the Hugo. They pay all of their authors.
This crime and mystery magazine pays their authors.
They publish science fiction and fantasy works in print and eMagazine editions. They are highly respected. They pay good rates.
Augur Magazine
They want “dream-touched realism, slipstream, fabulism, magical realism and, for lack of a better descriptor, “literary” speculative fiction.” They pay professional rates. They publish authors from all backgrounds, but prioritize submissions by writers belonging to historically underrepresented groups. For funding reasons, they focus primarily on publishing work by Canadian authors.
They accept science fiction, fantasy and supernatural horror works up to 10,000 words in length. They accept poetry and nonfiction works as well. They pay all their authors.
Aphelion Webzine publishes science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Mystery Magazine
This is an online magazine that publishes mystery stories on a monthly basis. Avoid excessive profanity or violence. They are a paying market.
Eye to the Telescope is a quarterly publication for speculative poetry that has been running since 2011. Speculative poetry they publish includes fantasy, science fiction and horror. They pay. They’re reading submissions for ‘Veterans of Alien Wars’ till 15 June 2022.
This free publication focuses on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
The official print journal of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association established in 1978. A paying market that focuses on publishing speculative poetry and nonfiction articles.
They publish speculative fiction (including fantasy and science fiction) by queer/two-spirit persons of color/Indigenous/Aboriginal writers. They are a paying market.
An online horror magazine, geared towards adults.
They publish “literary adventure fantasy”: stories with a secondary-world setting and some fantasy feel, but written with a literary approach. They pay professional rates.
They are looking for stories and poetry steeped in the genres of horror, fantasy, and dark fiction. They read submissions year-round.
They publish poetry, fiction, and screenplays in the fantasy, horror, Gothic, and psychological realms.
Radon welcomes short story and poetry submissions containing elements of anarchism, transhumanism, dystopia, and/or science fiction. They pay all contributors and try to respond to all submissions within two to four weeks.
They pay to publish speculative short stories.
They publish fiction and memoir by women writers of a certain age. They publish general literary fiction as well as genre work including upmarket women’s fiction, romance, and thrillers.
They publish speculative short stories and poetry. They pay token rates.
They publish prose, poetry, art, nonfiction, drama, and comics, that pertain to/are inspired by fairy tales. They are open for The Fairy Tale Issue, queer fairy tales written by queer writers, until 30 June 2022. They pay.
They publish dark and weird fantasy, horror, and sci-fi, with complex characters making morally ambiguous decisions. They pay.
They publish short fiction, reviews and articles in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.
This new literary journal focuses on publishing mid-length (between 10,000 and 25,000 words) Science Fiction and Fantasy. They pay $50 per piece.
They only publish Erotic writing, please only visit their website if you are an adult.
They publish and pay for science fiction and fantasy, prose and poetry, including novellas.
Infinite Worlds and Infinite Horror magazines
Infinite Worlds publishes science fiction, as well as artwork and comics. They’re also accepting submissions for Infinite Horror, a new horror fiction magazine which is a spinoff of Infinite Worlds. Both markets pay pro rates.
A pop culture site devoted to all things dark: dark fantasy, science fiction, horror, and crime. They do not read work submitted outside of reading periods. They are reading on the Outsiders theme until 22 June 2022. They pay.
They publish strong genre fiction including crime, fantasy, mystery, romance, science fiction, and horror.
Delicate Friend is an adult (18+) arts and literary magazine highlighting romance, yearning, eroticism, and other forms of desire and intimacy. Please only visit their website if you are an adult.
A respected horror podcast.
A literary journal focused on publishing fiction, poetry, and flash fiction with a speculative bent.
A paying market that publishes a wide variety of speculative work, including fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.
She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
