Most literary journals are interested in literary work, by which they mean, not genre work (although this is changing a little). 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 some form of speculative fiction, including science fiction, horror, and fantasy. But there are also western, romance, 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.
Sally Port Magazine
They are focused on publishing fantasy stories, including fantasy for younger readers. They are a paying market.
Micromance Magazine
This new Substack-based literary journal only publishes romance.
Killer Nashville Magazine
They seek to “publish both fresh and established voices in ANY GENRE that incorporates elements of mystery, thriller, suspense, and/or romance (and we believe all good literary works and art contain those elements to varying degrees).”
Incensepunk
This Substack had my interest right from the start with their unusual name. They say they want “Sci-fi worlds that embrace the breadth of human religion” and they aren’t looking for “Apologetics or sermonizing on any particular faith”. They publish fiction. They pay $100.
SpecPoVerse
Founded in December 2024, their focus is on creating an international space for speculative poetry.
Cold Caller
This new Substack-based lit journal focuses on publishing crime and mystery fiction, which they define broadly. They list a number of wonderful movies/books as their favorites/inspiration, including Fargo, Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh and Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.
The Orange & Bee
The Orange & Bee focuses on publishing “short stories, poems, essays, and reviews that explore, expand on, and subvert the rich traditions of international folklore, including fairy tales, fables, myths, and legends”. They “also publish traditional tales accompanied by annotations, discussion questions, and writing prompts”. They are based on Substack. They are a paying market.
Pink Disco Magazine
They focus on publishing erotica, so please don’t visit their website if you are under 18. They often are looking for work on a theme.
The Genre Society
This new literary journal is focused on publishing poetry and fiction, that falls into one or more of the following genres: horror, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, magical realism, romance, thriller. This is good news, especially for romance writers who often struggle to find publishers for shorter work, as well as poets, whose work is genre focused, and often not welcome in mainstream literary journal.
House of Long Shadows (HLS)
HLS is a multi-genre magazine of Gothic fiction that is published on Substack. They publish one issue per week which consists of one short story by a contemporary author along with one piece of new or classic art.
Folklore Review
Folklore Review is an online journal of speculative fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art, all inspired by folklore. They like magical writing with real weight, even if it exists within a fantasy realm: “We reject the stance that speculative fiction lacks the quality of realism. That stories about gnomes, fairies, and fauns don’t hold substance.” You can read the journal online to get a sense of what they publish.
Body Shots
This journal of short fiction stresses that they are only open to previously unpublished work. They believe ““Genre is a construct; genre does not exist.” Which is to say the previous issue included “a blend of contemporary realism, transgressive fiction, body horror, comedy, satire, crime fiction, magical realism, and science fiction / slipstream”. They are a paying market.
Broken Antler
They publish horror and weird fiction, as well as sci-fi and dark fantasy. Work selected for their print issues receive $20 + a contributor copy. They pay $10 per piece for work published online.
Drabblecast
This audio fiction podcast features short stories, flash fictions, drabbles, and twabbles with a focus on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Club Chicxulub
They aim to publish sci-fi, slipstream, satire, steampunk, African- and Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurisms, gothic, ecological, pulp, fabulist, and horror fiction from a diversity of voices and identities.
Bourbon Penn
This speculative journal declares that they are “seeking highly imaginative stories with a healthy dose of the odd”. They pay 4 cents per word.
Old Moon Quarterly
A paying journal that publishes “weird sword-and-sorcery fiction set in a historical paranormal setting or a secondary-world, with a focus on well-rounded characters driving strange action”.
Sci-fi Lampoon
They publish fantasy, sci-fi, and horror themed humor. They publish both flash (under 1000 words) and short fiction (7500 words, max). They are also open to high-res art, lampoon classifieds, and ads. They pay a token $5 per accepted piece. They only publish one issue most years.
Bone Parade
They publish previously unpublished works of magical realism, fabulism, and speculative fiction.
The Five-Two
Always open to submissions, this online journal publishes crime poetry.
EscapePod
This is an audio science fiction journal that pays. It is run by Escape Artists.
PodCastle
This is a fantasy audio journal that pays. It is run by Escape Artists.
PseudoPod
This is a horror audio journal by the publishers of Escape Pod, and pays. It is run by Escape Artists.
Cast of Wonders
This young adult short fiction market, also run by Escape Artists, publishes flash fiction and short stories up to 6,000 words in length. They publish primarily science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
This paying and competitive magazine publishes short stories and novellas in the mystery genre.
The Fantastic Other
They pay a token amount for work of fantasy, and science fiction, sometimes along a theme.
Mystery Tribune
This online magazine publishes original mysteries as well as interviews and articles about mysteries.
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.”
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 and fantasy genre. They also accept poetry and nonfiction. They have an associated market which only publishes translations, called Samovar.
The Dark
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
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.
Clarkesworld Magazine
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.
Tales and Feathers
Also published by Augur, Tales and Feathers focuses on publishing short cozy fantasy stories. For funding reasons, they focus primarily on publishing work by Canadian authors.
Aphelion Webzine
Aphelion Webzine publishes science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Tall Tale
They publish fantasy and sci-fi short stories in an audio format.
Eye to the Telescope
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.
Another Realm
This free publication focuses on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Star*Line
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.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
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.
Radon Journal
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.
Electric Spec
They pay to publish speculative short stories.
The Future Fire
They publish speculative short stories and poetry. They pay token rates.
Uncanny Magazine
They publish and pay for science fiction and fantasy, prose and poetry, including novellas.
Creepy
A respected horror podcast.
Crow & Cross Keys
A literary journal focused on publishing fiction, poetry, and flash fiction with a speculative bent.
The Deadlands
A paying speculative fiction market. They also accept reprints. They are mainly looking for works that explore death, dying, grief, loss, Death personified, the afterlife/the underworld, etc. They pay $0.10 per word for short fiction up to 5,000 words, and $50 per poem.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2024 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.
