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.
Since the previous update of this list, five major genre publications (Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine) were all rapidly acquired by a company called Must Read Magazines. All five magazines then started offering the same problematic contract. You can learn more about the situation here. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for updates, but haven’t seen any yet. For the time being we’ve removed these publications from list updates.
Havok
They publish short fiction between 300 – 1,000 words in length in the following genres: mystery, scifi, comedy, thriller, and fantasy. They also have an additional season theme.
Emerald City Ghosts
This is a horror and paranormal fiction magazine “inspired by life in the gloomy PNW”. They require that you subscribe to their Substack before submitting.
Flash Phantoms
They only publish Horror that is between 100 and 1,000 words.
Phobos
They are a paying publisher of weird fiction.
The Yard
They publish short fiction about crime as well as true crime stories.
Bothered Stories
This Erotica focused publication is for writers 18+ only. They only publish erotic short stories.
Cul-De-Sac of Blood
They publish horror poetry and poetics as well as critical and literary essays, visual art, short fiction & screenplays, as well as Friday Features on cultural artifacts in horror.
Sally Port Magazine
They are focused on publishing fantasy stories, including fantasy for younger readers. They are a paying market.
Micromance Magazine
This Substack-based literary journal only publishes romance. They have over 1,000 subscribers.
KissMet Quarterly
This new publication from micromance magazine bills itself as a “Quarterly Flash Romance Digest Where Meet-Cutes Are Meant To Be”.
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. They pay.
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.
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 journals.
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.
The Drabblecast
This audio fiction podcast features short stories, flash fictions, drabbles, and twabbles with a focus on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
MetaStellar
This online publication focuses on horror, fantasy, and science fiction. They have two cycles for paid submissions each year, but don’t pay outside of these cycles. They are open to unpaid submissions year round.
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 $0.05 per word. They are currently closed to submissions.
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. They’re currently open for their annual Anthologies and Collections call, for stories published, or due to be published, in Anthologies and Collections in 2026.
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. They pay.
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.
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.”
Apex Magazine
Apex Magazine is a beautiful publication that publishes science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They are a paying market.
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.
Nightmare
The sister publication to Lightspeed, whose motto is “Horror is for everyone”. They are planning to reopen to submissions in 2027.
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, but they are open to international submissions during certain reading periods.
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, but they are open to international submissions during certain reading periods.
Tall Tale TV
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. They only pay via cheque and USPS which you can read about here.
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. They pay.
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.
Saddlebag Dispatches
They only publish Western short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. For their next themed issue they are looking a for Western stories that bring The West to life. They expand on this by saying “Whether your tale follows the post-Civil War westward expansion, struggles against the land or native or outlaws, or something unique we may not have thought of, we want to see it. Any subgenre of Western is welcome—historical, adventure, romance, mystery, dystopian, sci-fi western, or western fantasy—so long as it captures the grit, spirit, and character of the Old West. Strap on your spurs, saddle up your imagination, and send us your best work.” They close to submissions on August 1st.
PULP Literature
This BC based small press also has a literary journal attached. They publish a wide range of genre work with a literary element. Some reading periods are only open to Canadian authors. They are currently not open to submissions.
The Zodiac Review
They publish prose that are between 300 and 1,200 words in length. They welcome “stories from a whole panoply of genres, including psychological, light or dark humor, biting satire, philosophical, astrological, myth, fictionalized memoir, light sci-fi and light fantasy…if they include decidedly strong elements of literary fiction”.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2026 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.
