New literary magazines are a boon for up-and-coming writers. They are staffed by motivated editors, eager for material to launch their new ventures.
Here are more than a dozen literary journals that opened in 2021. All of them pay writers, and none charge submission fees. They want every genre and style, from poetry, to fiction, to personal essays, to hybrid forms. The sky's the limit!
Remember, every established magazine - even the most august - had its first isssue.
Happy submitting!
______________________
Abbey Review. Genre: Short stories, poems, and screenplays. Payment: $30 per short story, poem, and screenplay, and the best piece of writing gets paid an additional $70, for a total of $100. Deadline: December 1, 2021.
The Antihumanist. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, art - all genres. "We seek to publish the most challenging and thought provoking flash fiction and essays. We believe only by confronting the bare bones of reality we understand our place in the world." Payment: 5 cents/word. Deadline: December 1, 2021.
Archive of the Odd. Genre: Speculative fiction, horror preferred. “Archive of the Odd is a zine of uncanny occurrences, told in even stranger ways.” Stories can be set in a variety of time periods, and written in any format, except traditional prose. Some of the suggested formats are: academic papers; technical writing; medication warning sheets; sales papers; newspaper articles; recipes; knitting/crochet/weaving/what-have-you guides; care guides (plant, animal, rock garden, etc); or any other unusual format. Submissions do not have to be entirely in text. Payment: $15-25 for fiction of 500-5,000+ words. Deadline: December 1, 2021.
Alphabet Box. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, up to 900 words. Writers can send more than one submission, as long as the total does not exceed 900 words. Payment: $20.
The Deadlands. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction about death. They publish work “about the other realms, of the ends we face here, and the beginnings we find elsewhere.” Payment: $0.10/word for fiction (up to 5,000 words), $50/poem (any length), and $100/nonfiction piece (any length). Reprints accepted.
Flash Frog is a new online flash fiction magazine featuring stories under 1,000 words. "We like our stories like we like our dart frogs: small, brightly colored, and deadly to the touch." Payment: $25.
khōréō. Restrictions: Open to writers who identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. "This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, transnational/transracial adoptees, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work." Genre: Stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Payment: 0.08/word for fiction, $100 for nonfiction, and $40-300 for art. Deadline: October 31, 2021.
Lost Colony Magazine. Lost Colony Magazine publishes one mid-length (10,000-25,000 words) story of speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy in all of their manifestations) every quarter. Payment: $50.
Sepia Quarterly. Genre: Literary fiction and creative nonfiction between 100 and 5,000 words as well as poetry and art. "Sepia Quarterly seeks writing that makes us feel hazy, golden, sepia-toned. We want deep drifting emotions: nostalgia, maudlin, melancholy, morose, sentimentality etc." Payment: $25.
Synthetic Reality. Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, SHTF, Slipstream, Horror, Sword and Sorcery and surreal fiction. "A limited print-run and online magazine dedicated to unpublished authors." Payment: 1 cent/word.
Tales From Between. Genre: Horror flash fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 22, 2021.
Uncharted Genre: Crime, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thriller short stories. "We want stories that richly imagine the future of technology and science, that explore our world through a speculative lens. We want stories of fantasy that make us hunger for new worlds, new biomes, new places we can explore through thrilling sensual details and human empathy. We want stories that thrill us, that make us feel alive, that awaken our desires to explore and go on adventures." Payment: $200.
The Vanishing Point. Genre: Speculative fiction and nonfiction up to 6,000 words. Payment: $25.
Welkin. Genre: Magical realist, fabulist, fairy tale, fantasy, gothic, metafictional, slipstream, fantastic, weird, surrealist, and experimental genres. Payment: 1cent/word. Deadline: October 31st, 2021.
Here are more than a dozen literary journals that opened in 2021. All of them pay writers, and none charge submission fees. They want every genre and style, from poetry, to fiction, to personal essays, to hybrid forms. The sky's the limit!
Remember, every established magazine - even the most august - had its first isssue.
Happy submitting!
______________________
Abbey Review. Genre: Short stories, poems, and screenplays. Payment: $30 per short story, poem, and screenplay, and the best piece of writing gets paid an additional $70, for a total of $100. Deadline: December 1, 2021.
The Antihumanist. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, art - all genres. "We seek to publish the most challenging and thought provoking flash fiction and essays. We believe only by confronting the bare bones of reality we understand our place in the world." Payment: 5 cents/word. Deadline: December 1, 2021.
Archive of the Odd. Genre: Speculative fiction, horror preferred. “Archive of the Odd is a zine of uncanny occurrences, told in even stranger ways.” Stories can be set in a variety of time periods, and written in any format, except traditional prose. Some of the suggested formats are: academic papers; technical writing; medication warning sheets; sales papers; newspaper articles; recipes; knitting/crochet/weaving/what-have-you guides; care guides (plant, animal, rock garden, etc); or any other unusual format. Submissions do not have to be entirely in text. Payment: $15-25 for fiction of 500-5,000+ words. Deadline: December 1, 2021.
Alphabet Box. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, up to 900 words. Writers can send more than one submission, as long as the total does not exceed 900 words. Payment: $20.
The Deadlands. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction about death. They publish work “about the other realms, of the ends we face here, and the beginnings we find elsewhere.” Payment: $0.10/word for fiction (up to 5,000 words), $50/poem (any length), and $100/nonfiction piece (any length). Reprints accepted.
Flash Frog is a new online flash fiction magazine featuring stories under 1,000 words. "We like our stories like we like our dart frogs: small, brightly colored, and deadly to the touch." Payment: $25.
khōréō. Restrictions: Open to writers who identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. "This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, transnational/transracial adoptees, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work." Genre: Stories, essays, and art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Payment: 0.08/word for fiction, $100 for nonfiction, and $40-300 for art. Deadline: October 31, 2021.
Lost Colony Magazine. Lost Colony Magazine publishes one mid-length (10,000-25,000 words) story of speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy in all of their manifestations) every quarter. Payment: $50.
Sepia Quarterly. Genre: Literary fiction and creative nonfiction between 100 and 5,000 words as well as poetry and art. "Sepia Quarterly seeks writing that makes us feel hazy, golden, sepia-toned. We want deep drifting emotions: nostalgia, maudlin, melancholy, morose, sentimentality etc." Payment: $25.
Synthetic Reality. Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, SHTF, Slipstream, Horror, Sword and Sorcery and surreal fiction. "A limited print-run and online magazine dedicated to unpublished authors." Payment: 1 cent/word.
Tales From Between. Genre: Horror flash fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 22, 2021.
Uncharted Genre: Crime, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thriller short stories. "We want stories that richly imagine the future of technology and science, that explore our world through a speculative lens. We want stories of fantasy that make us hunger for new worlds, new biomes, new places we can explore through thrilling sensual details and human empathy. We want stories that thrill us, that make us feel alive, that awaken our desires to explore and go on adventures." Payment: $200.
The Vanishing Point. Genre: Speculative fiction and nonfiction up to 6,000 words. Payment: $25.
Welkin. Genre: Magical realist, fabulist, fairy tale, fantasy, gothic, metafictional, slipstream, fantastic, weird, surrealist, and experimental genres. Payment: 1cent/word. Deadline: October 31st, 2021.
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