18 Speculative Fiction Magazines Open for Submissions NOW - Paying markets

More than a dozen speculative fiction magazines are open for submissions right now. They want every subgenre of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and all combinations, including weird fiction, slipstream, magical realism, and more.

All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. Some of these are new magazines, so they will be eager to see your work.

For over a hundred paying speculative fiction magazines accepting submissions see: Mega-List of Speculative Fiction Magazines Accepting Submissions

Happy submitting!

(Image: Pixabay)

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Seize the Press

"Seize The Press Magazine is looking to publish dark, transgressive speculative fiction. Bleak sci-fi, dark fantasy and horror only. We’re looking for stories that aren’t didactic or moralistic. We want stories where everything isn’t wrapped up neatly at the end. We want to promote a diverse range of voices from authors who write messy characters, so give us your problematic queers and your angry women—we want your difficult and morally questionable characters in unpleasant situations who don’t slide neatly into a narrow definition of positive representation and don’t fit the model minority mould." Length: 2000 words max. Payment: 6 pence (GBP) per word. This currently equates to slightly over 8 cents (USD).

GigaNotoSaurus

"GigaNotoSaurus accepts Science Fiction or Fantasy (or any combination thereof) from 5,000 to 25,000. We could wax eloquent describing the kinds of stories we like, but it wouldn’t be useful; there are dozens of things we don’t know we like until we try them. Send us that story you really believe in–the one, maybe, that quickly ran out of places to submit it to because it’s so long. Don’t query to gauge our interest in a particular subgenre. Just submit the story." Payment: $100. 

Three Crows Magazine

"Three Crows want your stories of dark and weird fantasy, horror, and sci-fi, with complex characters making morally ambiguous decisions. We are looking for sci-fi as hard as Liu Cixin and Peter Watts and as wonderfully poetic as Arkady Martine; fantasy and magical realism in the vein of Andrzej Sapkowski, Naomi Novik, and Marlon James; we want horror and New Weird stories that would challenge our preconceived notions and perception of reality like Mark Z. Danielewski, Thomas Ligotti, and China Mieville." Accepts fiction, nonfiction and art. Payment: 0.01$/word (USD) via paypal for fiction. 0.01$/word up to $50 per piece for nonfiction. 50$ flat fee for art.

Factor Four Magazine

"We publish flash fiction in the genres of speculative fiction, specifically science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, super hero, or any combination of these. We are looking for stories that are engaging to our readers in such a short word count." Length: 1000 words max. Payment: 11 U.S. cents per word.

Bourbon Penn

"We are looking for highly imaginative stories with a healthy dose of the odd.  Odd characters, odd experiences, odd realities. We’re looking for genre / speculative stories and are quite partial to slipstream, cross-genre, magic realism, absurdist, and the surreal." Length: 2000 - 7500 words. Payment: 3 cents/word.

Apex Magazine

Apex is a well-known speculative fiction magazine. Maximum word length is a firm 7,500 words. Payment for original fiction is $.08 per word up to 7,500 words. Minimum of $50. An additional payment of $.01 per word up to 7,500 words if they podcast your story.

Infinite Worlds

"We’re constantly on the lookout for the best new science fiction and horror – whether that’s via submissions or reaching out directly to creators who catch our eye. We review all of the stories, illustrations and comics we’re sent before planning each issue, so there’s no need to wait." Length: 1500–5000 words. Payment: $.08/word. 

The Colored Lens

"We publish all varieties of speculative fiction, from alternate history, to high fantasy, to nuts and bolts hard science fiction, to dark fantasy, so long as it meets the guidelines above. Whatever the genre, the focus should be used to comment on our world and society rather than exclusively to keep the reader turning pages." Length: Up to 10,000 words for short stories. They also publish novellas up to 20,000 words, serialized over multiple issues. Payment: $20 per short story, article, or piece of artwork, and $10 for flash. For novellas, $20 for the first 10,000 words, and $1 per 1000 words after that.

Sci-Fi Lampoon

"Send us your best fantasy, sci-fi, and horror themed humor. We’re looking for flash (under 1000 words) and short fiction (7500 words, MAX), as well as high-res art, lampoon classifieds and ads." Payment: $5.

James Gunn’s Ad Astra

"James Gunn defines science fiction as “the literature of change” and states that it “incorporates a belief that the most important aspect of existence is a search for humanity’s origins, its purpose, and its ultimate fate.” A tall order but a worthy goal. Our editorial vision for James Gunn’s Ad Astra calls for raising our eyes above the horizon and not limiting the scope of speculative fiction. It is in this spirit that we welcome great stories that range from the near-reality to the far reaches of the what-if." Length: Up to 7,500 words for short stories. They sometimes accept poetry and nonfiction. Payment: $50.

Aftermath Magazine

"Our main theme is simple: the end of human civilization as a result of our destruction of the environment. The whole purpose of this magazine is to raise awareness of our suicidal behaviour. Only then will it be possible to do something about it. Our hopes are low, human nature being what it is, but still we believe we should try. We are seeking well-written intelligent stories dealing with the major issues of our time and the foreseeable future, realistic, speculative, cautionary and thought-provoking. We are also looking for stories that celebrate the beauty and importance of our environment, the natural world, the splendour of the wild, the abundance of wonderful creatures, big and small, and our kinship with them, the simple joys and profound enrichments experienced by people who are able to commune with nature. In short, narratives about the paradise that we are on the brink of losing." Length: 1,500-5,000 words. Payment: $0.02/word for fiction, and $0.01/word for nonfiction.

Utopia Science Fiction

“We’re looking for enthralling stories set in a future we want to believe in, one we would fight to make a reality. We are especially in need of science and non-fiction articles for our Science Corner. Articles can be on any subject in any style, but must be accessible to a non-academic audience.” Length: 100 - 6,000 words. Payment: $0.01/word for fiction, $35 for nonfiction, and $5-10 for poetry. 

Galaxy’s Edge

“We are a science fiction and fantasy magazine, so we would love to receive fiction from those categories as well as any sub-categories, such as space opera, steampunk, urban fantasy, africanfuturism, magical realism and so on. We do not publish straight horror stories, even if they do have a supernatural element, but if you have a dark fantasy story, or a dystopian science fiction piece, send it our way.” Do not send vampire, werewolf, or zombie stories. Payment: $0.07/word for stories of up to 10,000 words.

Zooscape

"All stories must be furry. That means an anthropomorphic animal figure should be significantly featured in your story — it could be anthropomorphic in body or only intelligence. We’ll consider any type of furry fiction from secret life of animals to fox in Starbucks. We love science-fiction with animal-like aliens and fantasy with talking dragons, unicorns, or witch familiars." Payment: Original stories up to 5,000 words. Reprints up to 10,000 words. Payment: 8 cents/word for original fiction.  $20 for reprints.

The Were-Traveler 

"Short Stories, Flash, and Poetry that are out of this world...maybe out of this universe." For this issue they want fiction based on a Tarot image. Theme: Curst & Twysted Tarot. Payment: $10 - $15.

Maelstroms Anthology

All stories must be dark fantasy in some way. You can interpret the theme in any way you wish but your story must be dark and involve the sea in some meaningful way. All stories must be 500-1,000 words in length. Payment: .01 per word for original fiction, half that for reprints, and all authors will receive a digital copy of the ebook prior to publication. Open until filled.

Dread Space Anthology

All stories must be dark military sci-fi/military Sci-fi horror in some way. You can interpret the theme in any way you wish but your story must be dark and involve the military sci-fi in some meaningful way. All stories must be less than 1,000 words in length. Payment: .01 per word for original fiction, half that for reprints, and all authors will receive a digital copy of the ebook prior to publication. Open until filled.

Tales from the Moonlit Path. 

Dark, eerie, speculative stories on theme of Demented Mother Day. Payment: $10. Deadline: ?

Writing About Writing - 11 Paying markets

One thing that writers love to talk about is writing. Whether they are successful authors, aspiring novelists, or novices, writers always have something to say about the craft - as well they should. Writing involves words, and while a painter or a composer may be relatively inarticulate, no writer can get away with a paucity of verbal expression. 

In the majority of cases, magazines that publish articles about writing want the perspective of experienced writers - those who have been published. Writing is a business as well as a calling, so these magazines are looking for advice on how to succeed at writing. But some of these publications are interested in the ordinary experiences of writers, regardless of how successful they are at the craft. The trials that writers face, both artistically and professionally, are instructive, as well as sobering. 

The following journals are looking for writing about writing. Even if you don't anticipate submitting anything to them, these publications are worth checking out for the resources and free tips.

For hundreds of paying markets, listed by genre, see Paying Markets.

(Image: Leonid Pasternak, "The Passion of Creation")

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Riddled With Arrows

“For this special issue we seek writers and artists currently working in metafiction, metapoetics / ars poetica, and / or any other genre or media which ultimately explores, examines, celebrates and / or in any other way spotlights the process and product of writing as art, particularly as it relates to modern writers, readers, and consumers.” Length: Up to 1,500 words for fiction and nonfiction, up to 3 poems Payment: $25. Deadline: March 11, 2022.

Writing Bad

Writing Bad was founded to be a resource to writers of all skill-levels. "Our goal is to offer resources to enable writers to further develop their knowledge and writing ability so that they may better achieve their writing goals. To do this, we publish writing advice articles on our website under the following categories: Prose, Poetry, and Marketing & Grammar. We are seeking writing advice articles to publish on our website. The articles will be published under the author’s name (or pen-name, if they so choose), along with a short short author bio about the author. Author bios are allowed up to one external link to an author website or an author’s social media page." Authors must have a minimum of two published essays, stories, articles, and/or books. Length: 800 to 2,000 words. Payment: 1 cent/word.

Writers Weekly

"WritersWeekly.com focuses on “selling” the written word. We do not seek articles on how to write. Rather, we seek articles on how to make more money doing what you love….writing! We are also interested in other forms of home-based businesses and self-employment that may result from writing, such as self-publishing, corporate writing, etc. All ideas that help writers support themselves performing the work they love are warmly welcomed, provided we haven’t covered the topic on the past two years." Payment:  $60 U.S. on acceptance via PayPal for first rights only ($30 U.S. for reprints).

The Writer’s Chronicle 

The Writer's Chronicle wants essays on the craft of writing. Length: 2,500 to 5,000 words. All craft essays must analyze an element of creative writing. They should contain examples to illustrate the writerly advice they offer. Using more than one author to illustrate your analysis is recommended.

In addition, the Chronicle accepts interviews. Length: 3,000 to 5,000 words. "We feature interviews with well-known and up-and-coming authors in the genres of fiction, short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. In the past, we have published interviews with such authors as Nikki Finney, Yusef Komunyakaa, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Vijay Seshadri, Gregory Pardlo, and many others. We especially appreciate interviews that include discussions of writing craft, the evolution of the author’s own work, and literary influences and inspirations. We prefer interviews that have been revised heavily in the interest of accuracy, concision, and style. We are interested in an interview that represents a writer as well as possible in a somewhat personable manner. We only publish interviews that have been approved in proofs by their subjects." Payment: $18 per 100 words for accepted manuscripts. 

BookLife

BookLife is seeking pitches from the BookLife community. "If you are an indie author, publishing professional, or serve another role within the book world, we invite you to submit proposals for guest columns to appear in Publishers Weekly, the BookLife Report, and on the PW and BookLife websites. All authors are compensated. We are specifically looking for articles that concern the craft of writing and editing, the experience of self-publishing, and the indie writing community. Feel free to get creative! Please submit your pitch and resume to booklifeeditor@booklife.com with the subject line "Write for BookLife."

Wordworks

Note: Wordworks is open to BC and Yukon writers only. 

"We publish three full-colour issues per year. Each issue goes out to Federation of BC Writers members as well as to schools, libraries, businesses, and other organizations across BC and Yukon. We are always striving to increase our readership and the reach of our stories.

WordWorks pays $125 per page for original articles, paid upon publication. Articles range from 500 words for one page to 1,100 words for a two-page spread. We will consider longer features as well. These rates are subject to change in future issues. Have you previously written an article or blog post that fits our theme? We pay $50 for selected reprints." Issues are themed.

Lit MagNews

"Are you a writer and/or journal editor with something to say? Do you have a unique strategy of finding lit mags to submit to? Do you do a special ritual for every rejection (that somehow magically works)? Are you an editor who desperately wants to tell writers to please stop doing this one thing? Are there things you want to help people with, discuss, gripe about, seek clarification on, when it comes to literary magazines?

I am excited to announce a new feature of this site, which will include articles from working writers and editors. These pieces could be serious. They could be instructive. They could be funny and absurd. Anything and everything is welcome. "If you’ve got something to say or explore about lit mags, or if you’ve got an idea you want to float by me, send it along! Becky.Tuch@gmail.com. Feel free to email with questions." All writers will be paid. $75

The Victorian Writer 

This Australian magazine publishes poems ($70), and articles of 600 words ($100) and 1200 words ($200) in the print edition with particular interest in the craft of writing and the writing life. Note: Pitches only. Issues are themed. See deadlines.

Bistreaux 

"We’re looking for posts about writing, literature, agents, publishing, hangover recipes—anything to do with the craft and business of writing. Topics must be relevant to our audience, which consists of sophisticated journeyman writers and poets. Length should ordinarily be limited to 1000 words. Reprints are welcome. We’ll provide a link to the contributor’s most recent publication." Payment varies.

Funds for Writers

Funds for Writers seeks submissions “on earning a living as a writer.” Articles should fall between 550 and 650 words. Payment: “via PayPal or Venmo – $60 for unpublished original articles; $20 for reprints.”

Women on Writing

"WOW! welcomes queries from its audience of women writers. Please make sure you’ve read through our articles on the home page to get an idea of the style and tone of our publication before submitting a query. Remember, each e-zine issue focuses on a theme. Articles range anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 words—whatever length is necessary to cover the topic. Pay is arranged between the writer and editor for the piece, but most articles pay $50 or $75. In-depth pieces that require many different sources to cover the topic and have a higher word count pay $100 or $150."

15 Literary Magazines Open to Fiction, Poetry, Essays NOW - Paying markets

Here are sixteen literary magazines with no firm deadlines open to submissions right now.

These publications want everything from horror, to SFF, to social commentary, to anarchist poetry, to Yiddish humor. The sky's the limit. None charge submission fees and all are paying markets.

For a list of hundreds of paying markets, broken down by genre, see PAYING MARKETS.

(Image: "Woman writing a letter with her maid" by Johannes Vermeer)

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The Anarchist Poetry Project. Genre: Poem Length: 3 poems up to 5 pages total. "The theme of the book is Building Better Worlds. We’re interested in what those better Anarchist worlds and systems look like. Poems that somehow relate to that theme within the context of anarchism will have a better chance of being accepted. In particular, we love speculative literature (scifi, fantasy, hopepunk and other -punk subgenres, magical realism, etc). But even if your poem doesn’t fall into such genres, we still want you to submit it as long as you identify as an anarchist, and your poems are in some way about or related to anarchism and building better worlds." Payment: $30 per poem + contributor copy. Deadline: Open until filled.

Ahoy Comics. Genre: Short fiction and social commentary. "We seek smart, weird, funny articles or stories, which run between 500 and 1,500 words." Payment. $200. 

The Bureau Dispatch. Genre: Short stories between 500 to 1,500 words. "We want your best work. We want fiction that is compelling and beautifully-crafted; narratives that leave the reader breathless and changed. The kind of story that, when all is said and done, elicits a resounding "sh*t, yeah! We are open to all narratives, but are currently partial to ones that explore the theme of DISPATCH." Payment: $50.

Neon. Genre: "We prefer darker pieces, especially those with an element of the surreal or speculative, but are open to anything and like to be surprised. Images, comics, and graphic poems are also welcome, as are self-contained extracts. If you have any doubts about whether something is suitable, go ahead and send it anyway." Theme: Cuisine. Payment: Prose 2p per word; Poetry 20p per line; Photography £5 per image; Comics £5 per page. Minimum payment of £10 per contributor.

VALRAVN. Genre: Horror and “wyrd fiction” short stories (3,000 to 10,000 words). Payment: $0.10 USD per word (ten cents USD per word), with additional bonus payouts based on crowdfunding and sales. 

Galaxy's Edge. Genre: Speculative fiction. Flash fiction, short stories and novelettes up to 10,000 words. Payment: 7 cents per word for new fiction. 

Off Topic Publishing: Wayward and Upward. Genre: Poetry and fiction. “A multimedia project inspired by the electrosymphonic album “Wayward & Upward” by Spinoza Gambit. The music already exists. Your job is to fill in the words.” No simultaneous submissions. Payment: $50 - $100 CAD upon publication. Deadline: January 30, 2022, or until filled.

Purim Pitch. Genre: Humor. Blog about/in Yiddish. (?) Payment: $100. Deadline: March 7, 2022, more or less.

Picnic in the Graveyard. Genre: Horror stories that take place in a cemetery/burial place. 2000-4000 words. Payment: $0.07/word. Deadline: May 1, 2022, or until filled.

Propertius Press. Genre: Short stories on theme: The Natural World. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 31, 2022, or until filled.

Soldiers of the Old Ones. Genre: Lovecraftian horror tales of the people who fight for, sacrifice for, and work toward the takeover of the world by the Old Ones. Payment: $25. Deadline: June 30th, 2022, or until filled.

Subterranean Blue Poetry. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $10.

Flash Point Science Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. "Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short." Payment: $15.

Andromeda Spaceways. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art, nonfiction. Payment: 1 cent per word (AUD) with a AUD$20 minimum and a AUD$100 maximum per piece. For flash fiction (under 1,000 words), AUD$10 per piece.

Infinite Worlds/Infinite Horrors. Genre: Science fiction, horror between 1500–5000 words in length. Payment: 8 cents/word. Also accepts art.

10 Paying Markets for Narrative Journalism, Essays, Personal Essays, and Cultural Criticism

In most cases, not only is nonfiction easier to publish than fiction, it's lucrative. Professional rates of several hundred dollars up to a thousand for features are not unusual. And some magazines with substantial circulations, like Cosmopolitan, are willing to accept pitches from freelancers.

If you are a fiction writer, don't be discouraged. Personal essays are well within your grasp. They have the same structure as short fiction - a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you can write short fiction, you can write a personal essay.

For more nonfiction publishing opportunities see:

The New York Times Wants Your Personal Essays - Paying market

Top 12 Paying Markets for Fiction, Personal Essays and Poetry

42 Paying Markets for Personal Essays

27 Magazines that Publish Freelance Book Reviews - Paying markets

Freelancing: Getting Paid to Write Nonfiction Articles

(Image: Flickr)

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Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan is looking for personal essays, reported pieces, and cultural criticism for the opinion section. From the editor: "Your pitch should center on an opinion that you’ll justify with thoughtful reasoning, insightful facts, and strong resources that support your viewpoint. Show me how your piece will help readers make sense of and better understand people, events, ideas, trends, or culture. Topics can range from irreverent pop culture rants to nuanced takes on public policy. Whether it's niche or mainstream, beloved or unpopular, timely or random, I’m down as long as you’ve got a clear opinion and a strong, thoughtful argument to back it up." 

Payment: Rates typically start between $250-$350 and can scale up depending on the scope and requirements of each piece. Ideal word count typically ranges from 600-900. Send an email to patrice dot peck at hearst dot com. In the subject line, write PITCH: [A Possible Headline For Your Piece]. Include the projected word count and a feasible deadline. Several pitches in one email is fine as long as they each have the info above. And if you’ve already written the piece, feel free to include it. 

Read more here.

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Insider and Business Insider 

Insider and Business Insider are publications looking for journalistic articles with "heat." 

"We at Insider want great, heat-seeking narrative journalism. Ambitious pieces with character, color, tension, and drama. Stories that trace an obsession, unlock a secret, or expose some WTF-level insight about how power works. Ripping yarns, stories of true crime, of loves lost and won. Rivalries in sports, tech, and entertainment. Chronicles of dreams realized and broken. Politics, entertainment, business, international intrigue. We're into all of it."

Payment: Who Pays Writers reports payment of between 20 and 35 cents a word.  

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Bitch Magazine

"Our definition of culture is broad, encompassing cultural attitudes and myths, phenomena of the popular imagination, and social trends as well as movies, TV shows, web series, books, internet subcultures, and the like. For Bitch, culture also includes politics, science, health, and life, including food, parenting, chronic illness, relationships, religion, activism, education, climate change, and different elements of our lives that we all consider as we decide who we are as feminists."

Payment: $700-$1000 for features, $350 for dispatches, and between $250-$700 for culture stories.

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Air Canada En Route Magazine

"What makes an Air Canada enRoute story? We engage our audience through intelligent writing, insight, humour and spot‑on service journalism. Our stories exemplify narrative journalism at its best, exploring the world through first‑hand, highly experiential pieces. We look for articles with unique, unexpected angles and for subjects that will remain fresh during our four‑to‑six‑month lead time. Air Canada enRoute commissions stories that focus on everything from food and drink, design and architecture to style, arts and culture, technology, social trends and sports, all told through the lens of travel."

Payment: Who Pays Writers reports payment of $1 a word. 

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Longreads

"Longreads is dedicated to publishing and sharing the best longform nonfiction storytelling on the web. Personal/Critical Essays and Columns These pieces typically run between 2,000 and 6,000 words, but can be longer or broken up into a series depending on the length and subject matter.  Personal essays should be submitted on spec. We look for smart, original angles and fresh, unique voices." 

Payment: $500 per essay or column.

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WhatCulture.com

What Culture is a huge site with articles about popular culture. The minimum word length is 1500 words. You do not need to have any relevant experience or hold any particular qualifications, but you do need to:

• Possess excellent creativity
• Have a keen eye for detail
• Show a passion for content creation
• Stay on top of trends

"List-driven written features are our bread and butter. But we'll also consider Quizzes, Galleries, Video submissions or News pieces."

• Film, TV, Gaming, Sport & More
• Recommended minimum 1500 words for lists - galleries and quizzes are even simpler!
• Have your work published
• Share it on Facebook/Twitter

You can submit as many articles as you want.

Payment: £0.50 for every 1,000 views generated in the first 28 days of publication. 

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Global Comment

"We welcome pitches from people at all levels of experience from all over the world. Our goal is to promote conversations and diverse media.

We don’t like neo-Nazis. Or terrorists. We strive to publish a variety of opinions on this site, but we do have a strong view as to what is and isn’t acceptable discourse. We lean towards progressive voices and oppose populism; if you read the existing writing on the site, you will probably have a good idea of whether or not your work is right for us. If you aren’t sure, ask!"

What they are looking for:

• Well-informed essays on a topic you are fascinated by or passionate about
• Well-researched opinion or comment pieces on a topic you feel strongly about
• Reviews of films, TV, books, music or theatre that’s at a national or international level.

Payment: $50

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Griffith Review

"Lyrical essays, researched essays, creative non-fiction, analytical pieces – we publish them all. We like new and creative ideas, and we like you, the writer. Don’t be afraid to let yourself shine through in your writing. Griffith Review is not an academic journal (although academics may be able to obtain research credits for their writing), and while we often tackle complex ideas, we are committed to giving our writers space for their own voice. Give us your provocations and opinions, so long as they are considered and backed up." Pieces generally range from 2,000 to up to 5,000 words, unless previously negotiated with the editors. They publish some fiction as well.

Payment: Negotiated.

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The Point

"The Point is a magazine of philosophical writing that embodies two distinct but complementary convictions: on the one hand, that humanistic thinking has relevance for contemporary life; on the other, that our lives are full of experiences worth thinking about. We welcome submissions for our print journal, which is published three times a year, and for our website, which is updated continuously. 

Each issue of the magazine has three main sections: ESSAYS, SYMPOSIUM and REVIEWS. Our essays blend memoir, criticism and journalism to examine the ideas and beliefs that shape our world. The symposium is a collection of responses to a question chosen by the editors (e.g., What is protest for? What is marriage for? What is privacy for?). Reviews can be about pretty much anything at all. Print essays run between 3,000 and 6,000 words; reviews and symposium articles are of medium length (1,500-3,000 words). We also accept ideas-driven reported pieces for our CORRESPONDENCE section (3,000-5,000 words). The website runs articles of any length but preferably of about 1,500-3,000 words."

Payment: "Contributors whose articles appear in the print journal will be compensated." 

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The Audacity

THE AUDACITY features an emerging writer twice a month. (An emerging writer is someone with fewer than three article/essay/short story publications and no published books or book contracts.)

"Please submit your best nonfiction and nonfiction only. I am interested in literary essays and memoir. Please submit only one essay at a time. Essays should be between 1500 and 3000 words. I am interested in thoughtful essays, beautiful, intelligent writing, deep explorations, timelessness, and challenging conventional thinking without being cheap and lazy. We may take up to eight weeks to respond but we will respond to all submissions."

Payment: All essays are paid a flat fee of $2,000.

59 Paying Markets for Personal Essays

Updated 5/18/21

It seems personal essays are all the rage lately. Even otherwise stodgy publications are turning to them as a means of drumming up clientele. (I blame blogs.)

In case you are wondering what a personal essay is, it's any nonfiction story written in first person. Personal essays always involve a true experience, especially one that evokes emotions that speak to a broader audience.

Like the short story, personal essays are structured, have a theme, and usually involve a moral or message of some kind. Some literary journals and niche magazines are willing to pay substantially for these essays, so devoting a few hours to writing one is worth your consideration.

Read submission guidelines carefully. Many of these publications only read during submission periods.


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For additional markets for personal essays see:

Writing to Heal

20 Places to Publish Personal Essays

325 Paying Markets for Short Stories, Poetry, Nonfiction

For more paying markets go to: Paying Markets
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The Boston Globe

Connections is looking for first-person essay on relationships of any kind (romantic as well as those between friends, siblings, and parents and children).

Length: 650 words

Payment: Fees vary depending on the story length and the column for which the piece will be used.
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Bugle Magazine: "Women in the Outdoors" Column

"We are looking for personal essays and stories concerning elk, hunting, wildlife encounters, conservation and land-use issues. We are especially interested in thought-provoking stories and essays – personal narratives that evoke emotion and suggest connections to larger themes or ask (or attempt to answer) questions that touch the heart."

Length: 1,000 to 3,000 words

Payment: $.20/word on acceptance
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Chicken Soup for the Soul

"A Chicken Soup for the Soul story is an inspirational, true story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences. It is a story that opens the heart and rekindles the spirit. It is a simple piece that touches our readers and helps them discover basic principles they can use in their own lives. These stories are personal and often filled with emotion and drama. They are filled with vivid images created by using the five senses. In some stories, the readers feel that they are actually in the scene with the people."

Payment: $200

Books are themed

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Christian Science Monitor

"The Home Forum is looking for upbeat, personal essays. We also welcome short poems. All material must be original and previously unpublished. For seasonal material, be aware that if you submit something that is about a particular month, holiday, event (back to school, graduation), or season, we need to receive it a minimum of six weeks ahead. These are first-person, nonfiction explorations of how you responded to a place, a person, a situation, an event, or happenings in everyday life. Tell a story; share a funny true tale. The humor should be gentle. We accept essays on a wide variety of subjects, and encourage timely, newsy topics. However, we don't deal with the topics of death, aging and disease."

Length: 400 to 800 words

Payment: $75-$150

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Down East: The Magazine of Maine

"My Maine is our section most open to new contributors. My Maine stories are personal essays that focus on some aspect of the writer’s relationship to Maine and the Maine landscape. Pieces are often lyrical, sometimes humorous, and almost always have a strong first person component. We receive more submissions for My Maine than any other section of the magazine; please give us three months to respond to your submission before following up."

Length: 800–1000 words

Payment: Between $.40/word and $.70/word

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Good Old Days

"Good Old Days tells the real stories of the people who lived and grew up in “the Good Old Days” (about 1935–1960). We like stories to sound informal and conversational, as if you’re sitting around the kitchen table reminiscing with your friends and family. However, we are open to any way you choose to write your story, as long as it is true and falls within our targeted period of time. We prefer the author’s individual voice, warmth, humor and honesty over technical ability. We do not accept fictional manuscripts."

Length: 500 to 1,500 words

Payment: $15 to $75

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Story Quarterly

"We are interested in literary fiction, including short stories, short shorts, and novel excerpts up to 6,250 words in length, and creative nonfiction. We select work on the basis of style, craft, freshness, and vision."

Payment: $50

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Extra Crispy

"If there’s any group of people who believe the ideas around breakfast are boundless, we're obviously the ones. The editors of Extra Crispy want to hear your hot takes on hot cakes." No restaurant reviews.

Payment: Competitive rates
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Dame Magazine

DAME features a variety of voices writing reported pieces, op-eds, and personal essays covering culture, politics, parenting, family, gender, sex, entertainment, tech culture, business and personal finance. DAME’s tone is irreverent, witty, and provocative. "Our objective is to move the conversation forward around trending and topical subjects most relevant to women—that is, when we're not starting the conversation. We accept narrative-driven reported features, first-person essays, Q&As, op-eds, and humor essays (especially satire).

Length: Stories are generally between 800 and 2,000 words, depending on the subject matter and the story format."

Payment: Negotiated.

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Kveller

Kveller is a parenting magazine that accepts personal essays about parenting and women’s issues as seen through a Jewish lens.

Length: 500-1000 words

Payment: $25

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Mask

"Our goal is to empower each other to engage with this world in a transformative way, and to rewrite the narratives of what we’re capable of doing together. We believe cooperation, understanding, curiosity, and respect across difference is necessary to reach that goal."

Payment: Between $50 and $200

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New York Times: Modern Love

"The editors of Modern Love are interested in receiving deeply personal essays about contemporary relationships, marriage, dating, parenthood...any subject that might reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma the writer has faced in his or her life. It helps if the situation has a contemporary edge, though this is not essential. Most important is that the writing be emotionally honest and the story be freshly and compellingly told."

Length: 1500-1700 words

Payment: $300

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Slate

Slate is an online magazine about news, politics, and culture. Please indicate which section you’re pitching to in the subject line of your email.

Payment: 23 cents/word
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The Billfold

"The Billfold aims to do away with the misbelief that talking about difficult money issues is uncomfortable, and create a space to have an honest conversation about how we save, spend and repay our debts. We are going to break one of the last taboos in our culture — talking about what you earn, what you spend, what you owe. Interested in contributing to The Billfold? Send an e-mail to notes@thebillfold.com with a specific pitch you have in mind and an editor will get back to you as soon as possible."

Payment: 3 cents/word

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Motherwell 

"We are looking for evocative first-person narratives that have a unique focus, or take a novel angle, on a slice of the parenting experience. We are open to a range of styles and tones: the only requirement is that the essay works on its own terms—be it lyrical, humorous, research-oriented, etc—and conveys something fundamental about its writer."

Length: Up to 1200 words

Payment: Not specified 

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Narratively

"Narratively is devoted to original and untold human stories, delivered in the most appropriate format for each piece, from writing to short documentary films, photo essays, audio stories and comics journalism. We are always interested in adding new, diverse voices to the mix and we pay for stories. We accept both pitches for story ideas and completed submissions."

Payment: Not specified

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National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities

"We believe in placing parents with disabilities at the forefront, and one way to do that is invite them to share their own experiences. We are interested in bringing together a racially, culturally, and experientially diverse group of people to contribute."

Payment: $100

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The Sun

"We publish essays, interviews, fiction, and poetry. We tend to favor personal writing, but we’re also looking for provocative pieces on political and cultural issues. And we’re open to just about anything. Surprise us; we often don’t know what we’ll like until we read it."

Length: Up to 7,000 words

Payment: $300-$2000
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Skirt

"skirt! publishes two personal essays every month on topics relating to women and women’s interests. Essays must fit one of our monthly themes." Preference is given to Charleston-area writers. 

Length: 800 to 1100 words

Payment: $200

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Travelers’ Tales

Travelers’ Tales are yearly anthologies of travel writing. "We’re looking for personal, nonfiction stories and anecdotes-funny, illuminating, adventurous, frightening, or grim. Stories should reflect that unique alchemy that occurs when you enter unfamiliar territory and begin to see the world differently as a result. Stories that have already been published are welcome as long as the author retains the copyright to reprint the material."

Payment: $100

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Backpacker

Destinations uses pieces that go beyond a mere description of a trail or place. "Our destination stories are almost always first person and based upon the author’s recent trip experience. Readers should come away with a strong sense of that particular outdoor experience, a firm grasp of the location’s character, and the inspiration to duplicate the trip."

Length: 1,500 to 5,000 or more words, and most contain a full Expedition Planner sidebar (contact, permit, season, hazards, map, guidebook, and other useful information; look at past BACKPACKER issues for examples and style).

Payment: $0.40-$1 per word 

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True Story

"Surprise us! The only rules are that all work submitted must be nonfiction and original to the author, and we will not consider previously published work."

Length: 5,000 - 10,000 words

Payment: $300 

Note: There is a $3 fee to submit online. No charge for snail mail.

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AARP

The American Association of Retired People accepts thoughtful, timely, new takes on matters of importance to people over 50. “Originality is key. Certain life events, such as caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease, inspire many more great essays than we could ever hope to publish. We’re looking for the compelling reads and universal truths in unusual, extreme or common-but-little-discussed life experiences.”

Length: 1,200-1,500 words

Payment: $2/word

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Vox First Person

Vox.com is now publishing thoughtful, in-depth, provocative personal narratives that explain the most important topics in modern life.

Payment: Varies

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The Bold Italic

The Bold Italic is an online magazine that celebrates the character and free-wheeling spirit of San Francisco and the Bay Area. For pitches, comments and general inquiries, send a message to info@thebolditalic.com.

Payment: Varies
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Bustle

Bustle is "for & by women who are moving forward as fast as you are." Topics range from politics, to motherhood, to books, fashion and entertainment. Although the focus is on women, articles by men are accepted. Payment varies. Read their submission guidelines.

Length: 800-2000 words

Payment: Averages about 5 cents per word

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Gay Magazine

"I am starting a new project, part of which will include publishing an emerging writer twice a month, starting in January 2021. I define emerging writer as someone with fewer than three article/essay/short story publications and no published books or book contracts. Please submit your best nonfiction and nonfiction only. I am interested in literary essays and memoir. Please submit only one essay at a time."

Length: 1500 to 3000 words

Payment: $2,000
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The Rumpus

"We’re interested in seeing finished pieces that intersect culture. We realize it’s a lot to ask for people to to write something without knowing if it will be published. On the other hand if you aren’t driven by the story so much that you have to write it then it’s probably not a good fit for The Rumpus."

Payment: Averages 13 cents/word
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The Threepenny Review

The Threepenny Review is a national quarterly with a great reputation. They also accept fiction and poetry.

Length: 4000 words or less

Payment: $400 per story or article

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Bellevue Literary Review

The BLR accepts work related to their themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. "We welcome submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. e are looking for essays that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate anecdotes that feel alive, and dazzle us with thoughtful and creative analysis that allows these anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. Please, no academic discourses or works with footnotes."

Length: Maximum 5,000 words.

Payment: Honorarium

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Brick

Brick is an international literary journal published twice a year out of Toronto. "With a focus on literary non-fiction—and a willingness to stray when our hearts are taken—the magazine prizes the personal voice and celebrates life, art, and the written word with the most invigorating and challenging essays, interviews, translations, memoirs, belles lettres, and unusual musings we can get our hands on."

Length: 1,000–5,000 words

Payment: $55–660

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Masters Review: New Voices

New Voices is open to any new and emerging author who has not published a work of fiction or narrative nonfiction of novel length.

Length: Less than 7,000 words

Payment: $0.10/word up to $200

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The Sunlight Press

"We want to hear the ways people turn toward light and hope, whether it is through the arts, culture, spirituality, or humor, and also how they respond to the darkness and navigate unknown spaces. Epiphanies are born from the ordinary and the extraordinary; whether it’s a reflection unfolding during a morning walk, after the loss of a loved one, or in the middle of unexpected laughter, we want to know about these moments."

Length: 650-1,000 words

Payment: $50

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Sasee

"We are looking for new, unpublished, first-person, non-fiction material that is for or about women. Essays, humor, satire, personal experience, and features on topics relating to women are our primary editorial focus. Diversity of subjects that reflect all age groups and variety of writing styles are invited."

Length: No more than 500 to 1000 words

Payment: Varies

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New Haven Review

"The New Haven Review was founded to be a venue for writers associated with the Greater New Haven area and to resuscitate the art of the book review. But mostly, we're interested in publishing good writing, by which we mean writing we like and want to see more of in this world. We like to see submissions from writers who can claim some connection to Greater New Haven, no matter how spurious, though it's not mandatory."

Length: Shorter pieces tend to run to about 1,200 words; longer pieces run several thousand

Payment: $500

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Shenandoah 

Shenandoah aims to showcase a wide variety of voices and perspectives in terms of gender identity, race, ethnicity, class, age, ability, nationality, regionality, sexuality, and educational background (MFAs are not necessary here). They love publishing new writers; publishing history is not a prerequisite either.

Length: Essays, memoir, etc. should be under 8,000 words.

Payment: $100 per 1000 words of prose up to $500. See submission periods.

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American Journal of Nursing 

This journal publishes “personal stories exploring any aspect of nursing, health, or health care. While many are accounts of memorable nursing experiences, we also welcome the patient perspective, as well as that of other health care professionals. … Avoid generalizations and clichés in favor of specific details and real immersion in a place, an event, a moment, a character. Anecdotes meant to illustrate cozy lessons usually aren’t what we’re looking for; we prefer the messiness and ambivalence of real life, the nuance and uncertainty of many of our hardest decisions, the ways we change our minds about things”

Length: Essays should be 800-850 words.

Payment: $150.
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West Branch Magazine

West Branch Magazine is a publication of Bucknell University. They publish personal essays, poetry and fiction. They pay upon publication. See submission periods.

Length: up to 30 pages of prose.

Payment: $0.05/word, up to $100

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Colorado Review

Launched in 1956 (with the first issue featuring work by Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, E. E. Cummings, Henry Miller, Bertolt Brecht, and Mark van Doren), Colorado Review is a national literary journal featuring contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and book reviews. Each issue is approximately 200 pages. Published three times a year, CR has a circulation of approximately 1,100, is carried by university and public libraries across the country, and is distributed by Kent News to independent bookstores. The journal receives over 9,000 manuscript submissions each academic year. No submission fee for mailed submissions.

Length: Colorado Review prefers short stories and essays that are somewhere between 15 and 25 manuscript pages. No submission fee for mailed submissions.

Payment: $200 for short stories and essays.

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Woods Reader

"Woods Reader is a publication for those who love woodland areas: whether a public preserve, forest, tree farm, backyard woodlot or other patch of trees and wildlife. Our readers like to hear about others’ experiences and insights, especially those that make an impression that they think about long after they have finished the article.  Submitted content should center around trees and woodlands."

Length: They accept essays of 500-1,000 words and occasionally may serialize work of 2,000-5,000 words.

Payment: $25 to $150.

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The Fiddlehead

The Fiddlehead is open to good writing in English or translations into English from all over the world and in a variety of styles, including experimental genres. "Our editors are always happy to see new unsolicited works in fiction, including excerpts from novels, creative nonfiction, and poetry."

Payment: $60 CAD per published page, plus two complimentary copies of the issue.

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Baltimore Review

The Baltimore Review is a quarterly, online literary journal. They accept poems, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work.

Payment: $40.

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Blue Marble Review

Blue Marble Review is published four times a year and accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, essays, opinion pieces, travel writing, photography and art on a rolling basis. They are looking for new work that hasn’t been published anywhere else either online or in print. Blue Marble Review accepts writing and art from anyone between the ages of 13 and 22.

Length: 1500 words or less.

Payment: $25.

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Guernica

Guernica is a non-profit magazine dedicated to global art and politics, published online since 2004. "With contributors from every continent and at every stage of their careers, we are a home for singular voices, incisive ideas, and critical questions. Guernica welcomes submissions from writers and visual artists at all stages of their careers." 

Length: 2,500 - 5,000 words across the genres of memoir, essay, reportage, and interviews.

Payment: Negotiated.

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Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope magazine creatively focuses on the experiences of disability through literature and the fine arts. This publication expresses the experience of disability from the perspective of individuals, families, friends, healthcare professionals, educators and others.

"The material chosen for Kaleidoscope challenges and overcomes stereotypical, patronizing, and sentimental attitudes about disability. We accept the work of writers with and without disabilities; however the work of a writer without a disability must focus on some aspect of disability. The criteria for good writing apply: effective technique, thought-provoking subject matter, and in general, a mature grasp of the art of story-telling. Writers should avoid using offensive language and always put the person before the disability."

Kaleidoscope accepts electronic (website and email) submissions. Electronic submissions should be sent as an attachment when submitted both on the website and within an email. Please include complete information-full name, postal and email address and telephone number(s)

Payment is made upon publication, and varies from $10 to $100.

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Reckoning

Reckoning is seeking "creative writing about environmental justice. Fiction preferably at least a tiny bit speculative, nonfiction preferably more creative than journalistic, poetry tending towards the narrative and preferably with some thematic heft, art leaning away from the pulpy heavily towards the political. But the heart of what we want is your searingly personal, visceral, idiosyncratic understanding of the world and the people in it as it has been, as it is, as it will be, as it could be, as a consequence of humanity’s relationship with the earth."

Payment: 8 cents a word for prose, thirty dollars a page for poetry, art negotiable, minimum twenty-five dollars per piece.

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Yellow Arrow Journal 

Accepted submissions include creative nonfiction and poetry by authors that identify as women. Submissions must relate to the theme, as interpreted by the author, with an optimistic, hopeful vibe. Creative nonfiction (1 submission per author per issue) must be between 500 and 5,000 words. They also accept poetry.

Payment: $10. See submission periods.

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Craft

"Our creative categories are open year-round to any emerging or established author. We accept submissions from international writers. We review simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if it is accepted elsewhere. We do not charge submission fees, but are highly selective in what we choose to publish." Also publishes fiction and flash fiction. Accepts reprints.

Payment: $200.

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Penlight Magazine

"Penlight Magazine is an independent, ad-free publication dedicated to showcasing personal stories from people from all walks of life. We welcome personal essay submissions from writers of all levels of experience. Submissions must be full drafts (not pitches), be a minimum of 700 words and must not have been published elsewhere."

Payment: $100 (CAD)

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Nieman Storyboard

Nieman Storyboard is an online resource that explores the art and craft of nonfiction storytelling and is one of three publications published by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. While most of their articles are about writing, they also accept writing-related personal essays.

Payment: $150 to $400, depending on the nature of the piece.

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Seattle Story Project

"Do you have a story you've been waiting to tell? Seattle Story Project is seeking stories that offer an unflinching glimpse into what it means to be human. Writers don't have to be currently based in Seattle, but you should be linked to our Emerald City or the surrounding Puget Sound region in some meaningful way. We are especially interested in hearing from writers whose voices are underrepresented in the media such as people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, people living with disabilities, incarcerated individuals, and writers who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness."

Payment: $450 for previously unpublished work. $200 for stories that have been posted elsewhere.

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Viginia Quarterly Review

"We publish literary, art, and cultural criticism; reportage; historical and political analysis; and creative nonfiction. We publish few author interviews or memoirs. In general, we are looking for nonfiction that looks out on the world, rather than within the self."

Length: 3,500–9,000 words

Payment: 25 cents per word

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Aurelia

"Aurelia publishes the work of marginalised genders: women, non-binary people and trans men. The things you think and the way you feel must be at the centre of your piece. All article submissions MUST be written in the first-person (“I think, I feel, I want…”)! Aurelia is a publication dedicated to personal thoughts, feelings and experiences."

Pitch: 200 - 250 words 

Payment: £40

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Tolka

Non-fiction: personal essay, memoir, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, and the writing that falls in between. 

Length: 2,000–4,000 words

Payment: €300

See reading periods.

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Sundog

Poetry, nonfiction, fiction, art. First 300 submissions during open periods are free. "We want writing that attempts to salvage something pure from the collision of warmth and cold, that says what it can about the world it finds itself in. We seek a diversity of voices speaking from visceral, lived experience. We like truth we can stare at until our eyes water, words so carefully chosen we want to reread them as soon as we have finished."

Length: Up to 4,000 words

Payment: $25

See reading periods.

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The Offing

The Offing is an online literary magazine publishing creative writing in all genres and art in all media.

Payment: $25–$100 

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Hippocampus

"True tales from your life. Honesty that possesses both the situation AND the story. Intensely personal experiences that reflect universal truths about what it means to be human. Firsthand accounts from the full spectrum of humanity – folx from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of Color, disabled writers, writers of all genders, backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, and identities."

Length: Up to 4,000 words

Payment: $40

Free submissions December 1 - 23.

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The Cincinnati Review

"We’re interested mostly in pieces of nonfiction less than twenty double-spaced pages, though you can try us for longer pieces if you think they’ll knock our socks off."

Payment: $25/page for prose

See reading periods

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Northern Woodlands

Northern Woodlands’ audience consists of conservation-minded people with an interest in all aspects of the forests of the Northeast. "Our articles and columns range in scope, and may include subjects such as woodlot management, wildlife species, scat, chainsaw maintenance, woodworking, and reflections on natural landscapes. We like to surprise our readers with stories they won't find anywhere else. We are not a trade magazine for the forest products industry or an advocacy magazine for preservationists." 

Payment $200. 

Reading period: January 1 through May 15

20 Magazines That Pay $500 or More

Updated 5/15/21

While most literary journals generally offer modest compensation (if any), there are some magazines that pay generous professional rates.

Many of these specialize in niche markets, which means they have a loyal readership. If you happen to have expertise or a background that would appeal to their audiences, these magazines will be happy to read your pitch. Quite a few accept poetry.

Many of these magazines have submission periods and some have themed issues, so read their guidelines carefully. 

For more paying markets see: Paying Markets

Also see:

325 Paying Markets for Short Stories, Poetry, Nonfiction

These magazines represent everything from speculative fiction, to poetry, to gardening. Payments range from $1.25 to $1,000. You will find a home for your work in this list.

Top 12 Paying Markets for Fiction, Personal Essays and Poetry 

Here are a dozen prestigious literary magazines that accept submissions of poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction. None charge submission fees, and all pay writers at professional or semi-professional rates.

Mega-List of Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazines - Paying markets

If you write science fiction, fantasy, or horror you will want to pore over this list. I have included pay ranges as well as whether they accept simultaneous submissions and/or reprints.

185 Literary Magazines Accepting Reprints

Most magazines do not accept reprints, but some welcome them. I have indicated which markets are currently paying writers. 

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LitMag

Literary magazine publishing: Fiction: Short stories, novellas; Nonfiction: Creative nonfiction; essays on literature, art, and culture, music; biography, memoir; Poetry: No restrictions on style or form. "We are drawn to big minds, large hearts, sharp pens."

Length: Print: 15,000 words. Online: 4,000 words

Payment: LitMag Print: Upon acceptance, pays $500 for fiction or nonfiction; $125 for a poem (or the rare short short). LitMag Online: Upon acceptance, they pay $125. Charges $3 for online fiction submissions.

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Earth Island Journal

"We cover the entire spectrum of environmental issues, including: wildlife and lands conservation; innovations in science and technology; public policy and the politics of environmental protection; climate and energy; animal rights; public health; environmental justice and cultural survival; and environmentally related film, music, and books.

Whenever possible, we seek to tell the stories of individuals and communities who are successfully defending and restoring the Earth. On-the-ground reports from outside North America are especially welcomed. These pieces should be appropriate for an educated, environmentally savvy readership. We do not consider technical or academic reports."

Length and Payment: 25 cents/word for shorter dispatches (1,200-1,500 words) and for longer investigative features (2,500-3,000 words). You can expect to earn about $750-$1000 for an in-depth feature story. For online reports, the fee ranges from $50 to $100.

How to submit: Query only.

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VQR

"VQR strives to publish the best writing we can find. While we have a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, we also seek and support emerging writers. We read unsolicited fiction, poetry, and nonfiction submissions June 15 to July 15, and October 1 to November 1 each year through our Submittable portal. We read nonfiction pitches from June 15 to December 1." Note: No genre fiction.

Payment: $200 per poem, up to 4 poems; for a suite of 5 or more poems, payment is $1,000. For short fiction, $1,000.  For other prose, such as personal essays and literary criticism, $1,000 and above, at approximately 25 cents per word, depending on length. Online content is generally paid at $100-$200, depending upon genre and length.

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AMC Outdoors Magazine

"AMC Outdoors inspires readers to get outside and get involved by providing high-quality coverage of outdoor recreation, education, and conservation topics throughout the Northern Appalachian region, from Maine to Virginia. Our goal is to provide a balance of coverage that appeals to people new to the outdoors as well as experienced backcountry users. Our primary focus is recreation, but we also work to educate our more than 90,000 members on environmental issues that could affect the activities and natural areas they love. AMC Outdoors is published six times per year."

Payment and Length: $500 – $700 for features, which usually range from 2,000 to 2,500 words.

How to submit: Send query only.

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The Sun Magazine

"We publish essays, interviews, fiction, and poetry. We tend to favor personal writing, but we’re also looking for provocative pieces on political and cultural issues."

Payment: Personal Essays $300 to $2,000; Fiction $300 to $2,000; Poetry $100 to $250.

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The Nation

"We are a weekly journal of left/liberal opinion, covering national and international affairs as well as the arts publishing in both print and digitally. On the domestic front, we are particularly interested in civil liberties, civil rights, labor, economics, environmental, privacy and policing and feminist issues and politics. Because we have readers all over the country, it’s important that stories have national significance. In our foreign affairs coverage, we are interested in pieces on international political, economic and social developments. We are strongly committed to investigative reporting."

Payment: $250 for short comments of about 750 words and $500 for articles, 1,500-2,500 words.

Accepts poetry.

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The American Gardener

"The American Gardener is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society. The 64-page, four-color magazine goes out bimonthly to nearly 20,000 members. We stress environmentally responsible gardening practices, including minimizing use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, preventing illegal collection of plants from the wild, and avoiding plants with the potential to escape and damage natural ecosystems."

Payment: Payment for feature articles ranges from $300 to $600 on publication, depending on the article’s length and complexity, and the author’s background and publishing experience. Reimbursement for travel and other expenses can sometimes be negotiated at the time an article is accepted.

How to submit: Send proposal only.

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One Story

One Story is seeking literary short stories. "They can be any style and on any subject as long as they are good. We are looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone." Single stories are sent to email subscribers every month.

Length: Between 3,000 and 8,000 words.

Payment: $500 and 25 contributors copies.

Simultaneous submissions okay.

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The American Scholar 

The American Scholar is a quarterly magazine of essays, fiction, poetry, and articles covering public affairs, literature, science, history, and culture. Published since 1932 for the general reader by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Scholar considers nonfiction by known and unknown writers, but unsolicited fiction, poetry, and book reviews are not accepted.

Payment: Up to $500 for accepted pieces and up to $250 for pieces taken only for their website.

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Herizons

"Herizons' audience is a feminist readership. Articles about applying feminist principles in work, in relationships and organizations, and in social justice are welcome. Our readers are interested in health issues, social and political issues, environmental issues, equality issues, justice issues, spiritual issues; parenting issues and all issues informed by diverse racial and cultural experiences. Articles in which the writer is engaged with the material work best; personal experiences, journalism style articles, interviews, articles which bring in current research and a clear feminist perspective are all things we look for."

Payment and length: Features - 1,000 to 3,000 words. In depth articles on feminist debates, current social/ political/legal/environmental/culture emerging issues or personal stories with a broader social relevance. Can be interview style, essay style or journalism style. Non academic. $250-$750 depending on length. Also publishes short new pieces for $175 and reviews for $65.

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The New Haven Review

"We like to see submissions from writers who can claim some connection to Greater New Haven, no matter how spurious, though it's not mandatory. We also like to see book reviews that are better than the book reviews you usually see out there, for whatever reason. But that said, we mostly publish essays, fiction (of any genre), poetry, and occasionally photojournalism."

Payment: At least $500 for prose pieces, fiction or nonfiction. $25 per poem, will publish more than one of an author's poems.

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One Teen Story

"One Teen Story is looking for great short stories written for the young adult audience ages 13 and up. These stories should deal with the teen experience (issues of identity, friendship, family, coming-of-age, etc.) and should be geared primarily toward an audience of teen readers. With that in mind, gratuitous profanity, sex and drug use are best avoided. We’re open to all genres of literary fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words." 

Payment: $500

Note: Accepts submissions from writers ages 13 - 19 only.

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Oregon Humanities

"As a publication of ideas and perspectives, Oregon Humanities magazine offers a forum through which Oregon writers, scholars, and readers can use the humanities to explore timeless and timely ideas and themes. We only accept submissions of nonfiction writing and artwork when we announce each issue’s theme. All personal essays and features focus on a particular issue’s theme."

Payment: $50 to $200 for shorter department pieces and $300 to $800 for personal essays and features; payment varies depending on the length and complexity of the piece.

Note: Oregon writers only.

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Poets & Writers Magazine

"Poets & Writers Magazine reaches a national audience of 100,000 readers from emerging to established literary writers. The magazine has a strong following among both students and faculty in creative writing programs across the country. In addition, many of its readers pursue creative writing as an avocation, often pairing their literary lives with other careers."

Payment: Up to $500, query first

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Gay Mag

"I want nuanced, thoughtful work where the essayist looks both inward and outward. I am particularly interested in well-researched, voice-driven writing. Personal essays and cultural criticism are warmly welcomed." Submissions should be between 1500 and 3000 words. Submissions are only open to emerging writers. You can only have three publications or fewer and no books or book contracts. Nonfiction only.

Payment: $2,000. 

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Bare Life Review

"The Bare Life Review is the only literary journal whose sole mission is to publish immigrant and refugee writers. Our mission, from its earliest conception, has been not simply to "give voice to" or "elevate" the literature of migration, but to provide a forum where its inherent and manifest value is taken absolutely for granted. The project has remained steadfastly artistic in nature, a simple and unapologetic celebration of world literature, but deeply political insofar as it champions writers for whom persistence and survival are inherently, unavoidably, political acts." 

Payment: $750 for accepted full-length prose pieces,  $300 for accepted poems or shorter print journal prose (<2000 words) Anything timely (i.e. reviews of new books, or work responding directly to current events) should be addressed to The Latest, which pays $100.

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The Drift

"The Drift is a magazine of culture and politics. The Drift will introduce new work and new ideas by young writers who haven’t yet been absorbed into the media hivemind and don’t feel hemmed in by the boundaries of the existing discourse. We want socially engaged cultural criticism; class-sensitive analysis; pieces that point out what’s being avoided or talked around in politics, media, arts, or even academia; upbeat cynicism; un-self-serious screeds; generous takedowns; entries from the margins; fiction; poetry; 1-3 sentence book/ movie/ TV/ art reviews."

Payment: $300 - $500. 

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Longreads

Longreads publishes nonfiction. Essays and features are generally between 2,000 and 6,000 words, but can be longer or broken up into a series depending on length and subject matter. For critical essays, reporting, and columns, they accept pitches. 

Payment: $500 for personal essays; critical essays and columns start at $500; features begin at $1,500. 

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Pipe Wrench 

An issue of Pipe Wrench is made of one core longform story and a constellation of conversation pieces — contributions in a range of styles and media that interpret, react to, or springboard off the core story. Core stories come from pitches; conversation pieces are commissioned. What they want: Longform nonfiction with a strong narrative and a critical lens that are at least 4,000 words, that take us on a journey beyond the Who-What-When-Where, and that dig deep into the Why. Personal essay, researched essay, cultural critique, creative nonfiction, historical inquiry, narrative reporting. Pitch first.

Payment: Rates for core stories start at $1500 and go up from there depending on the type of story, length, and research/reporting required. Rates for conversation pieces start at $150 and go up from there depending on the specifics — the length, the type of media, the work required. 

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Believer Magazine

"The Believer, a twelve-time National Magazine Award finalist, is a literature, arts, and culture magazine published by the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute, and based in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In each issue, readers will find journalism, essays, intimate interviews, an expansive comics section, poetry, timely and untimely reviews, and on occasion, delightful and unexpected bonus items. The magazine is edited by a group of novelists, poets, artists, critics, regular readers of the Chicago Manual of Style, and aficionados of print and digital literature." Payment: $1000 for feature articles. Pitch first.