92 Calls for Submissions in October 2023 — Paying markets
This October there are more than seven dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.
I post upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day of every month. But as I am collecting them, I post them on my page, Calls for Submissions. You can get a jump on next month’s calls for submissions by checking that page periodically throughout the month. (I only post paying markets.)
Also see Paying Markets for hundreds of paying markets arranged by form and genre.
Happy submitting!
Reservoir Road Literary Review. Genre: Literary short stories, lyrical creative non-fiction, photography. Payment: $5. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2023. Note: Submission window closes when their cap is reached.
Cutleaf. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction prose, poetry. Payment: $100 to $400 for published nonfiction prose; $50 to $200 for published poetry; $100 to $400 for published fiction. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2023. Note: Submission window closes when their cap is reached.
Polar Borealis. Restrictions: Canadians only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: 1 cent per word. $10 for one thousand words or less. $20 for two thousand words or less (but reasonably above one thousand). $30 for three thousand words or less (but reasonably above two thousand). Deadline: Opens October 1, 2023.
Nimrod. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Payment: $10 per page, with a $200 maximum. Deadline: October 1, 2023. Fee to submit online; no fee for postal submissions.
The Iowa Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry. Payment: $1.50 per line for poetry ($100 minimum) and $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum). Deadline: October 1, 2023. No fee for snail mail submissions. $4 fee for online submissions.
Cybearpunk. Genre: Science fiction stories that feature and empower large gay/bi/queer men. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: October 1, 2023.
The Last Line. Genre: Fiction that ends with the last line provided. Payment: $20-$40. Deadline: October 1, 2023.
Gordon Square Review. Genre: Poetry, short stories, personal essays, and hybrid prose works. Payment: $25 per prose piece and $10 per poem. Deadline: October 1, 2023.
little somethings. Genre: Flash fiction, flash memoir, poetry, art. Payment: “Small honorarium.” Deadline: October 1, 2023.
Unsettling Reads. Genre: Short story. Theme: Horror vs Thriller. Payment: $10. Deadline: October 1, 2023.
Negative Creep. Genre: Horror inspired by Nirvana songs. Payment: $50. Deadline: October 1, 2023.
Coffee House Press is an independent book publisher and arts nonprofit based in Minneapolis, MN. Genre: Full-length fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: Opens October 1, 2023. Closes when cap is reached.
Sundog. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art. Payment: $25. Deadline: Opens October1, 2023, and closes when they reach capacity.
Toronto Journal. Genre: Short stories from anywhere in the world. “We will also consider non-fiction pieces about local history (Toronto, GTA, and surrounding).” No word limit. Payment: $50 CAD per piece. All published writers will also receive two printed copies of the issue in which they appear. Deadline: October 1, 2023.
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories, poetry, nonfiction. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. $1 a line for poetry. 2–8 cents/word for nonfiction. Deadline: October 2, 2023. Accepts reprints.
Invisible City. Genre: All genres. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 5, 2023.
Tales from the Moonlit Path. Genre: Dark, eerie speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: $10 for fiction. Deadline: October 6, 2023.
Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: October 6, 2023.
Cursed Morsels. Genre: Single-author horror collections with an emphasis on the Weird, queer, splattery, anti-capitalist, and/or anti-fascist. Payment: Advance: $300 + royalties. Deadline: October 7, 2023.
Hauntings and Hoarfrost. Genre: Gothic fiction. See theme, Payment: $50 CDN flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology for stories. $20 CDN flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology for poems. Deadline: October 7, 2023.
Stone’s Throw. Genre: “We’re looking for dark fiction, crime and noir, length between 1,000 and 2,000 words.” Payment: $25. Deadline: October 7, 2023. Open to submissions the first week of every month.
Little Bastards: Too-Short Horror Stories Nobody Wants. Genre: Horror. Length: Anywhere between 1000 and 2000 words. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: October 7, 2023. Extended deadline for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and marginalized writers.
Luna Press. Genre: Speculative fiction novels and collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 8, 2023.
Luna Press: The Utopia of Us. Genre: Speculative fiction, 2000–6000 words. Payment: £75 for the story. Given Russia’s current war with Ukraine, royalties from the book will be donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Deadline: October 8, 2023.
Cossmass Infinities. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy short stories. Payment: $0.08/word for original fiction. Deadline: October 14, 2023. Note: Open during the first week of February and October for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and other under-represented authors then opening to general submission for the second week.
The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: October 14, 2023. See themes.
DreamForge. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy short fiction up to 7000 words. Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: October 14, 2023.
Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
A Public Space. Genre: Fiction, essays, poetry, as well as graphic and hybrid work. Payment: Honorarium. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Carte Blanche (Canada). Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, translations. comics, photography. Payment: “Modest” Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Sasee. Genre: First-person, non-fiction material that is for or about women. Essays, humor, satire, personal experience, and features on topics relating to women are their primary editorial focus. Payment: Varies. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Consequence Magazine: The Culture of War. Genre: Short fiction, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, reviews, and visual art mainly focused on the culture of war. Payment: $20 — $60 for prose and poetry, $150 for art. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Tule Publishing. Genre: Romance and mystery ebooks. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Conium Press. Genre: Magical realist, surrealist, and experimental fiction: Chapbooks. Payment: Ten copies and a small honorarium. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Feisty Felines. Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, humor, and romance, appropriate for up to a PG-13 audience. Felines and or familiars (of other types) must be central to the work. Payment: 6 cents/word. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Beyond the Bounds of Infinity. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to marginalized peoples. Genre: Horror. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Jane Nightshade’s Serial Encounters Anthology. Genre: Short stories about casual encounters of fictional people with serial killers, that turned creepy or deadly. Stories can be straight crime/thriller stories or ones with a supernatural bent. Payment: $5. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Griffith Review: Counterfeit Culture. Genre: Non-fiction, fiction on theme: Past Perfect. “No matter the relentless pace of technological innovation and the digitisation of everything from money to media — our appetites for retro design and aesthetics, for cultural products that reimagine technicolour-dream versions of decades gone by, or for fantasies of a past golden political age are ever on the rise.” Payment: Negotiated. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Embodied Exegesis: Transfeminine Speculative Futures. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to people who are transfem: trans women, transfems, nonbinary trans women, etc. Genre: Cyberpunk stories written by transfem authors. Payment: $0.08/word for originals, $0.01/word for reprints. Deadline: October 15, 2023. Accepts reprints.
Hansen House. Genre: Hansen House is looking for anything with queer protagonists or by queer authors so long as the story does not fall into the “bury your gays” trope. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Fat Coyote. Restrictions: Writers must be neurodivergent. Genre: Poetry, fiction, CNF, Art, Photography, Comics. Payment: 3 cents/word for prose. $1 line for poetry. $30 — $40 for art. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Seaside Gothic. Genre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Rattle: Tribute to Collaboration. Genre: Poetry. The poems may be any subject, style, or length, but must have been written by two or more co-authors. Payment: $200. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Translunar Travelers Lounge. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20. Deadline: October 15, 2023. (Note: September 15–21 is reserved for writers of color)
Dose of Dread. Genre: Horror flash fiction. Length: 500–1,000 words. Payment: 2c/word. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
New Orleans Review. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $300 for prose, $100 for poetry. Deadline: In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, there are no submission fees for Latinx writers from September 15th to October 15th.
Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Amplitudes Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity Anthology. Genre: Short fiction. “During a time of rising threat against queer and trans people’s flourishing, this anthology project aims to imagine other, better worlds as an act of literary resistance. Inspired by the words of José Esteban Muñoz, “the future is queerness’s domain,” these stories explore what might happen if the oppressive status quo of the here and now is rejected — instead asking, but what if things were different?” Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: October 15, 2023.
Muse Magazine. Genre: Nonfiction articles for children. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: October 16, 2023. See themes. Queries only.
Uncanny Magazine. Genre: Speculative short stories. Length: 750 to 10,000 words. Payment: $.10 per word. Deadline: October 16, 2023.
Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary fiction. Payment: $80. Deadline: October 21, 2023. Opens October 1.
Astrolabe. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. Payment: $50. Deadline: October 22, 2023.
Off Topic Publishing: Poetry Box. Genre: Poetry. Payment $40 CAD. Deadline: October 25, 2023. This is a monthly call. Submit by the 25th of each month.
Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: October 25, 2023.
Black Ocean. Restrictions: BIPOC writers only. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties? Deadline: October 27, 2023.
Every Day Fiction. Genre: Flash fiction on theme: November. Length: 1000 words max. Payment: $3. Deadline: October 27, 2023.
Embrace the Silence Anthology. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to Australian and New Zealand authors who identify as neurodivergent. Genre: Apocalyptic stories featuring neurodivergent characters. Payment: $20-$50. Deadline: October 30, 2023.
Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 30, 2023.
Ofic. Genre: Short fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, art. “Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.” (Up to 12,000 words). Payment: Small honorarium. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Black Lawrence Press: Immigrant Writing Series. Restrictions: Open to any individual living in the U.S. who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA. Genre: books of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose. Payment: “In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors.” Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Engen Books: Cryptids from the Rock. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: “Short fiction under 7000 words that focus on cryptids, animals whose existence permeate urban myths but are not recognized within the scientific community. The From the Rock collections are intended to highlight the fantastic, varied writers Newfoundland and Labrador has fostered.” Payment: $0.01 CAD per word to an upper limit of 7,000 words. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Diet Milk: ‘In The Bleak Midwinter.’ Genre: Gothic micro/flash fiction. Payment: $3 for micro fiction, $5 for flash fiction. Deadline: October 31, 2023. (Runs from October 1–31)
bath magg. Genre: Poetry. Payment: £20. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
JMS Books: Your Favorite Trope. Genre: LGBT romance. “A trope is a familiar plot device an author uses to bring two characters together. There are dozens of them — friends to lovers, second chances, arranged marriages, forbidden love, celebrity falls for fan, love triangle, secret admirer …” Length: 12,000 words or higher. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Silver Blade. Genre: Science Fiction, Slipstream, Classic and Modern Fantasy; short fiction, flash fiction, novellas, and poetry. Payment: $15 for novellas, $3 for flash fiction, $8 for short stories, $8 for single poems and $15 for Featured Poets (by invitation only). Silver Pen will pay half of these rates for previously published works. Deadline: October 31, 2023. Reprints accepted.
MetaStellar. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy or horror. 1000 words max. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
How2Conquer. Genre: Nonfiction books. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Hub City Press publishes books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. “We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South.” Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Dragon Soul Press: A Winter Promise. Genre: “All Christmas stories. As long as Christmas is involved, the story qualifies. All genres. Happily Ever After not required.” Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Orison Books. Genre: Novels, short story or flash fiction collections, novellas, personal or lyric essays and memoir. Payment: Small advance and royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Kissing Dynamite. Genre: Poetry microchap manuscripts. Payment: $50. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
FIYAH. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to people of the African Diaspora. Genre: Speculative fiction, art, and poetry about African Diaspora. Length: Short fiction 2,000–7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words. Payment: $150 per story. $50 per poem. $300 per novelette. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Crimson Quill Quarterly. Genre: Sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, and grimdark subgenres of fantasy fiction. Length: Up to 10,000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast. Genre: Flash fiction. Payment: $3 minimum. Deadline: October 31, 2023. Accepts reprints.
Infrarrealista Restrictions: They prioritize writers from Texas, especially those from the central Texas area. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, reviews, and interviews. Payment: 15 cents/word up to 300 words and 5 cents/word after that. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Open Minds Quarterly. Genre: Writing and art from people with lived experience of what is variously called mental health challenges, mental illness, madness, and neurodiversity. Payment: $25 CAD. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Malahat Review. Genre: Fiction. Payment: CAD $70/page. Deadline: October 31, 2023. Submissions by Canadian writers are accepted for consideration all year.
Dragon Soul Press: Dragons & Heroes. Genre: “All dragon stories with a male main character. All genres accepted.” Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Hearth Stories. Genre: Speculative fiction. “We publish fiction and poetry that explore connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world. The stories often fall into a fantasy, science-fiction, or magical realism sort of “slice of life.” Payment: 1¢ per word for accepted stories (with a minimum of $20 regardless of length. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
New Writing Scotland. Restrictions: Open to writers resident in Scotland or Scots by birth, upbringing or inclination. Genre: All forms of writing. Payment: £25 per published page. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Nonbinary Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and art on theme: Lies for Children. Payment: 1 cent per word for prose, and a flat fee of $10 for poetry. Deadline: October 31, 2023. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early.
Brick. Genre: Nonfiction. Payment: $55–685, depending on the length of accepted work, plus two copies of the issue the work appears in and a one-year subscription to the magazine. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
From the Yonder. Genre: Horror. The stories must be based upon a regional/cultural legend or tall-tale from any location or culture in the World. “Regional” can be a specific place (Loch Ness) or a larger region (Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest). Payment: $5. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
The Theatre Phantasmagoria. Genre: Horrror flash fiction up to 2,000 words. Payment: £10. Deadline: October 31, 2023. This is a monthly call. See themes.
Nightlight (Podcast). Restrictions: At least one of your birth parents must be Black. Genre: Horror. Flash fiction (750–1,500 words) Payment: 5 cents per word. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
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, 2023.
Nine Arches. Genre: Poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Hub City Press. Genre: Books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. “We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South.” Payment: Royalties. Deadline: October 31, 2023. Note: Submit nonfiction only.
Harbor Review. Genre: Poetry, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 1 cent/word for fiction and $5 — $10 for poetry. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
The Rumpus. Genre: Essays. “We strive to be a platform for marginalized voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere, and to lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers we love. We work to shine a light on stories that build bridges, tear down walls, and speak truth to power.” Payment: $300 divided among all contributors. Deadline: October 31, 2023.
The Worcester Review. Genre: Fiction. Payment: $20. Deadline: October 31, 2023. (No submission fee for BIPOC writers)
And a few more…
The First Line. Genres: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction using the first line provided. (See site.) Payment: $25.00 — $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 — $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
Kelp Journal. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Oceanic themes. Payment: $35. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
The Iowa Review. Genre: Nonfiction. Payment: $0.08 per word for prose ($100 minimum). Deadline: November 1, 2023. No fee for snail mail submissions. $4 fee for online submissions.
Adroit Journal. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $50. Deadline: November 1, 2023. Note: Open to high school students and up.
Cutleaf. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction prose, poetry. Payment: $100 to $400 for published nonfiction prose; $50 to $200 for published poetry; $100 to $400 for published fiction. Deadline: Opens November 1, 2023. Note: Submission window closes when their cap is reached.
Thema: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle. Payment: $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: November 1, 2023. Accepts reprints.
Olit. Restrictions: Strong preference for Orlando based writers/submissions about Orlando and surrounding areas. Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Artwork, Photography. “Send us all kinds of stuff. We love the artfully weird.” Payment: $10. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. “Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you’re working on now that’s keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it.” Payment: $25. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
The Blue Route. Restrictions: Only the work of current undergraduate writers will be considered. Genres: Fiction, or creative nonfiction totaling no more than 3000 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems — see themes. Payment: Short Story-2,500 words or less. $0.01 USD per word/$25 USD and copy of magazine; Flash Fiction-less than a 1,000 words $0.01 USD per word/$10 USD; Poems-less than 200 words $10 upon acceptance and a PDF of the magazine. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
Heathens and Heroes. Genre: Sword and Sorcery / Heroic Fantasy. Word Count: 5,000–10,000. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: November 1, 2023.
Like this article? For more articles about the publishing world, useful tips on how to get an agent, agents who are looking for clients, how to market and promote your work, building your online platform, how to get reviews, self-publishing, as well as publishers accepting manuscripts directly from writers (no agent required) visit Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity.
