15 Literary Journals Which Pay Contributors
This newsletter is all about receiving monetary rewards for your creative work
Hi folks!
Those of you who have been following my work know I’m a big fan of literary journals. As a creative writer, it has been tough to find journals that PAY. Here’s a list I have curated for you which includes literary journals from different parts of the world that specialize in various genres. Do read their submission guidelines carefully, and submit your best work!
Uncharted is a space for outstanding stories. We publish new work every week from emerging and established authors through our always free / always open / always paid category, and we run prestigious contests with great judges to offer significant awards and attention for our authors.
‘New Voices’- We pay for all of our stories all of the time and are proud to offer a free category for those writers who are not interested in a fast response or editorial letter. Response times in this category are usually approximately twelve weeks.
Established in 2017 as a literary magazine for fiction, CRAFT expanded in 2020 to publish creative nonfiction as well. We explore how writing works, reading pieces with a focus on the elements of craft, on the art of prose. We feature previously unpublished creative work, with occasional reprints, as well as critical pieces including craft essays and interviews. All published creative pieces include an author’s note and an editorial introduction that both discuss stylistics in the work. We do not charge fees for our fiction or creative nonfiction submissions, or for our craft categories, and we are a paying market.
4. Tassavurnama
Fiction: We pay 2.5 cents per word for stories up-to 5,000 words.
Non-fiction: We pay a flat rate of $100 for commissioned pieces.
5. The Bombay Literary Magazine
We publish three times a year: April, August and December, respectively. We publish fiction, poetry, translated fiction/poetry and graphic fiction. We also publish photo/video narratives, essays and interviews, but currently we do so on a commissioned basis.
Payment: We pay an honorarium of Indian rupees 5,000 (approx. $61) per contribution.
6. On Eating
We welcome essays, poems, stories, graphic narratives, photo essays, video essays, original artwork, film and text-based work amongst other formats for submission. The overarching theme of your writing and art work should conform to the focus of the journal – cultures of eating, and food history and literature. On Eating is a no-profit initiative. We are able to pay a small honorarium for your contribution.
Read my story ‘Can Mangy Mutton curry save your marriage?’ in On Eating.
7. Canthius
Canthius is an intersectional feminist magazine that publishes poetry and prose by writers of marginalized gender identities, including trans, Two Spirit, non-binary, agender, cis women, genderqueer, GNC, and intersex writers. We are committed to publishing diverse perspectives and experiences and strongly encourage Indigenous women, Black women, and women of colour to submit. We also welcome submissions in Indigenous languages.
Strange Horizons is a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction. We publish fiction, poetry, reviews, essays, interviews, roundtable discussions, and art.
9. Kweli
Kweli welcomes submissions of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We currently publish four (4) online issues each year. Payment is after publication. All published work will be archived online.
10. Griffith Review
Griffith Review is a literary and current affairs journal that offers fresh takes on big ideas. Each edition responds to a loose theme and features essays, short fiction, conversations, poetry and visual art by emerging and established creatives from Australia and overseas. We publish four print editions a year alongside a suite of regular online content.
11. Podcastle
PodCastle is looking for quality fantasy fiction. If you’re a writer with a speculative short story that you’d like to hear narrated by one of our performers, we’d like to see it.
Taco Bell Quarterly is the literary magazine for the Taco Bell Arts and Letters. We’re a reaction against everything. The gatekeepers. The taste-makers. The hipsters. Health food. Artists Who Wear Cute Scarves. Bitch-ass Wendy’s. We seek to demystify what it means to be literary, artistic, important, and elite. We welcome writers and artists of all merit, whether you’re published in The Paris Review, rejected from The Paris Review, or DGAF what The Paris Review is.
13. Abandon Journal
Abandon Journal exists to showcase writing and artwork that has been created with abandon. We are writers, too, and we are committed to paying our contributors–at least a modest honorarium, until we’re able to pay more–and never charging a fee for general submissions.
14. Chestnut Review
Chestnut Review appears four times per year online and once per year in print in our annual anthology. We are drawn to beautiful language, resonant images, and we crave narrative. We enjoy a broad array of styles, but please read a few of our issues to get a sense of our lens.
15. The Forge Literary Magazine
The Forge Literary Magazine publishes one prose piece per week selected by a rotating cast of editors. Each submission is read anonymously. If a story is chosen to move forward, it is read by our Editors of the Month who make the final decisions on the stories they receive. Since we are a diverse, international group of writers, our tastes and styles are wide-ranging.
Do let me know if you liked this newsletter.
I’d urge you to save the deadlines for each mag on your calendar, that way you can work towards them Most writers write because they love to, but getting paid for your creative work feels amazing. Best of luck!