Pixabay This August there are more than five 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!

______________________


Celestial Glossary. Genre: Fiction and creative nonfiction: up to 7,000 words; Comic strips: up to 10 pages; Visual art submissions: up to 2 per submission; Poetry: up to 5 poems per submission. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens August 1, 2025. No fee for submissions until cap is reached.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words but will consider up to 5,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: Opens August 1, 2025 Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached.

ryga. Genre: Poetry, prose and short plays. Payment: $50. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: August 1, 2025. See themes.

The First Line Journal. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry using the line provided. (See theme) Payment: $25-50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

We'Moon Lunar Calendar. Restrictions: Open to women only. Genre: Art, poetry and prose, 350 words maximum. Payment: Small honorarium; art up to $500. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Lucky Jefferson: Awake. Restrictions: Open to Black Writers and Artists. Genre: Poetry, prose, essays, art on theme. Payment: $15 - $50. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Geist. Restrictions: Canadian connection required. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art. Payment: $100 - $1000. Deadline: August 1, 2025. Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of color.

BOA Editions — Blessing the Boats Selections. Genre: Book of poetry by Women of Color. Payment: $1500 + Publication. Deadline: August 1, 2025.


Dark Waters. Genre: Dark fiction up to 7,000 words. See theme. Payment: Up to $25. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Fearmoji: Queer Emoji Horror. Genre: Adult queer horror. Word Count: 4000–7500. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Burial Books: Science Fiction Short Stories. Genre: Science fiction short stories between 2000 and 8,000 words in length. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Burial Books: Sword and Sorcery Short Stories. Genre: Sword and sorcery fantasy short stories between 2000 and 8,000 words in length. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Howdy Dude. Genre: Western stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 1.5 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Saddlebag Dispatches. Genre: Short stories, poetry, and non-fiction articles about the West. Payment: $10 - $20. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: August 2, 2025. Opens August 1.


Splinter. Restrictions: Open to First Nations people. Genre: Fiction, poetry, poetry collections, profiles, CNF, etc. "We’re interested in the fractures and the fight, the moments of stillness, the ridiculous. What does it mean to carry culture, to carry knowledge in a world that wants us to forget? What does survival feel like today — and what does joy look like in the cracks?" Payment: $250 - $900. Deadline: August 3, 2025.

Witch House. Genre: Cosmic horror. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 3, 2025.

The Suburban Review. Genre: Prose, art, poetry. See theme. Payment: $300 - $500. Deadline: August 3, 2025.

Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 4, 2025. Note: This is a monthly call.

Affirm Press. Restrictions: Open to Australians only. Genre: All literary and genre fiction. For non-fiction, they are interested in most subjects that have a connection to Australia. authors or authors based in Australia, and only manuscripts that haven’t been previously published. They only accept submissions on the first Monday of each month. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 4, 2025.


Abyss and Apex. Genre: Speculative fiction. No horror. Payment: USD $.08/word (eight cents a word) up to 1,000 words, and a flat payment of $80.00 for longer stories. Deadline: August 7, 2025.

Old Moon. Genre: Weird sword-and-sorcery. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: August 7, 2025.

For What It's Worth. Genre: Creative nonfiction that has some pop-cultural "thing" at their center and combine elements of memoir and cultural criticism. Length: 25-30K words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 9, 2025.


Vellum Mortis. Genre: Horror. Length: 1000 words max. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: August 10, 2025.

Big Score Lit. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, CNF. Payment: $400 per accepted prose piece; $100 per accepted poem; up to $800 for critical essays (pitch first).  Deadline: August 10, 2025, or until they reach 200 submissions.

Luna Station Quarterly. Restrictions: Open to women writers only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 15, 2025. 

Subterrain. Genre: Creative nonfiction, commentary, fiction and poetry. See theme. Payment: Poetry: $50 per poem; Prose: $.10 per word (to a maximum of $500). Deadline: August 15, 2025. Fee if submitted online. No fee if submitted by mail. Journal is located in Canada.


Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: August 15, 2025. 

Crimson Quill Quarterly. Genre: Dark fantasy, sword & sorcery, and ​grimdark ​subgenres of fantasy. Payment: $35. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

Mmemory Anthology. Genre: Speculative stories of memory manipulation. Length: Up to 2000 words. Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: August 15, 2025.

The Lorelei Signal. Genre: Fantasy short stories, flash fiction, and poetry with strong female characters. Payment: $15 for short stories, $5 for poems and flash (<1000 wds) fiction pieces, $5 for reprints. Deadline: August 15, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Lonely Cryptid: Trans/Port: Trans Speculative Fiction for a Queer Future. Genre: Speculative fiction. "The title of this anthology is intentionally open to interpretation. Give us trans like transporting, transforming, translating, transmitting, transcendental, transistor (radio? Sure!), and of course transgender! Give us port like any port in a storm, jacking in, porting software, and like we’ve opened a portal to another (better?) world!" Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: August 1 - August 15, 2025 priority window for folks historically marginalized or excluded from the publishing world due to race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, class, or other structural inequity.


Tales from the Moonlit Path. Genre: Dark, eerie speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: $10 for fiction. Deadline: August 20, 2025.

The Fairy Tale Magazine. Genre: Fairy-tale inspired stories/poems. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 21, 2025.

Carte Blanche (Canada). Genre: Poetry, fiction, CNF, translations. comics, photography. Payment: $75 CAD. Deadline: August 21, 2025.

The Deadlands. Genre: Fiction. "The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve." Payment: 10 cents/word for fiction. Deadline: August 21, 2025. Accepts reprints. 

Farmer-ish. Genre: Nonfiction, CNF, poetry related to farming (including recipes). Payment: $25 for print journal. Deadline: August 22, 2025. See themes.

Flame Tree: Odysseus. Genre: Speculative fiction. "Stories that echo Odysseus' trials: voyages of wit, endurance, longing, and the winding path home." Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: August 24, 2025.

Flame Tree: The Valkyries. Genre: Speculative fiction. "This submission theme offers an exciting opportunity to explore and expand on existing stories associated with Valkyries (not simply retell classic tales) or imagine completely new names and narratives for those who have never seen the limelight.." Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: August 24, 2025.

Flame Tree: Dreams Divine and Of Swords & Roses. Genre: Romantic Fantasy. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: August 24, 2025.

Griffith Review. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. Theme: On the Money. Payment: AUD$0.75 per word. Deadline: August 24, 2025.

Search for the Any Key. Genre: Action/adventure, but can be placed in any time period, on other planets or any type of setting. All genres accepted and may contain humor, drama, romance, etc. Diverse characters welcome, human or otherwise. Payment: $15 plus royalties. Deadline: August 29, 2025.

Augur Press. Genre: Speculative literature that breaks down walls between literary and sci-fi/fantasy spaces. We seek work across genres: poignant dark fantasy, crisp science fiction, lush secondary world adventures, contemporary gothic, quiet myth-building, and dreamy realism. Length: Novellas and novelettes. Payment: Advance and royalties. Deadline: August 30, 2025.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Funny stories. Genre: Nonfiction. We are looking for stories about something that happened to you in your life - in your relationship with a partner or spouse, a parent or child, a family member or friend, at work or at home that made you and the people around you laugh out loud. Did you mean for it to be funny? Payment: $200. Deadline: August 30, 2025.

Gwyllion. Restrictions: Writers living in Wales and writers who identify (fully, in part, or by ancestry) as Welsh. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Welsh themes. Payment: £15 per accepted story or poem. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Midnight and Indigo. Genre: Speculative Fiction. Payment: 7 cents/word. Deadline: August 31, 2025.


Sundress. Genre: Full-length poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2025. Submission fee is waived for all BIPOC writers.
 
Orion's Belt. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Length: 1200 words max. Payment: 8 cents per word. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Time After Time. Genre: Mystery short stories set in specific historical eras. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Hellbound Books: Road Trip Terror. Genre: HellBound Books is seeking short horror stories for an anthology on the theme of bad trips. Payment: $15. Deadline: Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Broken Sleep Books. Genre: Non-fiction prose pamphets (up to 150 pages). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: Poisons and Potions. Genre: All horror stories are welcome. All genres accepted. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Nashville Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, art, and nonfiction. Payment: $25 per poem & song selection; $100 per selection for all other categories, including featured artwork. Translators receive $25 per poem & $100 for prose selections. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Cast of Wonders. Restrictions: Open to young authors. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. See themes. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

After Happy Hour. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, comics. Payment: $2.50 per printed page, with a minimum of $15 and a maximum of $50, on publication ($25 for the cover artist). Deadline: August 31, 2025. Free submissions are capped at 300, so submit early.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Bannister Press: Other Anthology series. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $0.08 CAD per word. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Dark Holme. Genre: Genre: Horror—specifically psychological, supernatural, speculative, or cosmic horror with emotional or philosophical undercurrents.​ Length: 30,000 to 50,000 words.​ See theme. Payment: £100.00. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

Heartlines Spec. Restrictions: "Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Our goal for each issue is to publish at least 50% Canadian content." Genre: Short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. "We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules." Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction and $80 CAD flat for poetry. Deadline: Early submission period for equity-deserving groups August 24-31.

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $75 for poems, memoirs, flash, fiction, and art, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews web issues. Deadline: August 31, 2025. Closes when they reach capacity, so submit early.

Watertower Hill Publishing accepts full-length manuscripts in the following genres:Adult FictionAdult MemoirAdult Non-Fiction (including True Crime)HorrorChristian Fiction/Non-FictionAdult Fantasy & Sci-FiNew Adult FictionNew Adult Fantasy & Sci-FiRomance (non-erotica)PoetryYA Fantasy and Sci-FiMiddle Grade Children'sNovella CollectionsShort Story and Anthological Collections (Must adhere to editing requirements)
See submission details HERE. Deadline: August 31, 2025.

AND A FEW MORE...

IHRAM Publishes. Genre: Poetry, fiction, esssays, art. Theme: Enduring Voices: Life with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses. Payment: $50 for writing, $25 for art. Deadline: September 1, 2025.

Teach. Write. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, flash fiction, poetry, CNF. "I prefer writing that is either written by composition teachers and writing students or about teaching and learning." Payment: $15. Deadline: September 1, 2025.

Ricochet Editions. Genre: Hybrid/Experimental work between 40 and 200 pages. "We are looking for purposeful experimentation with language and form that challenges or plays with convention." Payment: $500 and 50 copies of the perfect-bound book. Deadline: September 1, 2025. No submission fee for POC and Indigenous writers and writers facing financial hardship.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: September 1, 2025. See themes.

Variety Pack. Genre: Fiction, flash fiction, poetry, CNF, art. Payment: $10 for poetry and visual art; $20 for prose. Deadline: Opens  September 1, 2025.

Red Wolf Editions. Genre: Poems on theme: “Recovering Greenness.” Payment: Royalties? Deadline: September 1, 2025. (?)

Toronto Journal. Genre: Short stories from anywhere in the world. No word limit. "We will also consider non-fiction pieces that are either set locally or explore some local history (Toronto, GTA, and surrounding)." Payment: $50 CAD per piece. All published writers will also receive two printed copies of the issue in which they appear. Deadline: September 1, 2025.