The First Line's aim is to jump start the imagination--to help writers break through the block that is the blank page. Each issue contains short stories that stem from a common first line. All stories must be written with the first line provided. For fiction, the story should be between 300 and 5,000 words. They are open to all genres. They also accept poetry and non-fiction. According to their guidelines, they pay $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction (all U.S. dollars). To learn more, refer to this page.
Cast of Wonders is a young adult speculative short fiction market dedicated to publishing fiction that reflects the entire spectrum of the human experience. They are open to stories up to 6,000 words in length, and aim for a 12-17 age range. All submissions must be anonymous. According to their guidelines, they pay $.08/word for original fiction of any length. For reprints, they offer a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. To learn more, refer to this page.
Old Moon publishes character-focused, weird sword-and-sorcery: stories dark and tragic, set in a secondary or historical-paranormal world. They are looking for fiction submissions of 1,000-10,000 words, and also accept poetry. According to their guidelines, they pay 8c (0.08 USD) per word per short story and $50 per poem. To learn more, refer to this page.
Nashville Review is an online, MFA student-run literary magazine at Vanderbilt University. A triannual review, they publish fiction, poetry, comics, art, nonfiction, and performance art videos. They consider submissions in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction two times a year — August and January. According to their guidelines, they pay $25 per poem and $100 for prose and art pieces. To learn more, refer to this page.
Pulp Literature is a literary magazine. They are looking for any genre or between-genre work of literature up to 50 pages in length. That includes short stories, novellas, poetry, and comics. According to their guidelines, they pay $0.05 – $0.08 per word for short stories (up to 5000 words), $0.03 – $0.06 per word between 5000 and 10000 words, and $0.02 – $0.04 per word for works over 10000 words. Poetry pays between $25 – $50. To learn more, refer to this page.
Cosmic Horror Monthly is a magazine specializing in cosmic horror and weird fiction published by Randolph Literary Press. They are looking for weird and cosmic fiction under 5,000 words, and are not always open to submissions. They do not take unsolicited reprints. According to their submissions page, they pay 3 cents (USD) per word for original fiction. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Fairy Tale Magazine is an online lit magazine that publishes two full issues per year and one bonus mini-issue for their Prose & Poetry Contest. They seek fairy tale stories and poems from and about a wide range of backgrounds. They accept only previously unpublished stories and poems and welcome unsolicited submissions. Short stories should be between 900-2,000 words and poetry has a 500 word limit. They pay all writers; payment rates are not mentioned. To learn more, refer to this page.
Augur is a literary magazine that makes room for writing from uncommon perspectives, and brings together the often disparate realms of literary and genre fiction. They are not always open to submissions, and are looking for sci-fi, fantasy, and dreamy realism. According to their submissions page, they pay $0.14 cents (CAD) per word for short fiction (800+ words), and a flat fee of $112.00 per flash fiction piece (800 words and under). They pay $100.00 CAD per poem. To learn more, refer to this page.
The Threepenny Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1980. Maintaining a quarterly schedule, it offers fiction, memoirs, poetry, essays and criticism to a readership of 10,000. They only accept submissions through January 1 to April 14. According to their guidelines, they pay $400 per story or article, and $200 per poem or Table Talk piece. To learn more, refer to this page.
EPOCH publishes fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and graphic art. In continuous publication since 1947, the magazine is edited by students and faculty of the MFA Program in Creative Writing, in Cornell University’s Department of Literatures in English. They are open for electronic submissions only during the months of August and January. Each submission costs $3, but there is a free-submission weekend during each submission period. According to their guidelines, they presently pay between $100 and $500 for poetry, prose, and comics, depending on length. To learn more, refer to this page.