Most literary journals are interested in literary work, by which they mean, not genre work (although this is changing a little). The definition of genre is a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

However, in the context of writing, genre can refer to poetry, prose or nonfiction in terms of form. Or it can be a subject matter classification referring to science fiction, romance, mystery, or various other established types of stories.

Most literary journals assume that you will not submit genre work to them, because many don’t consider it to be literary. This leaves many genre writers with fewer options in terms of short story and poetry publication. However, there are journals that just publish genre work.

The majority of these focus on some form of speculative fiction, including science fiction, horror, and fantasy. But there are also western, romance, and other genre publishers on this list. We tried to focus on literary journals that specialize, not ones that were open to every genre in the book.

Not all of these literary journals are currently open to submissions but many are. A link to their website or our full review of the publisher is embedded in their name. The genres they accept are mentioned in the brief description.

Unlike most literary journals, the majority of these pay.

Since the previous update of this list, five major genre publications (Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine) were all rapidly acquired by a company called Must Read Magazines. All five magazines then started offering the same problematic contract. You can learn more about the situation here. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for updates, but haven’t seen any yet. For the time being we’ve removed these publications from list updates.

Havok
They publish short fiction between 300 – 1,000 words in length in the following genres: mystery, scifi, comedy, thriller, and fantasy. They also have an additional season theme.

Emerald City Ghosts
This is a horror and paranormal fiction magazine “inspired by life in the gloomy PNW”. They require that you subscribe to their Substack before submitting.

Flash Phantoms
They only publish Horror that is between 100 and 1,000 words.

Phobos
They are a paying publisher of weird fiction.

The Yard
They publish short fiction about crime as well as true crime stories.

Bothered Stories
This Erotica focused publication is for writers 18+ only. They only publish erotic short stories.

Cul-De-Sac of Blood
They publish horror poetry and poetics as well as critical and literary essays, visual art, short fiction & screenplays, as well as Friday Features on cultural artifacts in horror.

Sally Port Magazine
They are focused on publishing fantasy stories, including fantasy for younger readers. They are a paying market.

Micromance Magazine
This Substack-based literary journal only publishes romance. They have over 1,000 subscribers.

KissMet Quarterly
This new publication from micromance magazine bills itself as a “Quarterly Flash Romance Digest Where Meet-Cutes Are Meant To Be”.

Incensepunk
This Substack had my interest right from the start with their unusual name. They say they want “Sci-fi worlds that embrace the breadth of human religion” and they aren’t looking for “Apologetics or sermonizing on any particular faith”. They publish fiction. They pay $100.

SpecPoVerse
Founded in December 2024, their focus is on creating an international space for speculative poetry.

Cold Caller
This new Substack-based lit journal focuses on publishing crime and mystery fiction, which they define broadly. They list a number of wonderful movies/books as their favorites/inspiration, including Fargo, Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh and Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead. They pay.

The Orange & Bee
The Orange & Bee focuses on publishing “short stories, poems, essays, and reviews that explore, expand on, and subvert the rich traditions of international folklore, including fairy tales, fables, myths, and legends”. They “also publish traditional tales accompanied by annotations, discussion questions, and writing prompts”. They are based on Substack. They are a paying market.

The Genre Society
This new literary journal is focused on publishing poetry and fiction that falls into one or more of the following genres: horror, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, magical realism, romance, thriller. This is good news, especially for romance writers who often struggle to find publishers for shorter work, as well as poets, whose work is genre focused, and often not welcome in mainstream literary journals.

Body Shots
This journal of short fiction stresses that they are only open to previously unpublished work. They believe ““Genre is a construct; genre does not exist.” Which is to say the previous issue included “a blend of contemporary realism, transgressive fiction, body horror, comedy, satire, crime fiction, magical realism, and science fiction / slipstream”. They are a paying market.

The Drabblecast
This audio fiction podcast features short stories, flash fictions, drabbles, and twabbles with a focus on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

MetaStellar
This online publication focuses on horror, fantasy, and science fiction. They have two cycles for paid submissions each year, but don’t pay outside of these cycles. They are open to unpaid submissions year round.

Club Chicxulub
They aim to publish sci-fi, slipstream, satire, steampunk, African- and Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurisms, gothic, ecological, pulp, fabulist, and horror fiction from a diversity of voices and identities.

Bourbon Penn
This speculative journal declares that they are “seeking highly imaginative stories with a healthy dose of the odd”. They pay $0.05 per word. They are currently closed to submissions.

Sci-fi Lampoon
They publish fantasy, sci-fi, and horror themed humor. They publish both flash (under 1000 words) and short fiction (7500 words, max). They are also open to high-res art, lampoon classifieds, and ads. They pay a token $5 per accepted piece. They only publish one issue most years.

Bone Parade
They publish previously unpublished works of magical realism, fabulism, and speculative fiction.

The Five-Two
Always open to submissions, this online journal publishes crime poetry.

EscapePod
This is an audio science fiction journal that pays. It is run by Escape Artists.

PodCastle
This is a fantasy audio journal that pays. It is run by Escape Artists.

PseudoPod
This is a horror audio journal by the publishers of Escape Pod, and pays. It is run by Escape Artists. They’re currently open fo...

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