As the holidays approach, I realized just how busy it’s going to be in the next couple weeks for everyone. I may or may not be able to post next Saturday, so in the meantime, I thought I would take the time to create a little list of some science fiction and fantasy literary journals for all your writers out there to submit to. Whether you have some days off for Christmas or you’ve finished up another semester, it’s great to have time to work on your writing and growing your portfolio a little bit. So here are a few major literary journals that look for science fiction and fantasy.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
They look for “literary adventure fantasy” with a secondary world. Don’t worry, they have a ton of information in their guidelines that detail what exactly they’re looking for when they say this. They also go into detail about what other genres they might take. This journal accepts work of up to 15,000 words and they pay the pro rate of eight cents a word. They don’t want excerpts of novels, serials, or reprints. You can find more info about how to submit and what to expect here.
Lightspeed
Lightspeed looks for all types science fiction and fantasy and they pay eight cents per word. They also accept nonfiction and art, which have their own guidelines if you’re interested. They generally look for works between 1,500 and 10,000 words, though they prefer something less than 5,000 (they also consider flash less than 1,500 words). Their guidelines include what to put on your cover letter and what format to follow, which you can find here.
Abyss & Apex
This journal has specific reading and submission periods, so be sure to keep track of what to submit and when! They look for both fiction and poetry, including flash, speculative and imaginative, which includes a whole list of subgenres you can find on their guidelines. But they don’t publish horror or serials. They also have specific guidelines for formatting and when the submission periods are. They pay eight cents a word. You can find their full guidelines here.
Clarksworld
Clarksworld is probably one of the most well-known lit journals on this list. They usually look for short fiction, audio fiction, interviews, and articles, but they also look for art and nonfiction. For fiction, they look for science fiction and fantasy, including dark fantasy, but no horror. They look for works between 1,000 and 22,000 words. They pay 22 cents per word as well. You can find more information here.
Analog
Analog looks for poetry, short fiction, and serials in science fiction, which they acknowledge is a pretty broad definition. They have more detail on what that entails on their guidelines page. They also look for fact articles. As for payment, Analog “pays 8-10 cents per word for short fiction (up to approximately 20,000 words), 6 cents per word for serials (40,000-80,000 words), 9 cents per word for fact articles, and $1 per line for poetry.” They also use the Moksha system, but their guidelines can be found here.
Strange Horizons
This journal looks for “speculative fiction,” which I’m assuming means they’re looking for anything related to sci-fi, fantasy, and whatever subgenres that entails. Like a lot of these journals, they use the Moksha submission system and they ask for a cover letter when you submit. They pay ten cents per word, and they look for works up to 10,000 words (though they prefer around 5,000). You can find additional info about how and what to submit here.
Daily Science Fiction
This journal asks for flash fiction fantasy or science fiction. They want between 100-1,500 words, so you’ll have to channel your inner Frederic Brown for this one. They also accept flash series of three pieces. Their submission guidelines go into more detail about what they’re looking for and what happens upon acceptance. They pay eight cents per word. You can find their guidelines here.
For more literary journals like these, check out the resources below!
Fantasy Writers: 22 Magazines for Your Story Submissions
44 Magazines & Anthologies Publishing Speculative Fiction
Want to know more? My website is now COMPLETE, and you can find it here! You can find me in Ariel Chart, The Cedarville Review, Nailpolish Stories, Bluepepper, 50 Word Stories, The Aurora Journal, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, The Drabble, Anti-heroin Chic, Art of Autism, Your Daily Poem, Sanctuary Magazine, Six Sentences, Paragraph Planet, A Story in 100 Words, Five Fleas, and Sledgehammer Lit. You can now also find my FREE microchap at Origami Poems Project, which I am also offering here.
And here’s Foster Your Writing official page on Facebook!
I am also a writer for Coffee House Writers! You can find my work under “Emma Foster” on their website.
One thought on “Submissions: Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary Journals”