Top 12 Paying Markets for Fiction, Personal Essays and Poetry

Mr B finds Pamela writing (Wikimedia Commons)

Updated 8/23/23

Here are a dozen prestigious literary magazines that accept submissions of poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction. None charge submission fees, and all pay writers at professional or semi-professional rates.

Although these are big names in the world of literary magazines, you don't have to be an established writer to submit to them. In fact, many of these magazines are proud of their reputation of discovering new voices and launching the careers of famous authors. You could be one of them!

There are, of course, many more prestigious magazines than the ones on this list. Check out these lists. (Some of the magazines on these lists charge fees to submit.):

Top 50 Literary Magazines -Every Writer

20 Respected Literary Journals and Magazines that Publish Creative Writing

Ranking of the 100 Best Literary Magazines

For hundreds of additional paying markets, see: Paying Markets

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Agni

Agni is a respected publication put out by Boston University. They publish poetry, short fiction, and essays. Payment: $40 per page for poetry, with a $300 maximum. Reading period: September 1st to May 31st.

Narrative

Narrative accepts short stories, essays, one-act plays, and other complete short works of nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of fiction and nonfiction, as well as novellas (up to 40,000 words), and audio prose. There is a fee-free submission period during the first two weeks of April.

Payment: $500 for a Story of the Week.

—$200 for a Poem of the Week.

—$250 to $500 for 500 to 2,000 word manuscripts.

—$500 to $1,000 for 2,000 to 15,000 word manuscripts.

—$200 minimum for each accepted poem or audio/video piece. ($100 for poetry reprints.)

—$100 for Readers’ Narratives.

The Atlantic

The Atlantic is a highly prestigious magazine founded in 1857 as The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, They always interested in great nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Payment: Professional rates. To submit poetry, send your manuscript to: poetry@theatlantic.com.

The Georgia Review

Founded in 1947, The Georgia Review is the University of Georgia’s journal of arts and letters.  The journal has twice taken a top prize in the annual National Magazine Awards competition, winning out over the likes of the Atlantic, Esquire, the New Yorker, and Vanity Fair, and has been a finalist twenty times in various categories. Payment: $50 per printed page for prose and $4 per line for poetry. Essay-reviews and standard reviews earn honoraria of $50/printed page. In addition, all contributors receive a one-year subscription to The Georgia Review. No fee to submit by regular mail. Closed to submissions between May 15 and August 15.

Harper's Magazine

Founded in 1850, Harper's Magazine is one of the oldest magazines in the country. It has a circulation of more than 220,000. They publish fiction, art and nonfiction. Payment: According to Who Pays Writers Harper's pays between 25 cents and a dollar a word. Snail mail submissions only.

The Kenyon Review

This is another long-standing publication with a great reputation. In addition to poetry, they publish fiction, plays and creative nonfiction. Payment: Professional rate. Their annual submission period is in September.

One Story

One Story is seeking literary short stories. "They can be any style and on any subject as long as they are good. We are looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone." Single stories are sent to email subscribers every month. Length: Between 3,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: $500 and 25 contributors copies. See reading periods.

The Paris Review

In its long history as a literary magazine The Paris Review has published such luminaries as Jack Kerouac, Philip Larkin, V. S. Naipaul, Philip Roth, Adrienne Rich, Italo Calvino, Samuel Beckett and Robert Bly. It has a readership of over 22,000. The Paris Review accepts fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Payment: Who pays writers reports payments of 10 cents/word to $100 flat fee. The Paris Review accepts unsolicited submissions of prose in March and September and unsolicited submissions of poetry in January, April, July, and October.

Poetry Magazine

Poetry is a highly prestigious publication, and therefore has a high rejection rate. But do not be afraid to give it a whirl. (The worst that can happen is that they will cut your head off and stick it on a pole as a warning to other poets.) Payment: $10 per line (with a minimum payment of $300), and $150 per page of prose, for first serial rights. Closed to submissions June 15 through September 15.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker is New York. It started as a humor weekly in 1925, and has since grown to be one of the most prestigious magazines in the country. The New Yorker publishes one short story per issue and several poems. Payment: Professional rates. Submission guidelines are here.

VQR

"VQR strives to publish the best writing we can find. While we have a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, we also seek and support emerging writers. We read unsolicited fiction, poetry, and nonfiction submissions July 1-31 through our Submittable portal." Note: Genre fiction not accepted. Payment: $200 per poem, up to 4 poems; for a suite of 5 or more poems, payment is $1,000. For short fiction, $1,000. For other prose, such as personal essays and literary criticism, $1,000 and above, at approximately 25 cents per word, depending on length. Online content is generally paid at $100-$200, depending upon genre and length.

ZYZZYVA

ZYZZYVA is a print journal based in San Francisco. "We have established a vigorous tradition of finding and fostering new talent, in our backyard and beyond. For over thirty years ZYZZYVA has nurtured emerging writers, many of whom go on to spectacular careers (Haruki Murakami, Po Bronson, F.X. Toole, Kay Ryan, Sherman Alexie) and whose work in ZYZZYVA is recognized by the Pushcart Prize, the Best American series, the O. Henry Prize Stories, and other awards organizations." They publish fiction, poetry, essays, and artwork. Payment: Token to semi-pro. They accept submissions from January 7 through May 31, and September 1 through November 19. (These submission periods can change without notice.) Snail mail submissions only.