48 Calls for Submissions in May 2020 - Paying markets

Pikrepo

While you are self-isolating, why not get published? There are four dozen calls for submissions in May. 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 the following month's calls for submissions toward the end 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!

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The First Line. Genre: Stories that use a first line provided by the journal. (See journal for first lines.) Also 500-800 word critical essays about your favorite first line from a literary work.  Payment:  $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $5.00 - $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction (all U.S. dollars). Deadline: May 1, 2020.

Bayou Magazine. Genre: Fiction, CNF, nonfiction, poetry, art. Payment for fiction is $50 for published manuscripts of 3000 words or more and $25 for those less than 3000 words. 7,500 words max. Deadline: May 1, 2020.

University Press of Kentucky New Poetry & Prose Series. Genre: Books of poetry or fiction (novels, short story collections, etc.). Payment: Royalties. Deadline: May 1, 2020.

Running Dog: Crowd / the / Revolution. Genre: Long-form essays, video, poetry, digital interfaces, fiction and creative non-fiction. This is an ongoing series investigating four major concerns that are reshaping our world. Payment: All contributors will be paid for their work. Deadline: May 1, 2020.

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. Genre: Poetry and art on theme of Love. Payment: $5. Deadline: May 1, 2020. Opens April 10.

Hybrid Ink. Genre: Transfuturistic science-fiction. "The stories within will explore the way love, relationship, and identity issues may change over time, from the near future to far, on Earth or other planets, in humans or those from the stars." Payment: 2½¢ per word (maximum $100 per story.)  Deadline: May 1, 2020.

Bloodbath: Vampires. Genre: Horror fiction, poetry and art on theme of Vampires. "Note: For this issue, we will not be accepting work by straight, white, cisgender men." Payment: £30. Deadline: May 1, 2020.

Mud Season Review. Genre: Nonfiction up to 6,000 words. Payment: $50. Deadline: May 1, 2020.

The Evil Cookie: Brewtality – Alcohol Infused Extreme Horror. Genre: Horror. Length: Up to 3,000 words. Payment: $0.03/word. Deadline: May 1, 2020.

Boulevard. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. "While we frequently publish writers with previous credits, we are very interested in less experienced or unpublished writers with exceptional promise. If you have practiced your craft and your work is the best it can be, send it to Boulevard." Payment: Prose minimum is $100, maximum is $300. Poetry minimum is $25, maximum is $250. Deadline: May 1, 2020. $3 to submit online. No charge for postal submissions.

Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine. Genre: Fairy tales, and essays on theme of Angels. Payment: $100. US dollars only. Essays: $50. Deadline: May 3, 2020. On hiatus.

Midnight and Indigo. Genre: Short Stories and Personal Essays written by Black women writers. Payment: $50 - $75. Deadline: May 3, 2020.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction 300 - 1,000 words on theme of Touch. Payment: Pays for anthologies only. Deadline: May 3, 2020. See accepted genres.

Kanstellation. Genre: Poetry, fiction, flash fiction, poetry, CNF on theme of "Digital Fingers, Digital Roots, Digital Families." Payment: $30. Deadline: May 4, 2020.

Impulsive Walrus Press: Going Viral. Genre: Speculative fiction. "What does our world look like if the quarantine just…stays? We’re looking for near-future science fiction stories exploring the comedy, horror, and human drama of a life spent six feet away from each other, and a world where our interaction is done digitally, lest we be ravaged by disease." Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: Opens May 5, 2020, closes when filled.

Scum. Genre: Feminist-friendly work of any variety, but as a general rule your piece should be under 2000 words (50 lines for poetry, max. 3 poems) and able to be classified as “fiction”, “culture”, “memoir”, “column”, “poetry”, and/or “review”. Payment: $60 AUD. Deadline: May 7, 2020. Opens to submissions on May 1.

Abyss and Apex. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. No horror. Payment: USD $.06/word (six cents a word) up to 1,250 words, and a flat payment of $75.00 for longer stories. Deadline: May 7, 2020. Opens to submissions on May 1.

* Disturbing the Body. Genre: Speculative autobiography from women and those who self-identify as women of all ages in the UK. "We’re looking for pieces that explore women’s personal experiences of fractured relationships with their bodies. Body themes could range from experiences with major operations, chronic health conditions or chronic pain, dealing with cancer, childbirth, disability, or any moment where a woman can feel powerless and out of the ordinary against her own body." Payment: Not specified. Deadline: May 7, 2020.

Bennington Review. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing, and cross-genre work. Payment: $100 for prose of six pages and under, $200 for prose of over six pages, and $20 per poem, in addition to two copies of the issue the piece is published in. Deadline: May 8, 2020.

* Unsung. Genre: Poetry, micro or flash fiction, and short creative non-fiction. "We are looking for pieces related to all things love, sex, and eroticism. Priority will be given to artists and authors who are Black/POC, LGBTQ, or identify as womxn." Payment: $20 per piece of fiction / creative non-fiction between 1000-3000 words and $30 per piece between 3001-6000 words. $20 per poem.  Deadline: May 10, 2020.

Newfound. Genre: Fiction, Flash, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Translation, and Visual Arts. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 14, 2020.

The Georgia Review. Genre: Submit up to five poems, fiction, nonfiction, and reviews. Payment: $4 per line of poetry, and $50 per page for prose. Deadline: May 14, 2020. Fee to submit online, no fee by post.

Selene Quarterly. Genre: Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art that dwells in the shadows. Payment: $0.06 word for fiction. $50 for poetry, Reprints: Any length of poetry paid $15USD and 100-17,500 words of fiction paid $0.01USD per word. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

* Lamplight. Genre: Stories that are dark, literary; "we are looking for the creepy, the weird and the unsettling." Payment: Unpublished Fiction: 3¢ per word, $150.00 max. Reprints: 1¢ per word. Deadline: May 15, 2020. Note: Submit early in the month. They only get 300 submissions a month through Submittable. If the followed link reads “There are presently no open calls for submissions.” then they have filled our quota for the month. 

Luna Station Quarterly. Restrictions: Open to women writers only. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $5. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

Contemporary Verse 2. Genre: Poetry and critical writing about poetry, including interviews, articles, essays, and reviews. Theme: "Hope or do we have one: poetry for uncertain times." Payment: $30 - $150. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

Grain. Genre: Poems, sequences, or suites of poems up to a maximum of six pages or fiction or nonfiction of no more than 3,500 words. Payment: $50 per page to a maximum of $250. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

The National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities, a program of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University, is currently looking for parents with disabilities to contribute to a quarterly blog on the experiences and needs of parents with disabilities. Payment: $100. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

Cast of Wonders. Genre: Young adult short fiction up to 6,000 words in length. Theme: Banned Books. Audiocast. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction of any length. For reprints, $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

Rogue Blades Entertainment: We Who Are About to Die. Genre: Sword & ... “Not every hero survives. All heroes pay a cost, some the ultimate sacrifice. We’re examining that theme of ultimate sacrifice as key to heroism. Not only the willingness to sacrifice all, but the act of sacrifice for the greater ’cause,’ whatever that may be." Length: 500 words initially, 2,000-9,000 words for full submissions. Payment: $30. Deadline: May 15, 2020.

Flash Nonfiction - Art Is Essential. Genre: Essay on a work of art: 300 words. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 19, 2020.

ArabLit Quarterly. Genre: Fiction and nonfiction translated from Arabic on theme of Crime. "As always, we are interested in a wide variety of interpretations of this theme from translations of true-crime stories to meditations on the nature of crime to the depiction of crime in Arabic children's literature." Payment: $15/page. Deadline: May 20, 2020.

Appalachia Genre: CNF. "Those who read and write for Appalachia journal find their true selves in the backcountry and wilderness areas around the world—but especially in the Northeast. And within the Northeast, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and wild areas of Maine especially call to us. Appalachia journal is looking for thoughtful essays in the range of 1,000 to 2,000 words on the COVID-19 pandemic. What has getting onto trails and cliffs and hills meant during this terrifying period? Do you see mountains more as life itself and less as recreation now? What is it like going to the backcountry and finding that facilities are closed, people must stay away from each other?" Payment: Not specified. "We do our best." Deadline: May 20, 2020.

Sick Cruising. Genre: Short stories with a minimum of 2000 words using their provided writing prompts. Payment: $20. Deadline: May 20, 2020.

Tinderbox Poetry Journal. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $15. Deadline: May 21, 2020.

Kweli Journal. "Kweli is the first online journal of its kind to celebrate community and cultural kinships. In this shared space, you will hear the lived experience of people of color. Our many stories. Our shared histories. Our creative play with language. Here our memories are wrapped inside the music of the Muscogee, the blues songs of the South, the clipped patois of the Caribbean." Genre: Self-contained novel excerpt, short story, or creative non-fiction piece, poetry. Length: No more than 7,000 words. Payment: "upon publication." Deadline: May 30, 2020.

Orca. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $25. Deadline: May 30, 2020. Submit early in the month to avoid submission fee. 

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: May 31, 2020. Note: Submit early in the month.

What I Thought Of Ain’t Funny: An Anthology of Short Fiction Based On the Jokes of Mitch Hedberg. Genre: “We are looking for short fiction that “yes ands” a Mitch Hedberg joke. The pieces should be “based” on a specific Mitch Hedberg joke. We are not looking for pieces that emulate or mimic the style of Mitch Hedberg with no connection to his actual existing material.” Length: Up to 4,000 words. Payment: $50. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Age Is Just a Number. Genre: True stories. "We are looking for stories about the humorous or serious sides of life after 60." Payment: $200. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

Geek Out! III – Queer Pop Lit, Art & Ideas. Genre: Seeking the following, up to 7,500 words (or 5 pages for art), from LGBTQ+ writers and artists:

• Genre fiction (scifi, fantasy, western, romance, thriller, horror, etc.)
• Nontraditional/experimental poetry
• Creative nonfiction, opinion essays, topical articles and reviews (non-memoir)
• Scripts for stage, screen or audio
• Comics and graphic short stories
• Visual Art 

Payment: $5/page. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

Antioch Review. Genre: Nonfiction articles and fiction geared to an educated audience. Payment: $20/page. Deadline: May 31, 2020. Snail mail submissions only.

Split Lip Magazine. Genre: Fiction (flash and short stories), memoirs, and poetry. with a pop-culture twist. Payment: $50 per author (via PayPal) for our web issues. Payment for print is $5 per page, minimum of $20, plus 2 contributor copies and a 1-year subscription. Deadline: May 31, 2020. Note: Submit early in May to avoid submission fees.

AGNI. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Payment: $20/page of poetry (up to $150), $10 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

One Story. Genre: Short stories between 3,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: $500. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

Baltimore Review. Genre: Poetry; send up to three poems, fiction, creative nonfiction, videos (including poetry), and cross-genre work. Payment: $40. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

The Gettysburg Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays. Payment: $2.00 per line for poetry and $15 per printed page for prose. Published authors also receive a copy of the issue containing their work and a one-year subscription. Deadline: May 31, 2020. Charges small fee for online submissions. No fee for snail mail.

Dark Moon Digest:Night Frights. Genre: Horror for teens. "Cool it on the profanities, no sexual situations, nothing too graphic." Payment: $0.03/word. Deadline: May 31, 2020.

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Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Genre: Poetry and fiction on theme of Lazy, Hazy, Crazy. Payment: $20 for featured author stories; $10 for stories published on &More page $5 for poems. Deadline: June 1, 2020.

The Bare Life Review: The Climate Issue. Restrictions: Open to immigrant and refugee authors, including foreign-born authors living in the US, and writers living abroad who currently hold refugee and/or asylum-seeker status. Also, for this issue, anyone who has been displaced by climate change. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Payment: $100 - $300. $750 for accepted full-length prose pieces. Deadline: June 1, 2020.

Fly on the Wall Press: Food. Genre: Poetry (up to 3 poems), flash fiction, short stories, book reviews, and artwork on the theme of Food theme. “I’m looking for personal connections with food. Cooking can be a delicate art. Sitting down at a family meal can be painful, explosive, a treasured moment; a special kind of chaotic seasonal holiday! What foods do we worship with in places of worship? What foods do we love with; give as gifts, bake with care?  Taste memory can be extremely evocative.  What kind of foods define us? What if a lack of food defines us?” Payment: Royalties. Deadline: June 1, 2020.

Speculative City. Genre: Afrofuturist fiction, poetry, and essays written by authors who are specifically of Black and/or African descent. They seek speculative works that are centered within a cityscape. Payment: $20-$55. Deadline: June 1, 2020.

Eerie River: It Calls from the Sky. Genre: Horror. "Send me your stories of lights in the sky, a storm that brings with it more than rain, comets that crash, aliens that secretly invade, or a wishing star that is hell-bent on revenge. The stories themselves do not have to take place in the sky, but the evil bad does need to come from it in some way or form." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: June 1, 2020.

Eternal Haunted Summer: Holy Days. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, essays about Holy Days. Payment: $5. Deadline: June 1, 2020.

Tales from the Moonlit Path. Genre: Dark, eerie, speculative stories. Payment: $10. Deadline: June 1, 2020.