67 Calls for Submissions in April 2025 - Paying markets

This April there are more than five dozen calls for submissions. 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 upcoming calls for submissions shortly before the first day 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!

Note: I update this list continually throughout the month, so check back frequently for new submission calls.

(Image: PxHere)

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Escape Plan: Earth. Genre: Pulp Mad Science Fiction. Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000. Payment: A percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. Deadline: April 1, 2025.

Salamander. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: April 1, 2025.

Skull and Laurel. Restrictions: Open to BIPOC writers. Genre: Weird Folk Horror/Folk SF/Folk Fantasy, broad interpretation, all kinds of folklore and lore welcome. Word count: 100 to 4999 words. Payment: 3c/word (USD) originals; $25 (USD) reprints. Deadline: April 1, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Ninth Letter. Genre: Fiction, CNF, Poetry. Payment: $25 per poem and $100 for prose. Deadline: April 1, 2025. Closes when they reach cap.

The Paris Review. Genres: Poetry. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: Opens April 1, 2025, and closes when they reach capacity.

Zero Street Restrictions: Open to LGBTQ+ writers. Genre: Full-length literary fiction. "Zero Street will be committed to LGBTQ+ literary fiction with commercial potential, providing marginalized authors opportunities for a wide readership in the trade fiction market. The series editors are Timothy Schaffert, bestselling author of The Perfume Thief, and SJ Sindu, author of Blue-Skinned Gods. The series seeks LGBTQ+ literary fiction of all kinds, from stories of modern life to innovations on traditions of genre and are particularly interested in BIPOC authors, trans authors, and queer authors over 50." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 1, 2025.

The Ex-Puritan. Genre: Poetry, fiction, reviews, interviews, essays, and experimental work. "The Ex-Puritan now seeks to publish the best in all forms of writing." Payment: $100 - $200 (CAD). Deadline: April 1, 2025.

West Branch. Genre: Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation. Payment: $50 per submission of poetry, and $.05/word for prose with a maximum payment of $100. Deadline: April 1, 2025.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: April 1, 2025. See themes.

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. Genre: Speculative stories. Payment: 8 cents/word for original work. 2 cents/word for reprints. Deadline: April 2, 2025. Opens April 1.

Stone's Throw. Genre: Noir, dark fiction, crime short stories. Length: between 1,000 and 2,000 words. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: April 4, 2025. Note: This is a monthly call.

Poetry Wales. Genre: Poetry. "We are especially interested in submissions of innovative poetry (in form, content or a combination of both), as well as innovative essays and reviews." Payment: £20/page. Deadline: April 4, 2025.

Variant Lit. Genre: Poetry, fiction, flash fiction, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: April 5, 2025.

Daikaijuzine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Payment: $10.00 for each short story, and $5.00 for each poem and flash fiction piece. Deadline: April 5, 2025.

Anodyne. Genre: Fiction, CNF, Poetry, Art, Photography, Video on theme of Health. Payment: Revenue sharing. Deadline: April 7, 2025.

Mslexia. Restrictions: Open to women. Genre: Fiction poetry, nonfiction. See theme. Payment: £30. Deadline: April 7, 2025.

Write or Die. Genre: Short fiction, essays Length: Up to 4000 words. Payment: $50. Deadline: April 7,  2025. No fee to submit the first week of the month.

Affirm Press Restrictions: They only accept Australians. Genre: Affirm Press accepts all literary and genre fiction. For non-fiction, they are interested in most subjects that have an author or authors based in Australia, and only manuscripts that haven’t been previously published. They only accept submissions on the first Monday of each month and twice yearly on their children’s & teen list. Read their submission guidelines here. Deadline: April 7, 2025.

Solarpunk Magazine. Genre: Solarpunk. Payment: $0.08/word for fiction, $40/poem, and $75/essay, $100 for reprint cover art, $200 for original unpublished cover art, $50 for reprint interior art, $100 for original unpublished interior art  Deadline: April 14, 2025.

Cast of Wonders. Genre: YA Speculative fiction. Podcast. See themes. Payment: $.08/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words. For reprints, a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. Deadline: April 14, 2025.

Shenandoah. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $80 per 1000 words of prose up to $400. Deadline: Opens April 15, 2025, and closes when they reach capacity.

Consequence Magazine: The Culture of War. Genre: Short fiction, poetry, nonfiction, interviews, reviews, and visual art mainly focused on the culture of war. Payment: $20 - $60 for prose and poetry, $150 for art. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Rattle: Tribute to Late Bloomers. Genre: Poetry. "Our Fall 2025 issue will be dedicated to poems written by "late bloomers"—those who only started publishing poetry regularly after the age of 50." Payment: $100. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Graveside Press: Witchcraft Anthology. Genre: Horror on theme: Witchcraft. Payment: 2¢ per word. $75 for illustrations. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Electric Spec. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $20 per piece. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Translunar Travelers Lounge. Restrictions: March 15 - 21 is reserved for writers of color. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Trans Survivors: Healing in Action. Genre: Visual art, poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction. "We welcome content that focuses on trans voices, survivorship and healing from harm/trauma/violence, creative expressions of all kinds." Payment: $25. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Inch. Genre: Inch is a quarterly journal focused on the miracles of compression. Each “issue” is a micro-chapbook featuring the work of a single author. We feature small collections of poetry, short fiction, or short creative nonfiction, with each chapbook focusing on a separate genre. We dedicate one issue per year to featuring the work of a North Carolina author. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Tales From the Crosstimbers. Genre: Speculative fiction between 1000 and 2500 words. Payment: Payment will be the larger of $10 per story or 1 cent/word rounded to the nearest 100 words, up to a maximum of $50. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

The Threepenny Review. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Payment: $400 per story or article, $200 per poem or Table Talk piece. Deadline: April 15, 2025.

Astrolabe. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography & art. Payment: $50. Deadline: April 20, 2025.

Seaside Gothic. Genre: Seaside gothic fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or a collection of photographs or illustrations. Payment: £0.01 per word. Deadline: April 20, 2025.

Stygian Lepus Magazine. Genre: Dark speculative fiction. Payment: $5. Deadline: April 25, 2025.

Rabbit Poets Series. Restrictions: Submissions are open to Australian-based poets at all stages - emerging, mid-career or established. Genre: Poetry manuscripts. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 25, 2025.

Jungle Scandals. Genre: NSFW jungle adventure. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: April 16, 2025.

Ghost to Ghost to Ghost. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Flash fiction on theme strange, unsettling, spooky tales featuring a ghost of one kind or another  - open to your interpretation. Payment: $15.00 (CAD). Deadline: April 16, 2025.

Epic Echoes. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, mystery, crime, adventure, horror, and everything in between. Payment: $10. Deadline: April 17, 2025.

Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: April 18, 2025.

Nimrod. Genre: Poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Payment: $10 per page, with a $200 maximum. Deadline: April 30, 2025. Fee to submit online; no fee for postal submissions.

Nine Arches. Genre: Poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: Soul Chaser. Genre: Poetry. Must submit minimum of five (5) poems. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Nonbinary Review. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. See theme. Length: Up to 3,000 words for prose; up to 3 pages for poetry Payment: $0.01/word for prose, $10 for poetry. $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

FIYAH. Restrictions: Submissions are restricted to people of the African Diaspora. Genre: Speculative fiction, art, and poetry about African Diaspora. Length: Short fiction 2,000 – 7,000 words and novelettes up to 15,000 words. See theme. Payment: 8 cents/word per story or novelette. $50 per poem. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Haven Speculative. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

The Rabbit Hole. Genre: Weird stories and poems. Theme: “A.I. and Other Weirdness.” Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

After Happy Hour. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, comics. Payment: $2.50 per printed page, with a minimum of $15 and a maximum of $50, on publication ($25 for the cover artist). Deadline: April 30, 2025. Free submissions are capped at 300, so submit early.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

the other side of hope. Genre: Poetry by refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants only. They accept in English. Payment: £50. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Creature Feature Anthology. Genre: Horror, Scifi, Fantasy. Payment: 1 cent/word. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Strange Aeon. Genre: Stories of mad science, monster-based horror, weird western, and stories that “peel the onion.” Length: 5,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: $20. Deadline: April 30, 2025. May close early if cap is reached.

Purple Toga. Genre: Speculative fiction. Theme: Food. " All of the stories must have a meal or dish as part of their central theme, and as usual we prefer stories that fall under the speculative fiction umbrella." Payment: Stories 5000 to 7999 words - $5. Stories 8000 to 12000 words - $10. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Midnight Meadow Publishing's goal is to publish engaging and unique LGBTQ+ stories while elevating marginalized voices. They are interested in a wide variety of genres. Read submission guidelines HERE. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

American Poets Continuum Series. Genre: Poetry collection. "Poets who have previously published a full-length book of poetry with a traditional publisher are eligible to submit to the American Poets Continuum Series." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Shenandoah Valley Fantastic. Genre: Speculative fiction "that transforms our beloved region into a realm of mystery, magic, and the unexpected. From witches haunting Winchester’s historic alleys to spectral happenings on the Field of Lost Shoes, we invite you to re-imagine the Valley’s rich landscapes and legends." Payment: $20. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Brick. Genre: Literary nonfiction. Payment: $55–685, depending on the length of accepted work, plus two copies of the issue the work appears in and a one-year subscription to the magazine. Deadline: April 30, 2025. 

Terrain.org. Genre: Poetry, nonfiction, fiction, artwork, videos, and other contributions on place, climate, and justice. Payment: $50. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. See theme. Payment: $100. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Mythaxis. Genre: Speculative fiction. Payment: €0.01 per word, with a €20 minimum. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Air and Nothingness Press. Genre: "We are seeking stories for an anthology to be titled Mmeory which will collect stories of memory manipulation." Payment: $0.08/word. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

fifth wheel press: brainrot. Genre: Poetry, prose poetry, short prose (<1500 words), and other experimental writing by queer, trans, and gender variant writers. Payment: $5. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Radon. Genre: Short stories and poetry containing elements of anarchism, transhumanism, dystopia, and/or science fiction. Payment: 2 cents per word for original work. $20 per original poem. $110 for issue cover art, $50 for back cover art, and $20 for art used on their website. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Heartlines Spec. Restrictions: "Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Our goal for each issue is to publish at least 50% Canadian content." Genre: Short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. "We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules." Payment: $0.08 CAD per word for short fiction and $80 CAD flat for poetry. Deadline: Early submission period for equity-deserving groups April 23-30.

Trollbreath Magazine. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Payment: 4 cents/word. 1/2 cent/word for reprints. Deadline: April 30, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Dragon Soul Press: Quantum Rising. Genre: All cyborgs, robots, mecha, etc. stories are welcome. Preferred genres are sci-fi, dystopian, cyberpunk, etc. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Harbor Review. Genre: Poetry, art. Payment: $10. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2025.

Massachusetts Review. Genre: Fiction, poetry, hybrid, translations. Payment: $100. Deadline: April 30, 2025. Fee for online submissions. No fee for USPS.

AND A FEW MORE...

The First Line Journal. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry using the line provided. (See theme) Payment: $25-$50 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction, $10 for poetry. Deadline: May 1, 2025.

Foglifter. Genre: Foglifter is a biannual compendium of queer and trans writing. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace. "Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it." Payment: $50. Deadline: May 1, 2025.

Folly. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, CNF. "We look for works with blunt, provocative humour, satirical takes on the social scene, and starkly honest accounts of ordinary life. We are particularly seeking content that is provocative, a bit sexy and is starkly honest." Payment: NZD $25-$50. Deadline: May 1, 2025. May close early if cap is reached.

Last Girls Club. Genre: Feminist horror: short stories and poems - see themes. Payment: Fiction, 1.5 cents/word. Poetry, $10. Deadline: May 1, 2025.

Shenandoah. Genre: CNF. Payment: $80 per 1000 words of prose up to $400. Deadline: Opens May 1, 2025, and closes when they reach capacity.

The Other Stories (Audio). Genre: Horror on themes. Payment: 15 GBT. Deadline: May 1, 2025. See themes.