103 Calls for Submissions in July 2025 - Paying markets

This July there are more than eight 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: Flickr)

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Thema. Genre: Fiction, poetry, and art on theme: I Wish I'd Said That. Payment:  $10-$25 for short fiction and artwork, $10 for poetry. Deadline: July 1, 2025. Accepts reprints.

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

Podcastle. Genre: Fantasy podcast. Length: Up to 6,000 words. Payment: $0.06/word for original; $100 for reprints, $20 for flash fiction reprints. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025.

Okay Donkey. Genre: One flash fiction OR one poem per author, per submission period. See website for details. Payment: $20. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025 and closes when cap is reached.

The Forge Literary Magazine. Genre: Prose. They prefer stories under 3,000 words but will consider up to 5,000 words. Payment: $100. Deadline: Opens July 1, 2025 Free submissions open on the 1st of each month and close when cap is reached.

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

Headland. Genre: Short fiction and creative nonfiction. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Edge City. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

IHRAM Press: America's Slide Toward Authoritarianism Genre: Fiction, essays, poetry, art. "It is clear that the American political class has all the tensile strength of tissue paper in a summer storm, and that our court system is porous, offering a weak and possibly irrelevant backstop to what was once the strongest democracy in the world. So, as in all authoritarian states, it is left to the artists and creators to hold the line, to stand up for what is right and just, and to safeguard the republic. Only the creators have the courage to resist." Payment: $50. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

It Came from the Trailer Park. Genre: Horror/Comedy. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 1, 2025.

Phi Kappa Phi Forum. Genre: Poetry. See theme. Payment: $4/ line. Deadline: July 2, 2025.

The Fabulist. Genre: Fantastical flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: July 2, 2025. Opens July 1.

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

Notch. Genre: All genres–from operatic scores to tattoos to sonnets. See theme. Payment: Not specified.  Deadline: July 6, 2025.

Affirm Press Restrictions: They only accept Australians. Genre: 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: July 6, 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: July 6, 2025.

Cosmic Horror Monthly. Genre: Weird and cosmic fiction under 5,000 words. Payment: 3 cents (USD) per word. Deadline: July 7, 2025.

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

Black Inc. Restrictions: Open to Australians. Genre: Full-length general, literary and commercial non-fiction – including history, current affairs, memoir and biography. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 7, 2025. This is a monthly call.

Vellum Mortis. Genre: Horror. Length: 1000 words max. See theme. Payment: $5. Deadline: July 10, 2025.

The Book of Jobs: An Anthology of Poems About Work. Genre: Poems about work. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 12, 2025.

Hub City Press. Genre: Single-narrative nonfiction books. "We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 13, 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: July 14, 2025.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: July 14, 2025 for members of marginalised groups only.

Mulberry. Genre: All creative media—from prose, flash, poetry, script, and comics, to film, music, visual art, dance, and everything in-between. Cross-genre, experimental, and hybrid work are always welcome, as well as excerpts of longer pieces. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 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: July 14, 2025.

The Orange & Bee. Genre: Original works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction that engage in a significant way with the long history of fairy tales. Payment: Poetry: flat rate $US50.00 per poem; Flash fiction/non-fiction: flat rate $US80.00 per story (max 1000 words); Short fiction/non-fiction: $US0.08 per word (max 4000 words). Deadline: July 14, 2025.

Able Muse is a small literary press. They publish poetry and fiction. Most of the fiction they publish is short story collections. They have one free reading period every year, from May 1 through July 15. Read submission guidelines HERE. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Scuppernong. Genre: Hybrid memoir, as well as books on social justice issues in North Carolina. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

The Margins: Imagined Histories: A Folio for The Margins.  Restrictions: Open to Asian American and diasporic poets. Genre: Poems (ghazals, free verse, sonnets, prose poems, hybrid forms, all styles welcome) or visual art (think photo essays, maps, collages, drawings). Experimental and hybrid works are welcome as are traditional forms. Payment: $50 to $90 (USD) for original and translated poetry; the fee varies based on the number and length of poems. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Ink Nest Poetry. Genre: Poetry, fiction, art. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

If There's Anyone Left. Restrictions: Open to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, members of marginalized genders, and disabled people. Genre: Speculative fiction. Length: 1000 words max. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

A Long House: Chronic. Genre: Poetry, nonfiction/essays, and hybrid work on chronic illness in all its forms—diagnosed, undiagnosed, physical, mental, visible, invisible. Payment: $50. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Humans and Nature Press. Genre: Nonfiction, poetry, art. "We accept essays, book reviews, poems, and artwork, including comic art. Our readership is interested in discussions that bear, directly or indirectly, on the areas of conservation, evolutionary biology and ecology, environmental ethics, environmental philosophy, law, and policy, and the environmental humanities." Payment: $500. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

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

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grandmothers. Genre: Nonfiction. We view this book as a wonderful gift for grandmothers of all ages. And what makes this topic so much fun is that the moment a grandchild is born, a grandmother is born too! And what an amazing experience it is. Everyone has a great story about the unconditional love between grandmothers and their grandchildren. We are looking for heartwarming, insightful, and humorous stories celebrating grandmothers. Payment: $200. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Slugger. Genre: Horror. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

Timber Ghost Press. Genre: Novels and novellas, including cosmic horror, weird horror, sci-fi/horror, gothic, and contemporary. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 15, 2025. Extended Period for authors who are BIPOC, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized communities

Sunlight Press. Genre: Poetry, fiction, and essays. Payment: $30 - $50. Deadline: July 15, 2025.

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

The Shallot: Journal of Mental Health, Art, and Literature. Genre: Poetry, prose, art. See theme. Payment: $15 or a copy of the journal. Deadline: July 19, 2025.

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

Flame Tree: A Breath of Time and Of Love & Dragons. Genre: Romantic Fantasy. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints. Deadline: July 20, 2025.

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

Diabolical Plots. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy and horror up to 3,500 words. Payment: 10 cents/word. Deadline: July 21, 2025.

Tractor Beam. Genre: Speculative fiction dedicated to soil punk. Payment: $1000. Deadline: July 21, 2025.

Satirical Strains. Restrictions: Open to those who have not yet published a book. Genre: Original works that contain attitudes of the satiric. Length: 40,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 22, 2025.

Mudroom. Genre: Poetry, fiction, essays, and essays in translation. Payment: $15. Deadline: July 25, 2025.

Stygian Lepus Magazine. Genre: Dark speculative fiction. Payment: $5. Deadline: July 25, 2025. This is a monthly call.

Flame Tree: Best Served Cold. Genre: Crime fiction. Theme: Revenge. Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word. Deadline: July 27, 2025.

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

Baubles From Bones. Genre: Science fiction and fantasy. Length: All stories must be between 1,000 to 8,000 words. Payment: $.01/word. Deadline: July 30, 2025.

Spoon Knife. Genre: Short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. See theme. Payment: $30. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Black Hare Press: Dark Moments. Genre: Drabbles (100 words) on theme Ghost Ships. Payment: 4 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 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: July 31, 2025.

long con. Restrictions: Canadian residents only. Genre: Prose and poetry about art. Payment: $20 CAD. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Elastic Magazine. Genre: Psychedelic art and literature. See theme. Payment: "Competitive rates." Deadline: July 31, 2025.

More Monsters Next Door. Genre: Horror, comedy, science fiction. Theme: Monsters in a mundane setting. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Ubwali Literary Magazine. Restrictions: Open to Zambian writers. Genre: Prose and visual art (including photography) Payment: $10. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Dragon Tomes. Genre: Ghost and cryptid stories up to 6,000 words. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Die Laughing. Genre: Funny horror. Payment: $10 for flash, $25 for shorts. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Polaris Poetry Series. Genre: Afrofuturistic poetry. Submissions should be a minimum of 65 pages of poems, with each new poem beginning on a new page. Payment: $1000 advance. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Closes when cap of 100 submissions is reached. 

Horror on the Range. Genre: Western horror. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Pink Hydra. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: Stories and poetry contributions under 5,500 words will receive $3, with longer stories receiving more, up to a maximum of $17. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Accepts reprints.

Redacted: What Divorced Women Aren't Telling You. Genre: Personal essays about the author's experience with divorce as well as shorter form stories. Payment: $125. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Ampersand Review. Restrictions: Open to Canadians. Genre: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews. Payment: Poetry: $50 per poem/page to a maximum of $100. Fiction: $100 per story. Non-fiction: $100 per piece. Reviews: $100 per piece. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Flash Frog. Genre: Flash fiction ghost stories. 1,000 words max. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Short Story Substack accepts one short story every month. Genre: All genres. Word count 6,000 - 10,000 words. Payment: Base Pay of $100 for the chosen story + 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Reprints accepted. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Flash Point Science Fiction. Genre: Speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,000 words in length. "Send us your science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, so long as it’s short." Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Pseudopod. Genre: Horror Anthologies and Collections of stories that have been or will be published in 2025. Payment: USD $0.08 per word for original fiction. USD $100 per story for reprint fiction. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

parABnormal. Genre: Nonfiction, poetry on the paranormal. "For us, this includes ghosts, spectres, haunts, various whisperers, and so forth. It also includes shapeshifters and creatures from various folklores." Payment: $25.00 for original stories, $7.00 for reprints.$6.00 for each poem. $20.00 for original articles, $6.00 for reprints. $7.00 for reviews and interviews. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Nonbinary Review. Genre: Speculative fiction, poetry, art. Theme: Solarpunk. 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: July 31, 2025. Accepts reprints.

The London Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry. Payment: Not specified. Only pays for their print publication. Deadline: July 31, 2025. Closes when cap is reached, so submit early in the month.

Worldsmyths: Dark Fantasy Short Stories. Genre: Dark Fantasy Short Stories. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

THREE COUSINS PUBLISHING: Family, Fae, Fiend, Friend, and Foe. Genre: Speculative stories featuring a family with at least one type of supernatural family member. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Gaudy Boy. Restrictions: Authors of Asian heritage residing anywhere in the world. Genre: Full-length poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Payment: Advance of USD1,500. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

khōréō. Restrictions: Open to writers who identify as an immigrant or member of a diaspora in the broadest definitions of the terms. "This includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, transnational/transracial adoptees, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work." Genre: Stories, art: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element. Payment: 10 cents/word for fiction, and $100- $400 for art. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Dragon Soul Press: Terror Reigns. Genre: All horror stories are welcome. All genres accepted. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Bateman Books. Restrictions: The books they publish must have some connection to Aotearoa New Zealand, whether it’s theme, content, setting or author. Genre: A select range of high-quality books, specialising in illustrated non-fiction, commercial fiction and children’s/YA books. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Haven Speculative. Restrictions: Open to submissions by authors of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Payment: 8¢ per word for fiction and $20 for poetry. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Marrow. Genre: Poetry written in, or translated into, English, from Australian and international poets. Payment: AU$40. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Only Poems. Genre: Poetry. "We love prose poems, traditional forms (ghazals, villanelles, sestinas), love poems, sex poems, and experimental questionnaires, but we are not married to a style or genre. We are welcoming of anything you think is your most exciting work. Ultimately, we want poems that move us or make us go: “God, I wish I had written this!” Payment: $77. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Clare Songbirds. Genre: Full-length poetry collections. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, messages from heaven, angels. Genre: True stories about miracles, angels, messages from heaven, premonitions, amazing coincidences and other unexplainable but good events! Payment: $200. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Brink. Genre: Hybrid, cross-genre fiction, nonfiction poetry. See theme. Payment: $25 Poem; $50 Work (less than 1500 words); $50 Art (1-3 Images); $100 Art (4+ Images); $100 Work (more than 1501 words). Deadline: July 31, 2025.

New Myths. Genre: Speculative fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: 3 cents/word with a minimum payment of $50 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry; $50 for book reviews; $80 for art. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Flash Fiction Online. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: $100. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Gwyllion. Restrictions: Writers living in Wales and writers who identify (fully, in part, or by ancestry) as Welsh. Genre: Speculative fiction and poetry. Welsh themes. Payment: £15 per accepted story or poem. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

JMS Books. Genre: LGBTQ romance stories, 12,000 words minimum. See theme. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Inkd Publishing: Cthulu: Dreams. Genre: Horror. Incorporate the Lovecraftian theme as you will into your horror story. Word Limit: 2,000 to 7,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Taco Bell Quarterly. Genre: Short stories, non-fiction, prose, essays, poetry, art, comics, flash, films, "undefinable auras, experiments, and completely ordinary shit." "We are looking for innovative ways to lower the bar. We are looking for ways to degrade ourselves with flair. We are looking for universes that could be extremely traumatizing if the writers weren’t cowards. We are looking for ways to address the nightmares more directly." Payment: $150. Deadline: July 31, 2025. (Closes when cap is reached so submit early.)

Space and Time. Genre: Speculative fiction. "We welcome poetry, art and fiction that bend rules, transcend genre and break stereotypes." Submissions accepted in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Italian. See theme. Payment: 1 cent/word for prose, $5 for poetry. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Temz Review. Genre: Prose (fiction and creative non-fiction) up to 10,000 words long. Payment: $20. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Weird West Anthology. Genre: Western genre with a speculative bend. Wordcount: <1000 words. Payment: 2 cents/word. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Inner Worlds Zine. Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. "We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” Payment: £0.02 per word for each piece accepted, with a minimum £20 payment. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Anstruther Books. Genre: Poetry "that takes risks and represents a diverse cross-section of the Canadian literary community." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Three Cousins Publishing: Family, Fae, Fiend, Friend, and Foe. Genre: Submissions must be speculative and feature a family with some type of supernatural family member or members. Vampires and fairies, gnomes and zombies, leprechauns, bigfeet, ghouls, and poltergeists are all welcome. Horror, humor, fantasy, science fiction, or even an entertaining, but bizarre mashup of genres that we haven’t considered.Stories must be between 4,000 and 5,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: July 31, 2025. 

Hashtag Press. Genre: Full-length children's and YA books. All books must be diverse or inclusive. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Spook Hollow: Tales of Ozark Horror. Genre: Horror set in the Ozarks. Word Count: 3,000 to 6,000 words. Payment: $50 plus a contributor’s copy. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Fiction on the Web. Genre: Short stories. Length: 1,000-10,000 words. Payment: USD $15 / GBP £15 / EUR €15. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

The Quiet Ones. Genre: Quiet Horror and Intimate-Scale Dystopian Fiction. "We primarily seek creative work from those who identify as LGBTQIAP+, women, and allies. We’re especially fond of (though do not require) stories that center LGBTQIAP+ and female characters. That said, we welcome work from anyone and everyone, and we do not automatically disqualify any submissions based on the author’s identity, nor do we require our contributors to share their sexual or gender identities." Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Darkest Depths. Genre: Comics up to 8 pages. Payment: $15 USD per page. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

Locative Magazine. Restrictions: "We are based in Sydney, Australia and have a focus on new and original writing from local, emerging authors." Genre: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Payment: $25. Deadline: July 31, 2025.

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: August 1, 2025.

BOA Editions — Blessing the Boats Selections. Genre: Book of poetry by Women of Color. Payment: $1500 + Publication. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Dark Waters. Genre: Dark fiction up to 7,000 words. See theme. Payment: Up to $25. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Fearmoji: Queer Emoji Horror. Genre: Adult queer horror. Word Count: 4000–7500. See theme. Payment: $25. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Burial Books: Science Fiction Short Stories. Genre: Science fiction short stories between 2000 and 8,000 words in length. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Burial Books: Sword and Sorcery Short Stories. Genre: Sword and sorcery fantasy short stories between 2000 and 8,000 words in length. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

Howdy Dude. Genre: Western stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words. Payment: $10. Deadline: August 1, 2025.

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

Saddlebag Dispatches. Genre: Short stories, poetry, and non-fiction articles about the West. Payment: $10 - $20. Deadline: August 1, 2025.