Ten Literary Magazines that welcome speculative fiction

Steph P. Bianchini April 1, 2019 0 Comments

I generally submit stories and poetry to speculative fiction venues. This is due to the fact that literary magazines more often than not do not accept speculative fiction or, when they do, they’re partial to something more blurred and slipstream than the hard SF and horror I often write. However, I had recently some luck with pieces of dark and/or historical fantasy and even a couple of SF pieces have found a good home.
So I thought I could share here some names of lit mags that welcome speculative fiction and poetry. Some of them are paying venues, others are not (and as a general rule, lit mags do not pay). None, however, charges a submission fee, something I refuse to submit to unless is a well-known and respected contest. And all of them are good places to showcase your writing, often in the company of many talented authors.

It is not a comprehensive list, of course -for that, have a look at Duotrope, whose basic searching features are free to use even without subscription:

The Cabinet of Heed (a gorgeous zine. “The Cabinet of Heed is a multi-drawered piece of furniture that grows hungry at various times of the year. The only way to sate The Cabinet’s hunger is to feed it great writing.”)

Ellipsis Zine (another well-known magazine. They often have themed issues and publish both online and in print)

Songs of Erez Poetry Review (this venue is poetry only, it pays semi-pro rates, and has a series of themed issues for 2019)

Coffin Bell (a lit mag with a dark slant, so keep it in mind when sending pieces)

Twist in Time Magazine (this one has just started in January 2019 but it is doing well, and it promises to keep up the good job)

Argot Magazine (a literary magazine with an emphasis on queer culture and marginalised communities. They pay their authors and occasionally publish in print as well)

Rhythm & Bones Magazine (a great venue with terrific literature and a dark slant)

Moonchild Magazine (this is a lit magazine, but the editor loves spec fic, too. I have interviewed her, by the way. Check it out here).

Okay Donkey (they publish online new poem every Monday and a new flash fiction every Friday)

Five on the Fifth (another literary magazine that does a good job and publishes a blend of fiction, speculative included. They don’t do poetry).

There are many others that could make this list, but I thought I would start with the ten I know best (I plan to add another list soon). Some of them have published my pieces (thank you) and all of them are run professionally by amazing editors, so you won’t have issues in dealing with them. Good submitting!