200 Fantasy Magazines and Journals Seeking Submissions

Getting short stories published in the likes of fantasy magazines and fantasy journals can not only help build an impressive writing resume, but it can do wonders for your confidence.

I can still vividly recall reading my first ever acceptance email from a fantasy journal. It banished my doubt, filled me with confidence, and spurred me to write even more short stories. I didn’t get much sleep that night for the excitement. 

But finding a home for your fantasy short story can be tough. Not only do you have to find magazines, but you also have to check the submission guidelines for each one.

There could be a big difference between the likes of Uncanny Magazine submission guidelines and the Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy and Clarkesworld submissions, for instance. 

You also have to account for differences in location. For example, a UK fantasy magazine might have different formatting guidelines to a US fantasy magazine (such as to do with the type of dictionary you use).

You may also be looking for fantasy magazines that pay, and ones that offer more than some token form of compensation. 

Lastly, some online fantasy magazines only allow submissions that meet their theme. These themes often change throughout the year, or perhaps with different anthologies. Either way, take your time to do the research and if you don’t feel that your short story meets that theme, don’t waste your time with a submission. 

It takes time to carry out this research, but worry not for help is at hand. 

Over the years I’ve chronicled the various publishers I’ve come across and compiled a long list of fantasy short story publishers, which you can find below. There are some sci-fi magazines down there too, with many both science fiction and fantasy magazines.

I’ve also included a small section on fantasy writing magazines beneath the table. And I’ve got a section on dark fantasy publishers too and fantasy literary magazines too.

I’ve also put together some related guides, such as writing cover letters and formatting a manuscript, also below. 

Is It Worth Submitting To A Fantasy Journal?

You may think that writing short stories is a distraction, that if your focus is on becoming a novelist that it’s all a waste of time.

Well, I disagree with that position. Getting your short stories published in a fantasy journal or two can bring many benefits. Firstly, confidence. You’re getting external acknowledgement that your writing is good, that people want to read it.

Second, you build your writing resume. When it comes to landing the bigger whales in the publishing ocean, it can help to have a few publication credits to your name. It’s evidence that other editors and magazines have enjoyed your writing.

Third, you get to sharpen your writing skills. If you just write novels, you may miss out on the crucial skills that other forms of fiction can teach you. For example, writing short stories teaches you the need to use every word—you don’t have the luxury to waste them.

As a writer myself, getting my work published by a fantasy journal has helped me massively, and it may help you too.

More Help Getting Published

If you’re not already aware, I have an online writing group that’s exclusive to those in my Community of Writers. That means nobody spamming the feed with ‘please buy me’ posts! 

It’s the perfect place to share your writing and get feedback, discuss ideas and the likes of fantasy publishers with fellow fantasy writers, and above all, forge lasting friendships with writers from all over the world. 

To join, just click the button below!

Useful Resources For Fantasy Magazine Submissions

I’ve put together a few useful guides and writing tools to help you with your fantasy short story submissions. You can also use these guides for submitting short stories to any type of publisher, including horror magazines and science fiction magazines.

• A Guide to Cover Letters – this guide goes over writing cover letters for short story submissions in particular. 
• A Guide to Formatting A Manuscript – if you’re unsure how to format your short story in preparation for a submission, this guide will talk you through everything. 
• List of Fantasy Novel Publishers – If you’re looking to get your novels published too, I have another list you may like.
• List of Book Reviewers – And if you’re looking for reviews for your book, this list of over 100 book reviewers may be what you need.
• Random Name Generator Tool – a free tool for writers struggling to come up with cool and unique fantasy names

Glossary of Fantasy Magazine Terms

While navigating your way through various fantasy journals and their submission guidelines, you’ll encounter a few different terms which you may be unfamiliar with. Here are some of them and their definitions:

Pro: A status afforded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America organization. Payment made for all accepted submissions. The pro-rate is eight cents per word.

Semi-pro: Generally, all fantasy magazines that pay a semi-pro rate are reputable and pay a very good rate.

Token: A magazine that offers a ‘token’ in exchange for accepted submissions, for example, a free copy of their issue.

Paid: A magazine that pays for accepted submissions but lacking the ‘pro’ status.

Non-payment: A magazine that does not offer anything for accepted submissions, save a well-deserved pat on the back.

Simultaneous submission: refers to whether or not you can send the same story to more than one publisher at the same time.

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Download A Copy Of The List of Fantasy Magazines and Fantasy Journals

Would you like a downloadable version of this list of fantasy writing magazines? Just enter your email address below.

Not only will you get access to the worksheet, but you’ll receive a free copy of my book, Thoughts on Writing.

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List of Fantasy Magazines and Fantasy Journals

(Updated July 2021)

Name	Status	Word limit	Response	Sim subs
Abyss & Apex	Pro	10,000	Not stated	No
Albedo	Token	8,000	2 to 4 months	No
Apex Magazine	Pro	7,500	30 days	No
Beneath Ceaseless Skies	Pro	14,000	2 to 4 weeks	Yes
Clarkesworld	Pro	16,000	2 days	No
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly	Semi-pro	10,000	60 days	Not stated
Fantasy Scroll Mag	Paid	5,000	60 days	Yes
Holdfast Magazine	Token	4,000	Not stated	Not stated
Inter Galactic Medicine Show	Pro	17,500	Not stated	No
Lightspeed	Paid	10,000	Up to 2 weeks	No
The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy	Pro	25,000	8 weeks	No
On Spec	Semi pro	6,000	Not stated	Not stated
PodCastle	Paid	6,000	TBC upon receipt of submission / up to 90 days	Yes
Shimmer	Semi pro	7,500	2 weeks	No
Strange Horizons	Paid	10,000	4 weeks	No
Uncanny Magazine	Paid	6,000	30 days	No
Fireside Magazine	Paid	4,000	30 days	No
Aurealis	Semi pro	8,000	2 months	No
Glittership (audiobook too)	Semi pro	6,000	Not stated	Yes
Helios Quarterly – defunct	Semi pro	1,500	5 to 8 weeks	Yes
Selene Quarterly – defunct	Semi pro	1,500	5 to 8 weeks	Yes
Aurora Wolf	Token	5,000	30 days	No
Strange Constellations	Token	7,500	30 days	Yes
Mithila Review	Token	8,000	2 weeks	Not stated
Kzine	Token	8,000	30 days	Not stated
Giganotosaurus	Token	25,000	30 days	No
Aliterate – defunct	Pro	8,000	28 days	No
Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores	Pro	1,000+	12 weeks	No
Gamut Magazine	Pro	5,000	Not stated	Yes
Aphelion Webzine	Non-payment	7,500	2 months	No
Cirsova	Semi pro	7,500	Not stated	No
Crimson Streets	Paid	6,000	Not stated	Not stated
Electric Spec	Paid	7,000	30 days	Yes
Expanded Horizons	Paid	6,000	30 days	Yes
Gathering Storm Magazine – defunct	Paid	2,000	15 dats	Not stated
Kaleidotrope	Paid	10,000	A few months	Not stated
Lackingtons	Paid	5,000	60 days	No
Leading Edge Magazine	Paid	10,000	A few months	Not stated
Longshot Island	Paid	5,000	Not stated	Yes
Metaphorosis Magazine	Paid	10,000	1 week	Yes
Mythic Delirium	Paid	4,000	Not stated	No
New Myths	Paid	10,000	90 days	No
Golden Fleece Press	Paid	5,000	Not stated	Not stated
Sockdolager	Paid	5,000	2 weeks	No
Space and Time Magazine	Paid	7,500	4 weeks	No
SQ Mag	Paid	5,000	8 weeks	No
Tall Tale TV (audiobook only)	Non-payment	3,000	A few days	Not stated
Far Horizons	Non-payment	3,000	Not stated	Not stated
British Fantasy Society	Token	5,000	3 to 4 weejs	Yes
East of the Web	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Writer’ Forum	Paid	3,000	3 to 4 weeks	No
Not One of Us	Paid	6,000	Not stated	Not stated
Bards and Sages	Paid	5,000	Not stated	Not stated
Fantasia Divinity	Paid	7,500	3 weeks	Yes
Into the Void	Token	Not stated	6 weeks	Yes
Asimovs	Pro	7,500	Five weeks	No
Interzone	Pro	10,000	Not stated	No
The Future Fire	Paid	10,000	1 month	No
The Common Tongue	$0.03/word	600-6,000	Not stated	No
Riddled With Arrows	Paid	1,500	2 weeks	Yes
Mad Scientist Journal	Paid	8,000	Not stated	No
Hyperion & Theia	Paid	40,000	2 months	Yes
Alban Lake	Paid	10,000	Not stated	No
Flame Tree Publishing	Pro	4,000	30 days (after submission deadline)	Yes
Odd Tales of Wonder	Token	Not defined	Not stated	Yes
Eibon Vale Press	Token	4,000	2 to 3 months	Not stated
Third Flatiron	Paid	3000	8 weeks	No
FIYAH	Paid	7000	4 weeks+	No
Alien Pub Magazine	Token	2,000	Less than two weeks	Yes
Augur	Token	Not stated	8 weeks	Yes
Snow Leopard Publishing	Charitable	2,500	Not stated	Not stated
Mythic Mag	Paid	6,000	Not stated	No
Unidentified Funny Objects	Paid	5,000	30 days	No
Fairytale Review	Not stated	8,000	3 months	Yes
Reshwity Publishing (anthology)	Token	10,000	Nov-18	Yes
The Overcast (podcast)	Paid	5,000	Within submission windows	No
Spring Song Press	Paid	10,000	1 month	No
Country Dark	Paid	10,000	Not stated	Not stated
4RV Publishing	Royalties	Not stated (standard short story length)	3 months	No
Æther & Ichor	Token	5000	Not stated	Yes
AHF Magazine	Token	3000	1 week	Yes
Allegory	Paid	No limit	6 weeks	Yes
Alcyone	Token	10000	Not stated	No
Altered Reality Magazine	Token	Not stated	1 week	No
Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine	Token	Not stated	Not stated	Yes
Anotherealm	Paid	5000	Not stated	Not stated
Aphotic Realm	Token	5000	Not stated	Not stated
Asymmetry Fiction	Paid	3000	4 weeks	Not stated
The Wyrd	Paid	5000	6 weeks	Yes
Writers of the Future Contest	Paid	Not stated	3 months	No
The Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror	Paid	5000 to 10000	Not stated	Not stated
The WiFiles	Not stated	5000	90 days	Yes
The Weird Reader	Token	4500	Not stated	Yes
3 Lobed Mag	Paid	7000	90 days	No
Stupefying Stories	Paid	10000	1 week	No
Stinkwaves Magazine	Not stated	3000	A few weeks	Not stated
The Star Lit Path	Token	7500	Not stated	Not stated
Pixie Forest Publishing	Paid	Varies	1 month	Yes
Castrum Press	Not stated (novella and novel-length)	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Ombak	Pro	4000	Months’	Yes
Polu Texni	Pro	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Shock Totem	Pro	5000	90 days or less	No
Three-Lobed Burning Eye	Paid	1000-7000	Within 90 days	No
Sub-Q Magazine	Pro	1000-5000	60 days or less	Yes
Little Blue Marble	Paid	2000 (5000 for reprints)	Not stated	Yes
Hinnom Magazine	Paid	250 to 3000 or 3001 to 5000	Within 30 days	No
Enchanted Conversation	Paid	700-2000	Not stated	Yes
LampLight	Paid	7000	Not stated	Yes
Zombie Pirate Publishing	Token	7500	Not stated	No
Blood Bath Literary Zine	Paid	2,500	Not stated	Yes
Galli Books	Paid	7500	A few weeks	No
Waylines	Paid	6000	30 days	No
Farstrider Magazine	Paid	Not stated	Not stated	Yes
Crossed Genres	Paid	6000	Not stated	No
Black Denim Lit	Unpaid	7500	Not stated	Yes
Sorghum and Spear	Paid	2,000 – 7,500	Not stated	No
Parsec Ink	Paid	5,000	Not stated	No
AGNI Magazine	Paid	No limit	2-4 months	Yes
B Cubed Press	Paid	500-5,000	Not stated	Yes
The Irreal Café	Paid	2,000	2 months	No
Copper Nickel	Paid	Not stated	8 weeks	Not stated
96th of October	Unpaid	1,000-10,000	‘Startling rapidity’	Yes
Analogies and Allegories Literary Magazine	Unpaid	Up to 3,000	1 month	Yes
Baffling Magazine	$0.08/word	Up to 1,200	Up to 90 days	Yes
Boneyard Soup Magazine	$0.05/word	Up to 6,000	Up to 6 weeks	Yes
Welkin Magazine	$0.01/word	Up to 1,500	Not stated	Yes
Of Metal and Magic Publishing	Token	Up to 7,500	A few weeks	Yes
Constelación Magazine	$0.08 per word	Up to 6,400	Not stated	No
Improbable Press	$0.05 per word	Up to 5,000	Not stated	Not stated
The Dark Sire	Non-payment	Up to 5,000	Up to 6 months	Yes
Danse Macabre	Not stated	Up to 2,500	10 weeks	Yes
Death Throes Magazine	Token payment of $20	Up to 5,000	Not stated	Yes
Flash Fiction
Name	Status	Word limit	Response time	Simultaneous submissions
Aether and Ichor	Paid	Up to 3,000 but flash fic preferred	Not stated	Yes
Bewildering Stories	Unpaid	Up to 3,000 but flash fic preferred	3 weeks	Yes
The Colored Lens	Paid	Up to 10,000 but flash fic preferred	Not stated	No
Local Nomad	Unpaid	1,000	Not stated	Yes
Dark Fire Fiction	Unpaid	Up to 5,000 but flash fic preferred	1 month	Yes
Deadmans Tome	Paid	1,000 and higher	Not stated	Not stated
Fictional Pairings	Token	200-1,000	Not stated	Not stated
Leading Edge	Paid	1,000 and higher	Not stated	Not stated
Mirror Dance	Token	Up to 6,000 but flash fic preferred	2 months	Not stated
Fiction War	Paid	1,000	6 months	Yes
Door is Ajar	Token	1,000	6 months	Yes
Storyland Literary Review	Unpaid	1,000	Not stated	Yes
Syntax & Salt Magazine	Paid	Up to 3,500	90 days	No
Tell Tale Press	Paid	500-5,000	Not stated	Yes
Fantasy Novella Publishers		15,000 – 45,000 words unless stated otherwise
Asimov’s Science Fiction	$0.08 per word		5 weeks	No
Bewildering Stories	None		Not stated	No
Black Bed Sheet Books	Not stated		6 months max	Not stated
Bold Strokes Books	Not stated		16 weeks	Not stated
Deep Magic	$200 cap	Up to 40,000	10-12 weeks	No
Distant Shore Publishing	$2,500	Between 20,000 and 70,000	Not stated	Not stated
Finch Books	Royalties		Not stated	Not stated
Gypsy Shadow Publishing	Royalties		Up to 3 months	No
Ink Smith Publishing	Not stated	30,000 to 50,000	Not stated	Not stated
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF)	$0.08 – $0.12 per word	Up to 25,000	8 weeks	No
Night Picnic	Not stated		Not stated	Yes

Thank you for checking out this list of fantasy magazines and fantasy journals. I sincerely hope you’ve found it useful.

Other Tips On Getting Stories Published By Online Fantasy Magazines and Fantasy Journals

Here are some more top tips on getting your fantasy stories published in journals and magazines:

• Always read the submission guidelines! This one has already been mentioned but it’s worth repeating. Each publisher has its own preferences. Some may ask you to use a specific font. Others may have a specific preference over line spacing. Regardless of what it is, you should adhere to it.
• Research – spend time reading some of the stories published by the fantasy magazine or journal before you submit. Are there any similarities to your stories or style? If so, you may have a good chance here. Reading is subjective, and if a magazine editor and its readers prefer a certain kind of story, it makes sense to focus on those. Also, if you’re after some form of money, make sure you focus on fantasy magazines that pay.
• Be patient – expect long delays in between your submissions and hearing a response. As you can see in the list of online fantasy magazines above, some publishers take a while to respond. Patience, therefore, is key!
• Never give up – rejection will become the norm. You just need to get into the habit of brushing yourself down and sending out fresh submissions to other fantasy magazines right away.
• Be organised. It can help to have a spreadsheet with details of all of your submissions. Note down the submission date, name of the publisher and their email address in case you lose it. If it states on the presses’ website that they’ll get back to you within a certain amount of time, note down that anticipated date too. You know then when best to send a follow up email. 

Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazines

In the table above I’ve obviously included a good few fantasy magazines and journals, but there are also a lot of Science Fiction magazines in there too. So here, I wanted to highlight some of my favourites that I think you might enjoy.

Analog Science Fiction

Winner of over 75 literary awards, Analog was launched all the way back in 1930 initially as Astounding Stories of Science Fiction.

Some of the defining features of this magazine is its scientific accuracy, coupled with impeccable and far-reaching imaginations, with stories often possessing strong literary flare. Analog also publishes non-fiction articles on current research in science.

Discover more about Analog Science Fiction here.

Asimov’s Science Fiction

Founded by Isaac Asimov, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine is a publisher of quality science fiction. In recent years, their stories have been nominated for more Hugo awards than any other.

It’s regarded as an innovative magazine, and one of the most readable in the sci-fi genre. And it’s a publisher that gives opportunities to newer writers too. Learn more about Asimov’s here.

Dark Fantasy Publishers

Dark fantasy is a thriving sub-genre at the moment. It’s one that I’ve gravitated toward myself. And it’s why I’ve put together this short section on dark fantasy publishers, to help you narrow your focus.

Some online fantasy magazines worth checking out for dark fantasy stories include:

• Hellbound Books – publishers of long fantasy fiction and horror too.
• Dark Regions Press – an award-winning dark fantasy publisher. Keep an eye on their competitions. The prizes can be upwards of $2,000
• Crystal Lake Publishing – I love their website; very sleek and cool. Keep an eye on their calls for submissions.
• Blood Bound Books – have a browse of their calls for submissions page. They page a decent rate (1 cent per word) and have all different kinds of anthologies throughout the year).
• Unlit Press – UK based, they publish novellas and novels as well as short stories

These are but a smattering of the dark fantasy publishers out there. A quick Google search will bring you dozens more.

Fantasy Literary Magazines

Now you may query the difference between fantasy journals and fantasy literary magazines. And that’s totally fair—I did the same.

The distinguishing feature lies in the style of the stories published.

A literary approach to writing fiction is one that experiments with form and structure, perhaps lacking punctuation for example. It’s also one in which the prose tends to lean toward the florid scale as opposed to clear and easy to follow.

Here are a few examples of fantasy literary magazines:

• Clarkesworld – one of the heavyweights of the fantasy short fiction genre, Clarkesworld consistently publishes high-quality fiction, sometimes taking a literary style.
• Beneath Ceaseless Skies – one of my favourite fantasy literary magazines. They publish brilliant fiction. Check out their ‘best of’ anthologies. You’ll find plenty of great stories.
• The Dark – another dark fantasy publisher but one that promotes a literary style.

Just like with dark fantasy publishers, have a search on Google for literary magazines and you’ll find a bunch.

Fantasy Writing Magazines

Now there aren’t many fantasy writing magazines that are dedicated to the craft of writing stories, which is quite funny if you think about it because fantasy writing is so popular.

There are, however, some platforms that you can submit to and below I’ve highlighted a few examples.

• British Fantasy Society Journal – they have a monthly imprint that runs alongside their short story anthology that’s dedicated to essays and non-fiction pieces.

You can, of course, get in touch with online fantasy magazines. Many publishers also publish non-fiction. Tor is one great example, and they’re a big player in the publishing industry.

You can also submit guest posts to my website. I do pay a fee for the best quality pieces submitted.

Fantasy Journals FAQ

Thanks for checking out this list of online fantasy magazines!