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Notably-Open Markets, January Edition

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Several red fireburst style fireworks on a black sky.
Did you know everyone posting shitty videos of fireworks essentially nukes every social networks servers for 24 hours? since new years happens 24 times (timezones)(I know there's 38 timezones work with me here okay) Photo by Paul Morley on Unsplash

Happy new year! Have you made your resolutions yet? If getting published is one of your goals, why not make some submission-related resolutions?

Bad resolutions:

  • Get published in Clarkesworld (you can’t directly influence what Neil picks)
  • Get published X times (you can’t control other editors, either, plus you might be tempted to submit to “pay to play” markets or otherwise change the definition of “published” to meet this goal)
  • Submit more (what does “more” even mean?)

Good resolutions:

  • Submit to X markets I’ve never submitted to before (there’s plenty of markets out there!)
  • Make Y submissions this year (make this difficult-enough so that you push yourself. 1,000 is probably too many, but 50 or 100 might be just right!)
  • Get Z stories/poems/pitches out the door and into submission piles (this one is entirely in your hands!)

Resolutions that are measurable/have a finish line and are specific are much easier to achieve (and, therefore, harder to abandon) then vague ones.

It’s okay to have goals that are outside of your full control, but the steps to work on it can be made into resolutions. Like my current writing goal is “sell a book,” which means I need to submit to agents and editors. And to do that, I need to finish one of these got-dang books that have been on the back burner, so that’s my goal for 2026.

As long as I have short fiction that needs a home (or markets that accept reprints still exist 🙂 ), I’ll still be here in the submission trenches with you! This one will be a bit (well, a LOT) longer so you can get a strong start on your resolutions! This is absolutely not a comprehensive list of everything that is open today, but there should be something that -catches your eye!

P.S. If you’re a power submitter and you know how to run a Python script (or are confident in your abilities to Google how to do so), check out [my script to check your Moksha URLs for you]. You run it locally with the URLs saved onto your own machine, so your secrets are safe. You only really need to run it once a day at most, but it does keep track of your position and tells you if you move up in line 🙂

Info

For a market to be shared, it needs to meet my minimums for a market I’m comfortable recommending. This means:

  • No submission fees, or there’s a waiver to that is reasonable enough (e.g. sub early enough, specific demographics, etc.)
    • I count mailed-in-only subs as a “fee” because that costs money. I’ll make exceptions on a case-by-case basis
  • You’re paid for your work. Unpaid opportunities will be included if sufficiently unique/compelling (i.e. sales are for charity, hyper-niche fanzine)
  • Any format is cool (print, anthologies, web, audio, etc.), except crypto/NFT-bullshit
  • Absolutely no AI of any sort
    • No AI images, including social media posts
    • No tolerance of AI-generated works
  • They are respectful, professional, and not hateful
    • Good contracts, they keep their word, etc
    • No TERFs, Nazis, etc. or places that knowingly platform such people/views
    • They treat your data with respect (e.g. no sharing/selling, basic security features on website, etc.)
  • Nowhere the vibes are “off” (I know that’s really vague/subjective, but this is me recommending markets!)
  • And a listing with a ❤️ is some place I’ve worked with, or can otherwise confidently say you’ll have a good experience working with them 🙂

Markets!

Format:

  • Market, genre/theme (unless the market name makes it obvious), lengths/types, pay, limited demographics (if applicable), window info [link to submission guidelines]
    • Because of the flood of LLM slop, more and more markets are closing windows early (especially if they use Submittable, because they have to pay for every sub!), so it’s better to sub earlier than later. Some places state that they’ll close early if they hit a cap, but others might do so without warning (especially if they’ve never had to do this before).

Open NOW

(Note: Some places scheduled to open on the 1st might not have the switch flipped just yet, or the switch is flipped but they haven’t updated their website, or maybe they’re in a different time zone, so check back later or click further, if needed!)

  • 34 Orchard, any, 1-5K shorts, $50, until Jan 10 [link]
  • All Words Wayfarer, SFFH, 0.1-4K flash/shorts, $10, until Jan 5, [link]
  • The Ampersand Review, any, <3K flash/shorts, $100, until Jan 11 [link]
  • Anomaly, dark SF, <300 flash, 8 c/word, until Jan 7 [link]
    • They’re open the first 7 days of each month, so plan ahead!
  • Apex Magazine, SFFH, <9K flash/shorts/novelettes, 8 c/word, until ??? [link]
  • Baubles From Bones, SFF, 1-8K shorts/novelettes, 1 c/word, until Jan 29 [link]
  • beestung, any, <3.5K flash/shorts, $20, nonbinary/genderqueer/two-spirit writers only, until ??? [link]
  • ❤️ Black Horror, Then & Next, 2-4K shorts, 8 c/word, Black authors only, until Jan 15 [link]
    • Flame Tree is always announcing new anthologies, and they all pay 8 c/word! They do a lot of horror, and they have a series for romantasy and another for retellings of mythological figures/gods. Sign up for their newsletter or follow their socials for updates
    • They also publish flash fiction in their newsletter (which also pays 8 c!), and the theme + how to submit will be in there, too. I know marketing emails generally suck but these ones are actually good 🙂
  • The Bombay Literary Magazine, 2-7K shorts, INR 5000, until ???? [link]
  • Book XI, “On A Certain Blindness in Human Beings,” 1-7K shorts, $200, until Mar 1 [link]
  • Brink, obsession theme, no word limit but be realistic, $50 or $100 words (based on length), until Jan 31 [link]
  • Claudine, any, <400 words, $25, until Nov 30 [link]
  • The Cosmic Background, any, <1.5K flash/shorts, 10 c/word, until ??? [link]
  • Cosmic Horror Monthly, <5K flash/shorts, 3 c/word, until Jan 7 [link]
  • Daikaijuzine, SFFH, <6K flash/shorts, $5 (flash) or $10, until Jan 5 [link]
  • Dusty Attic Publishing, “spooky or fantastical or both,” 0.5-2K flash/shorts, $10, until ???? [link]
  • EVENT, any, <5K flash/shorts, $35/page (CAD? USD? idk), Canadian citizens or residents of Canada only this window, until Jan 31 [link]
  • Eye to the Telescope, SFFH poetry, 5 c/word, until Jan 15 [link]
  • Flash Fiction Online, REPRINTS about resistance, 0.5-1K flash, $40, until Jan 31 [link]
  • foofaraw Anthology, based on one of the 2 [definitions of foofaraw] , 0.5-5K flash/shorts, 1 c/word, until Mar 31 [link]
  • Friday the Flirteenth, monsterotica, 1-2K shorts, $30, until Jan 9 [link]
  • The Future Fire, SFFH, <17.5K flash/shorts/novelettes, $10 (flash) or $20, they’re supposed to be open today but they’re being DDOS’d as I write this so idk the end date lol [link]
  • Haven Spec, SFFH, <5K flash/shorts, 8 c/word, “authors of underrepresented groups,” until Jan 31 [link]
    • I normally don’t list these guys because they’re open so often; 1 month limited demo, followed by 1 month everyone, then 1 month closed, and it cycles. But mark your calendars for future windows!
  • Heartlines Spec, long-term relationships, 0.5-3.5K flash/shorts, 5 c/word, until Jan 31 [link]
  • In Another Time, SFF mythos theme, <5K flash/shorts, 1 c/word, until Feb 28 [link]
  • ❤️ Inner Worlds, this is their last issue so they want stuff on about “endings,” 0.5-2.5K flash/shorts, 2 c/word ($25 minimum), members of marginialized groups only until Jan 14, everyone else until Jan 31 [link]
  • Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast, fantasy historical, <5K flash/shorts, 8 c/word, until Jan 31 [link]
  • Lilac Peril, work about “idols” (devotion/obsession/awe/etc), <2.5K fiction/essays/poetry/whatever (“anything that can be printed on paper”), “a small honorarium”, until Feb 7 [link]
  • Litmosphere, any, <5K flash/shorts, $50 (<500 words) or $100, people living in the US or US citizens living elsewhere only this window, until Jan 31 [link] (they have sub fees now)
  • Luna Station Quarterly, SFF, 0.5-7K flash/shorts, $10, women authors only, until Feb 15 [link]
  • MEMEZINE, send your best work about poasting, whatever it is, 5 pages max, $10, until Feb 28 [link]
  • Nashville Review, “kink and culture” theme for this window, <7K flash/shorts, $100, until Jan 31 [link]
  • Negative Space 3: The End of All Sanctuary, survival horror, 2-8K shorts, $25, until Jan 31 [link]
  • ❤️ Night Shades, any spec, <500 flash, $65, until ??? [link]
  • NYGEL, erotica, <4K flash/shorts, $20, until Jan 31 [link]
  • Obsidian, dark space novelettes, 9-25K novelettes/novellas, 1 p/word w/100 GBP max, until Feb 15 [link]
  • The Orange & Bee, related to fairy tales, <4K flash/shorts, 8 c/word ($80 min), until Jan 14 [link]
  • Otherside, SFFH, 0.5-4K flash/shorts, 8 c/word, self-ID’d 2SLGBTQIA+, until Jan 14 (BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled writers get an extra, exclusive window until the 21) [link]
  • Passing Strange: Queer Weird Arthurian Tales, 3-10K shorts/novelettes, 5 c/word, until Sep 1 [link]
  • The Phantom Pulse, SFFH, <3K flash/shorts, 3 c/word, until Feb 14 [link]
  • Poet Lore, poems of any length,type, $50 each, only translations for this window, until June 30 [link]
  • Prose Poems, 1 page max per poem (and flash if its only 1 paragraph), $10 for 2 of the things you sent in (so $5 each), until ??? [link]
  • Richmond Fantastic, spec stories set in the Greater Richmond area, 2-5K shorts, 1 c/word, until Mar 31 [link]
  • Rotting Leaf Magazine, eco-gothic/horror/surrereal/weird, <1.5K flash/shorts, until Jan 7 [link]
  • Sci-Fi Ireland, SF (but can be mixed with other genres like F and H), 2-6K shorts, 75 GBP, writers who live on/were born on the Island of Ireland, until Jan 31 [link]
  • Seize the Press, weird stuff!, <10K flash/shorts/novelettes, 3 p GBP/word, until ??? [link]
  • Shenandoah, any, <8K flash/shorts/novelettes, who knows how much they pay…..it’s more than 0….., until Jan 15 [link]
  • Slavic Supernatural anthology series, 1.5-7.5K shorts, $35, until Mar 1 [link]
  • Slush, any, <5K flash/shorts, $100 AUD, until Feb 1 [link]
  • Splinter Journal, any, they don’t have a word limit but be realistic, $900 AUD, until Jan 18 [link]
  • Solarpunk Magazine, <7.5K flash/shorts, 10 c/word, until Jan 14 [link]
  • Summer in the City, stories set in a specific, real world city (can be any! check their guidelines for more specifics), 3-7.5K shorts, until Jan 31 [link]
  • They Are Still Here, fantasy stories about resistence/resiliance, <7K flash/shorts, 150 GBP, until ??? (it’s an anthology, so it will close at some point, but no end date is given) [link]
  • Three-Lobed Burning Eye, SFFH, 0.5-7.5K flash/shorts, 8 c/word, until Jan 15 [link]
  • The Threepenny Review, any, <4K flash/shorts, $400, until Apr 14 [link]
  • Trollbreath, SFFH, 1.5-7.5K shorts, 4 c/word, until Oct 31 [link]
  • Ubwali Literary, any, 3-6K shorts, $10, Zambian artists or African artists living in Africa, until Jan 31 [link]
  • Untitled “Teeth” hororr anthology, 3-3.5K shorts, $200, until Mar 31 [link]
  • ❤️ Verify You’re Not Human, works about therian experiences (including speculative works), 2-10K shorts/novelettes, 1 c AUD/word, until Mar 1 [link]
  • What Elegant Stars: Queer Tales of Impossible Style, SF, <6K flash/shorts, 8 c/word, Jan 15 – Apr 15 [link]
  • The Welkin Writing Prize, any, <=100 words, min 10 GBP, until tomorrow!!! so hurry up lol [link]
  • Your Body is a Fever Dream, weird cosmic body horror, <4K flash/shorts, 3 c/word, anyone besides binary cisgender folx, until Jan 11 [link]

Open SOON (later this month)(so mark your calendars!)

  • 100 Foot Crow, you can do 1 sub for “coffee” theme and 1 unthemed, 100 words exactly (per MS Word), 8 c/word (so $8 lol), Jan 15 – Feb 15 [link]
  • Alocasia, plants, <3.5K flash/shorts, $50, queer writers only, Jan 10 – ??? [link]
  • Apex’s monthly flash fic contest, they announce a theme each month on their socials + Patreon, <1K flash, 8 c/word, Jan 7 – Jan 31 [link]
    • They do this each month, from the 7th to the last day of the month
  • Nightmare Magazine, horror/dark fantasy, <7.5K flash/shorts, 8 c/word, BIPOC only Jan 19 -24 (everyone else 25 – 31) [link]
  • Penumbric, SFFH, <10K flash/shorts/novelettes, $10, Jan 15 – Mar 15 (but will probably hit the sub cap before then and close for the month, so don’t wait!) [link]
  • Strange Horizons, SFF, <10K flash/shorts, 10 c/word, Jan 19 – 21 [link]
  • The Sunlight Press, any, <2K flash/shorts, $50, Jan 5 – ??? [link]

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