Below is a list of over 100 no fee, literary magazines/journals that have a fast turnaround time (most average a month or less). I’ve also researched and added some others to the list, based on suggestions from experienced writers. The list is long, so I wasn’t able to provide additional details or links for all of them. Those that I’ve featured on my blog previously are detailed below, followed by a list of paying, fast-response literary magazines and journals.

Read the guidelines carefully. Some may have changed whether or not they charge submission fees since I compiled the list. Some may be temporarily closed to submissions.

Arteidolia / swifts & slows

• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT:  None
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Arteidolia: ongoing, swifts & slows: quarterly
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Within 2 weeks
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: For Arteidolia: essays, reviews, interviews. For swifts & slows: poetic collaborations in all forms
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/33590/arteidolia and https://duotrope.com/listing/33584/swifts-slows-quarterly-crisscrossings
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram

de Curated

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always Open
• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Within five days
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Online Application Form
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: Poems, sonnets, narrative, odes and short fictions, preferably in a humorous tone.
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram

Into the Void

• DEADLINE: Reading periods vary, check site for details
• FORMAT: Digitally and print issues available
• SUBMISSION FEE: None, until monthly free allotment is reached
  • Until we reach our Submittable-allotted monthly free submissions limit, there is no fee to submit but free submissions fill up extremely quickly. Thereafter you may submit via the Tip Jar but free submissions will resume on March 1st. Tip Jar submissions are a vital source of the income that allows us to run day-to-day, and are hugely appreciated.
• PAYMENT: $5/page via PayPal only
• FORMS: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, visual art

Glass Poets Resist

Gyroscope Review

Honey Literary

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Two reading periods per year, check site for dates
• FORMAT: online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: 2x a year
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: within one month
• SUBMISSION METHOD: email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: Poetry, Sex/Kink/Erotic, Hybrid, Essays, Comics, Reviews, Valentines, Animals, Interviews, and Artwork
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Ilanot Review

• LOCATION: Israel
• READING PERIOD: Rolling deadlines
• SUBMISSION FEE: The first 500 submissions are free. (Specific submission caps may vary across categories.)
• NOTES: You can read more about them on The Review Review‘s site, including Josh Medsker‘s five star review of their Winter 2013 issue, as well as an interview with editor Janice Weizman by Stanley Trice.
• FORMS: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Graphic Art
• PAYMENT: None
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/5835

Lucky Jefferson

Lunch Ticket

• DEADLINE: Rolling
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
• FORMS:  Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Flash Prose, Poetry, Translation, Visual Art, Young Adult (13+)
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/13810 (includes interview with the editors).

The Museum of Americana

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Check site for reading periods
• THEME(S): My Americana
• FORMAT: online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: No payment.
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: the museum of americana will appear three times a year, in the winter, summer, and fall.  We accept submissions in April, August, and December.
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 30 days
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, humor, music, and art
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/8159/museum-americana

Neon Door

• SUBMISSION DEADLINES: Check site for reading periods
• THEME(S): Emotional Nudity
• FORMAT: online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: Starting with $25 for an image, $50 for a poem, and $75 for prose
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Yearly Exhibit, on-going Column section
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Six weeks
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Visual Arts, Audio, Music, Video, Column
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/32901/neon-door

NonBinary Review

The Penn Review

• DEADLINE: Reading periods vary, check site for details
• FORMAT: Submissions should be sent in using our online general submissions form, which can be found on our website.
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: While we do not offer payment to our contributors, we occasionally host Poetry & Prose Prizes that offer $1000 awards to two winners.
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: We publish biannually. We release an online issue in both the fall and spring, as well as a print issue in the spring with our top picks from the year.
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Our average response time is two to seven days. Submissions that are accepted can take longer to process.
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Our submission method is entirely through Submittable, which anyone can access on our website.
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, we happily accept simultaneous submissions. However, we do ask for all submitters to notify us if their submission has been accepted elsewhere.
• FORMS: We accept Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, and Art submissions.
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/22551/the-penn-review

POETiCA REViEW

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Open year-round
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• FORMS: Poetry
• FORMAT: Online
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Quarterly
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1 week – 1 month
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/27009/poetica-review
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook

Radar Poetry

Sonic Boom

• READING PERIODS:
  • February 1 – February 21
  • October 1 – October 21
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• NOTES: Prefers no simultaneous submissions, but responds within three weeks
• FORMS: experimental poetry (25 lines or less); Japanese short-forms; prose (less than 500 words): flash fiction pieces, creative non-fiction, vignettes, short scenes, hybrid forms, haibun, and tanka prose; visual art
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/17197 with editor interview

Tint Journal

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Check site for open calls, Conversation section always open
• THEME(S): Focus on ESL writers
• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: bi-annual literary issues
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 20 days after the end of the call
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: short stories, creative nonfiction, flash fiction, flash nonfiction, poetry, and artwork
• SOCIAL MEDIA:  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/29723/tint-journal

Tipping the Scales

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Check site for reading periods
• FORMAT: Print, ebooks, PDF
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• FORMS: poetry, prose, and artwork
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Quarterly
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Green Submissions (submission manager)
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 3-4 weeks
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter, Instagram

Topical Poetry

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always open
• THEME(S): Poems based on current events from the previous two weeks
• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None at the moment
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Bi-weekly on every other Sunday
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Up to 72 hours
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Online submission manager
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: Poetry (optional artwork can be submitted along with the poetry)
• SOCIAL MEDIA:  Facebook, Instagram
• DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/32198/topical-poetry

West Branch

• DEADLINE: Reading periods vary, check site for details
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: $50 per submission of poetry, and $.05/word for prose with a maximum payment of $100
• FORMS: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation

Wildness

Paying Fast Response List!

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