UPDATED: December 2023
Why limit yourself to being published in lit mags in the U.S., Canada, or the U.K? There are many countries with English-language lit mags you can also submit your work to. For example, my poem “My Monkey Grammarian” was published in Hong Kong and even included in a review!
This list focuses on no fee poetry submissions, but most lit mags accept prose and art as well. The listings are in alphabetical order.
Amsterdam Quarterly
- LOCATION: Netherlands
- READING PERIODS:
- Spring 2024: 1 to 31 January; Theme: Generation
- Summer 2024: 1 to 30 April; Theme: Vibration
- Autumn 2024: 1 to 31 July; Theme: Migration
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: No simultaneous submissions.
- FORMS: poetry, articles, fiction, essays, other prose, artwork, photography
- PAYMENT: two copies
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/13190/amsterdam-quarterly
BALLOONS Lit. Journal
- LOCATION: Hong Kong
- READING PERIODS: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, artwork
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/16328/balloons-lit-journal
Brittle Paper
- LOCATION: Nigeria
- READING PERIOD: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: Per Washington Square Review: “this wonderful African literary blog and literary journal is not affiliated with Nigeria alone--it's representative of a wide range of African authors from many different African countries”
- FORMS: “fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, book reviews, essays, literary commentaries, fun listicles, and any writing with a literary bent”
- PAYMENT: unknown
Bosphorus Review of Books
- LOCATION: Istanbul, Turkey
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Open year-round
- FORMAT: online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- FORMS: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, book reviews
EgoPHobia [????????]
- LOCATION: Romania
- READING PERIODS: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, nonfiction
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/6568/egophobia
Expanded Field
- LOCATION: Netherlands
- READING PERIODS: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, experiments
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/24121/expanded-field
Going Down Swinging
- LOCATION: Australia
- READING PERIODS: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, prose, comics
- PAYMENT:
- Prose under 500 words $60
- Prose over 500 words $170
- Poem $100
- Comic (less than 5 frames) $180
- Comic (longer than 5 frames/demonstrative of extensive effort) $220
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/758/going-down-swinging
Ilanot Review
- LOCATION: Israel
- READING PERIOD: Rolling deadlines. (re-opening in Sept. 2019)
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- 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
The Kalahari Review
- LOCATION: Botswana
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: no simultaneous submissions
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, non-fiction, personal essay, photography, visual art — etc. that explores modern Africa and Africans, including from the Diaspora
- PAYMENT: None
Kyoto Journal
- LOCATION: Kyoto
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: Asia-related articles, essays, reportage, personal observations, interviews, poetry, reviews, fiction, humor, and translation
- PAYMENT: Free print issue
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/1393/kyoto-journal
Lolwe
- LOCATION: Kenya
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC: They publish work by Black (African, Caribbean, Diaspora) artists.
- FORMS: fiction, literary criticism, personal essays, photography, and poetry
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/35355/lolwe-magazine
Malahat Review
- LOCATION: Canada
- READING PERIOD: Rolling deadlines. Special issue calls.
- SUBMISSION FEE: NONE
- NOTES: The Malahat Review, established in 1967, is among Canada’s leading literary journals. Published quarterly, it features contemporary Canadian and international works
- FORMS: poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction
- PAYMENT: “We pay CAD$70 per published page plus a one-year print subscription and two copies of the issue in which your work appears. Contest winners receive a fixed prize instead of a per-page payment (see below for prize amounts). We purchase first world serial print and digital rights for publication in English; copyright remains with the author.”
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/355
Mediterranean Poetry
- LOCATION: Sweden
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- REPRINTS: Okay
- THEME: poetry/prose inspired i some way or the other by the Mediterranean world
- FORMS: poetry and short prose
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/14230/mediterranean-poetry
Moko Magazine
- LOCATION: Virgin Islands
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- THEME: Caribbean heritage or experience
- FORMS: fiction, poetry, visual arts, and nonfiction essays
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/20624/moko-magazine
New Contrast
- LOCATION: South Africa
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: NONE
- NOTES: “New Contrast is devoted mainly to publishing original work by South African writers, and other activities incidental to that.”
- “Our readership is primarily English or Afrikaans speaking, so we accept submissions in English and Afrikaans. We will consider submissions in other languages if they are accompanied by a translation.”
- FORMS: poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/8615
The Ofi Press Magazine
- LOCATION: Mexico City
- READING PERIODS: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: No simultaneous submissions.
- FORMS: poems, short stories, translations
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/5423/ofi-press-magazine
Plato’s Caves
- LOCATION: India
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, reviews and articles on society, culture and politics
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/26991/platos-caves-online
Poetry Salzburg
- LOCATION: Salzburg, Austria
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: No simultaneous submissions. Email and postal submissions. “Our intention is to publish the best available writing from a variety of writers. Due to the amount and high quality of work we receive, potential contributors are strongly encouraged to read the magazine prior to submitting their work.”
- FORMS: poems, translations, interviews, essays and reviews of recent collections of poetry
- PAYMENT: “All contributors are going to receive a complimentary copy of the issue that contains their work.”
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/4483
Pratik
- LOCATION: Nepal
- READING PERIOD: Year-round
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews and translations
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/33211/pratik-magazine-contemporary-writing
QLRS: Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
- LOCATION: Singapore
- READING PERIOD: Rolling
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: no simultaneous submissions
- FORMS: poetry or short stories
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/3500/qlrs-quarterly-literary-review-singapore
Raising Mothers
- LOCATION: Netherlands
- READING PERIOD: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None, donation suggested
- NOTES: femme-identifying, women, and nonbinary POC writers who parents
- FORMS: traditional fiction, flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, interviews, book reviews, photo essays, and comic/graphic narratives
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/21067/raising-mothers
Samjoko
- LOCATION: South Korea
- READING PERIOD: Check site for next reading period
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/33188/samjoko
Sand
- LOCATION: Berlin
- READING PERIOD: Submissions are open from May 1 – July 15 and from November 1 – January 15.
- SUBMISSION FEE: NONE
- NOTES: “SAND is an English literary journal printed bi-annually in Berlin, featuring prose and poetry as well as translations, art, and photography. We collaborate with musicians, literary festivals, and artist cooperatives to hold regular events in the city. We seek to offer a printed space for art and literature in Berlin’s international community and beyond.”
- FORMS: short stories, poetry, flash fiction, creative nonfiction essays, photography, drawing, painting, etc.
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/5860
The Shallow Tales Review
- LOCATION: Nigeria
- READING PERIODS: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: Fast response and publication
- FORMS: fiction, book reviews, poems, one-act plays, cultural and social essays, art photographs, and translations that touch on the sensibilities of the African
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/31956/the-shallow-tales-review
Sonic Boom
- LOCATION: India
- READING PERIODS: Feb 1 – March 1, June 1 – July 1, Oct 1 – Nov 1
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: “We hope to integrate multifarious genres of literature and artwork including Japanese short-forms of poetry, experimental, avant-garde poetry and postmodern works of culture and art.”
- FORMS: experimental poetry, Japanese short-forms, flash fiction, and visual art
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/17197
Takahe Magazine
- LOCATION: New Zealand
- READING PERIOD: Always Open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: Does not accept simultaneous submissions, except for fiction.
- “Founded in 1989, takahe magazine publishes short stories, poetry and art, as well as essays, interviews, and book reviews in related areas. Many of Aotearoa New Zealand’s brightest literary talents made their first public appearance within our pages, and we remain committed to publishing the best work from emerging talents alongside that of established writers and artists.”
- FORMS: art, essays, fiction, poetry, and reviews
- PAYMENT: “Payment for published work is NZ$35 for the first poem and NZ$25 for each additional poem. Payments are via bank transfer domestically. Payments to contributors outside Aotearoa New Zealand are via PayPal and may not be possible where there are excessive fees.”
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/1621/takahe-magazine
The Tiger Moth Review
- LOCATION: Singapore
- READING PERIOD:
- July issue: Submit between February and April
- January issue: Submit between August and October
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: only accepts submissions from writers who have learned or acquired the English language after being fluent in another language
- FORMS: fiction, poetry, visual art
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/25872/the-tiger-moth-review
Tint Journal
- LOCATION: Austria
- READING PERIOD: Check site for submission calls
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- NOTES: only accepts submissions from writers who have learned or acquired the English language after being fluent in another language
- FORMS: art, short stories, creative nonfiction, flash fiction, flash nonfiction and poetry
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/29723/tint-journal
Two Thirds North
- LOCATION: Sweden
- READING PERIOD: Always open
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, short stories, essays, author features, and art
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/6397/two-thirds-north
The Wild World
- LOCATION: Germany
- READING PERIOD: Check site for open reading periods and themes
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: poetry, flash fiction
- PAYMENT: None
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/21973/the-wild-word
The Wise Owl
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always open
- FORMAT: Online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: We are offering a free, hassle-free platform for publication of poems, stories, non-fiction pieces, reviews, paintings, photographs etc. As we are not generating income, we do not offer money for contributions.
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Monthly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Immediate
- SUBMISSION METHOD: email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, but we publish only one work of a writer/artist in one edition, If we like more than one submission, we publish it in one of the subsequent editions.
- FORMS: Poetry, Fiction (short stories-all genres), Non-Fiction (Travelogues, Essays/critiques, Musings), Reviews (Films, OTT releases & Books), Art work (paintings, illustrations, graphic designs, photographs, sculptures & short films of 5-10 min duration)
Woolgathering
- LOCATION: Philippines
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always Open
- FORMAT: online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Less than a week
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Prose, poetry, and artwork
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/33429/woolgathering-review
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