This curated list includes over 100 literary magazines and journals that meet these criteria. Many have been featured on my website. Be sure to check each publication’s guidelines before submitting, as policies may change or submission windows may close temporarily.
Whether you’re just starting out or refining your submission strategy, these journals offer a low-barrier, high-reward way to share your work with the literary world.
Why Fast Responses Matter
- Creative momentum — Quick replies help writers stay engaged with their work and submission goals. A response within weeks (or even days) can inspire the next round of submissions or revisions.
- Timely themes — If your work responds to current events or seasonal topics, fast turnaround times increase the chance of publication while the subject is still relevant. See my list 11 lit mags/journals for current event poems.
- Less emotional fatigue — Long waits can be discouraging. Fast responses reduce the emotional toll and uncertainty of the submission process.
- More feedback cycles — Faster rejections or acceptances allow writers to submit to more places over time, increasing chances of publication and growth.
Bonus: Some Pay!
While most fast-response, no-fee journals do not offer payment, a growing number do. This list highlights those that compensate contributors, whether with honorariums, contributor copies, or prize opportunities. Look for notes like “Payment: Yes” or “Contributor copies provided” in the listings.
Additional Bonus List via Chill Subs!
This list from Chill Subs automatically updates!
Literary Magazines with the Fastest Response Times – “Impatient? These mags have the fastest response times, so you won’t be left hanging for months. You’ll get a quick “yes” or “no,” and let’s be real, that’s a win in itself. No more endless waiting—you know—regular waiting. We kept it to mags with 50+ tracked submissions to be safe.”
Detailed Listings
Citron Review
- SUBMISSION DATES:
- All genres read submissions from February 1st until about December 6th
- Summer break from July 2 – July 31
- They may close to submissions early if they reach their quota. Check before submitting.
- FORMAT: Online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Quarterly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 2 – 3 months
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, X (Twitter)
- LISTINGS: Chill Subs, Duotrope
Entrance Journal
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 1, 2026
- Will reopen June 21, 2026
- THEME(S): Altered states!
- FORMAT: Online and audio podcast
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Twice a year on the solstices
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1-3 months
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Poetry, Artwork
- LISTINGS: Duotrope
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram
Fahmidan Journal
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Open year-round
- FORMAT: online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: $35
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Quarterly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Max 25 day response time (usually less)
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry
- LISTINGS: Duotrope, Chill Subs, CLMP
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter), TikTok
Gyroscope Review
- READING PERIODS:
- Spring issue: January 15 – March 1
- Summer issue: April 1 – June 1
- Fall Crone Power issue: July 1 – September 1
- Winter issue: October 1 – December 1
- THEME(S): The Spring Issue usually has a theme alongside regular submissions
- FORMAT: electronic (PDF), print on demand, Kindle
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: No payment at this time
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Quarterly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 8 -10 weeks
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Poetry Only
- SOCIAL MEDIA: We announce all deadlines and info on social media. Follow us!
- Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/16463/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
Lucky Jefferson
- DEADLINE: Check site for reading periods
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMAT: Print and Online
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: quarterly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 3 – 4 weeks
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable; Students may email us submissions
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: yes
- PAYMENT: 1 complimentary copy of the issue
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/27483/lucky-jefferson
Luna Luna
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always open unless otherwise specified on the site, 11 poets published per month
- THEME(S): We want monstrous feelings. Give us the transgressive, the obsessive, yearning, place, country, old rooms, worship, the Mediterranean, spaces you’ve left behind, selves you’ve abandoned, obsessions, the subtly erotic, the transition between eras and seasons, nostalgia, putrid lemons, afternoon light, ruminations, fathomless desire, the fight between the holy and unholy, the ancients and saints, folklore and the spiritual, the dark edges of faith, girlhood, gore, & the body.
- FORMAT: Online only
- SUBMISSION FEE: No fee, ever.
- PAYMENT: No payment.
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: 11 poets per month.
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1 month.
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Via email. lunalunamag@gmail.com
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Poetry and Poetry Book Reviews
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – Instagram – X (Twitter)
- LISTINGS: Chill Subs – Duotrope – Poets & Writers
Lunch Ticket
- DEADLINE: Rolling
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 2-3 months
- FORMAT: Online
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
- FORMS: Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Flash Prose, Poetry, Translation, Visual Art, Young Adult (13+)
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/magazine/lunch-ticket-7376 (includes interview with the editors).
Micromance Magazine
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Open Year Round
- Scheduling is 4 to 5 months out, so if you have any seasonal pieces keep that in mind – for instance, now is the time to send in a Fourth of July piece…Come July/August, the call will come out for holiday pieces… but if you don’t mind when your story or poem publishes, send them on in.
- THEME(S): Romance, Love Stories
- FORMAT: Online with some print anthologies
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: No Payment at this time
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: We publish a story or poem 6 days a week
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: I strive for 30 days or sooner, but at most 45 days
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: NO
- FORMS: Flash Fiction, Drabble, Poetry
- LISTINGS: Chill Subs, Duotrope, CLMP
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter)
New Verse News
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always Open
- THEME(S): Current events
- FORMAT: Blogspot and Substack
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Very fast, within a week
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: No
- REPRINTS: No.
- FORMS: Poetry
NonBinary Review
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- FORMS: short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, visual art
- FORMAT: electronic only, with podcast of selections from the issue
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: quarterly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 30 – 45 days
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
- PAYMENT: 1¢ per word for prose, $10 flat fee for poetry, $25 flat fee for art, or $50 for art selected as cover image
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/14354/nonbinary-review
ONE ART
- SUBMISSION DEADLINES: Always open
- FORMAT: online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Daily posts
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1 – 5 days
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Please refrain (response time is typically 1 – 5 days)
- FORMS: poetry
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
The Penn Review
- SUBMISSION DEADLINES: Varies, check site
- FORMAT: online and annual print issue
- SUBMISSION FEE: None for regular submissions ($10 for prize submissions)
- PAYMENT: While we do not offer payment to our contributors, we occasionally host Poetry, Prose & Art Prizes that offer $500 to award 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: Submittable
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: We accept Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, and Art submissions.
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/22551/the-penn-review
Pine Hills Review
- SUBMISSION DEADLINES: Varies, check site
- FORMAT: Online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: No Payment
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: We publish new work every Wednesday and sometimes again on weekends.
- All the accepted pieces for the Mall special feature will be published on September 1st.
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1-3 months
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction, Hybrid, Artwork
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky
- LISTINGS: CLMP, Chill Subs, Duotrope
Radar Poetry
- READING PERIODS: November 1 – December 1 and March 1 – April 1
- FORMS: Poetry
- SUBMISSION FEE: None during free reading period, once the free submission cap is reached, they accept $3.00 “Tip Jar” submissions for the remainder of the reading period.
- FORMAT: Online
- PAYMENT: None for regular submissions
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: 3 per year
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Within 60 days
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/13590/radar-poetry
Rogue Agent
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always Open
- FORMAT: Online
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Monthly on the 1st of the month
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 4-8 weeks
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Poetry and Artwork
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/16938/rogue-agent-journal
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram
Sonic Boom
- READING PERIODS:
- January 1 – January 15: Issue will be published by the end of January
- March 1 – March 15: Issue will be published by the end of March
- April 15 – April 30: Submission window for World Collage Day. Curated collages will be published on May 11
- ?May 1 – June 30: Our imprint Yavanika Press will remain open for e-chapbook submissions.
- June 1 – June 15: Submission window for our Annual Visual Poetry Contest. Vispo Gallery will be published by the first week of July
- July 1 – July 15: Issue will be published by the end of July
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 3 weeks or sooner
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: No
- FORMS: Poems under 10 lines, Visual poems
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/17197 with editor interview
Thimble
- NEXT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 31. 2025
- READING PERIODS: Every month except January, April, July, and October.
- FORMAT: Online and print
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: Quarterly
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: about a month or two
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- FORMS: Poetry, prose, artwork, hybrid
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/25345/thimble-literary-magazine
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
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
Wailing & Gnashing
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always Open
- THEME(S): Anything and everything, but we have special love for anything raw and visceral, anything and about finding your voice, community, or self. Anything that speaks truth to power. You know, Punk Rock shit.
- FORMAT: Online now, hopefully print to come
- SUBMISSION FEE: Submitting to Wailing and Gnashing is, and will always be, free. We do appreciate donations, which can be venmo’d to @aamputah with the subject line “W&G Donation.”
- PAYMENT: None
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 3 months, but right now you can expect a much faster turnover. It’s the benefit of getting in on the ground floor!
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Online submission via form available at wailingandgnashing.com
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
- REPRINTS: We do accept work previously published in other journals so long as you maintain the rights to your work.
- FORMS: Poetry
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram
West Branch
- DEADLINE: Aug 1 – April 1
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: Payment is awarded for accepted works in the amount of $100 per submission of poetry, and $.10/word for prose with a maximum payment of $200. Additionally, we provide each contributor with two copies of the issue in which his/her work appears and a one-year subscription to West Branch.
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 6 weeks
- FORMS: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation
Wildness
- DEADLINE: Rolling
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: None
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1 – 2 weeks
- FORMAT: online
- FORMS: poetry and prose
- DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/17771/wildness
Whittle
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Year round
- THEME(S): Open, but a cohesive theme is required.
- FORMAT: PDF
- SUBMISSION FEE: None
- PAYMENT: Authors receive all proceeds, minus website processing fees.
- ISSUE FREQUENCY: 4 – 5 collections a year
- AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1 – 2 months
- SUBMISSION METHOD: Email, and please reference guidelines before submitting
- SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, please withdraw your work immediately if selected for publication elsewhere
- FORMS: Poetry, prose poetry
- SOCIAL MEDIA: Linktree
- LISTINGS: CLMP, Chill Subs, Duotrope
More Fast-Response Journals — Including Paying Markets
| Title | Payment |
| $: Poetry is Currency | Paying |
| 3Elements Literary Review | |
| AC | DC: A Journal for the Bent | |
| Action, Spectacle (Charges fees for some submissions) | |
| Amethyst Review: New Writing Engaging with the Sacred | |
| Anthropocene Poetry Journal (Charges fees for some submissions) | |
| Antiphony Journal (Antiphony Press) | |
| Asterales: A Journal of Arts and Letters | |
| B O D Y | |
| Belladonna’s Garden Literary Magazine | |
| Bending Genres: An Innovative Online Journal | |
| Centaur | Paying |
| Chestnut Review (Charges fees for some submissions) | Paying |
| Cosmic Daffodil Journal | |
| diode poetry journal | |
| Dishsoap Quarterly | |
| DreamForge Magazine / DreamForge Anvil | Paying |
| Eunoia Review | |
| Fahmidan Journal | Paying |
| Fifth Wheel Press Blog | Paying |
| Fifth Wheel Press | Paying |
| Gone Lawn: a journal of word-things | |
| Granules (Mouthful of Salt) | |
| HAD | |
| HALSEY Literary Reader (Rockwood Press) | Paying |
| Ink In Thirds | Paying |
| Innisfree Poetry Journal | |
| JAKE: The Anti Literary Magazine | |
| January House Literary Journal | |
| JMWW (Charges fees for some submissions) | |
| Lake Effect: An International Literary Journal | Provides copies |
| Luna Luna Magazine | |
| Maudlin House Journal (Maudlin House Press) | |
| MEMEZINE | Paying |
| Midway Journal (Charges fees for some submissions) | |
| Moist Poetry Journal | |
| Neologism Poetry Journal | |
| Neon & Smoke | |
| New Verse Review | |
| ONE ART: a journal of poetry | |
| ONLY POEMS Poem of the Month | Paying |
| Paratextos | |
| Password: the journal of very short poetry | |
| Pictura Journal | Paying |
| Pine Hills Review | |
| Poetry Online (Charges fees for some submissions) | Paying |
| Radar Poetry (Charges fees for some submissions) | |
| Rat Bag Lit (Charges fees for some submissions) | Paying |
| Rust & Moth: A Journal of Poetry and The Arts | |
| Salvation South | |
| San Pedro River Review (Blue Horse Press) | Provides copies |
| scaffold literary magazine | |
| Stanchion Magazine | Provides copies |
| Star*Line (Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association) | Paying |
| Strange Hymnal | |
| The Genre Society | |
| The Inflectionist Review | |
| The Lascaux Review | Paying |
| The Muleskinner Journal | |
| The National Poetry Review | |
| The New Verse News | |
| The Orange & Bee | Paying |
| The Penn Review | |
| The Quasar Review | |
| The Shore | |
| The Woolf | |
| Thimble Literary Magazine | |
| Third Wednesday | Provides copies |
| Trampoline: A Journal of Poetry | |
| trampset | Paying |
| Unbroken: Prose Poems (Ambidextrous Bloodhound Productions) | |
| Up the Staircase Quarterly | |
| Variant Literature Journal (Variant Literature Press) | Paying |
| Wildness | |
| wildscape. literary journal | |
| Writers Resist MATURE | Paying |
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