Storyville: Where to Send Your Stories

(UPDATED 8/23/23)

This is going to be a long article filled with lots of names and numbers, but I think when you really soak it all up and study the various genres, it won’t be as intimidating and overwhelming as you may think. I can remember attending my first AWP conference (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) in NYC back in 2008. I walked into the book fair and almost had a panic attack. AWP is one of the largest writing conferences in the nation, and the tables, the people—there were THOUSANDS of writers and editors and publications. For hours I walked around and talked to people at well-known places like Tin House and W. W. Norton, as well as smaller independents like Dzanc Books and Hobart. I filled up my briefcase with journals, magazines and books, spending hundreds of dollars. But by the end of the week, I felt like I had seen a lot, absorbed a great deal—and I realized that it was finite, not endless. I could actually wrap my head around the idea, the scope of publishing in the 21st century. And that’s a good thing.

IT’S PERSONAL

Your approach to publishing is going to be very specific, and personal—these are your goals, your hopes and dreams, your aspirations. Whatever advice I give you today, whatever lists I make, these are based on my needs. Yes, I will try to represent the best publications across many different genres, the main genres, but in the end, I can only talk about journals, magazines, and websites that appeal to me. You may not like the places I list, or they may not be appropriate for your work. In the end it’s up to YOU to do the research, to make your own lists, and to start building a network around your writing that will hopefully, ultimately, support your writing career.

YOUR GOALS

You need to figure out what’s important to you. Do you need to get paid, and how much? Do you want to be in print or online (there are benefits to both)? Do you write in one genre or many? Do you want to publish exclusively in print journals to beef up your CV? Are you chasing elite white whales that have an acceptance rate of less than 1%? These are all valid goals—so just make sure that you are very aware of what you want to do. Don’t compare your goals, or your successes (or failures) to other writers, here at LR or out in the world—it will drive you crazy. Be patient, be thorough, and have fun with it. Nobody can support your writing like you can.

MY APPROACH

I’ll be very brief about this, but I wanted to share my approach to submitting. Basically, when I’m done with a story, I think about where it should go. And not every story I write is submitted to the same place. I know that a horror story that would be great for Cemetery Dance is not something I should send to The Missouri Review. Once I figure out the genre (or genres) for my story, I go over my list at Duotrope (yes, pay the $50, yes use all of their features) and searching WITHIN my favorites (300+ publications) I narrow it down and sort it by pay and tiers. What does that mean? Yes, I want to get paid, and more often these days that is my top priority, but I’m also realistic, and I’d rather publish a story in an elite magazine and not get paid than not publish at all. I do set a minimum, I know “how low” I want to go with a story, and I never submit to anyplace that makes me feel like I’m settling. I send my stories to the best publications—I always start at the top, so that means the best pay, the most prestigious, the hardest to get into, and then I work my way down. By down, I mean less pay, and less pay, until there is no pay, but again, never settling for anyplace that I don’t deem worthy. I send my stories far and wide, usually hitting 10 markets at a time, at least. Sometimes I’ll get accepted in days, but more likely it’ll take months. Be patient, and take note—simultaneous submissions are your friend.

WHERE I’VE PUBLISHED

Before I give you the list of where I want to be, I thought it might be helpful to show you where I’ve been. I’ve published over 170 stories, online and in print. Here is where my stories have gone. As you’ll see, I started out at smaller publications and worked my way up. Unfortunately, some of the places I’ve published at are no longer around.  When I say AT it typically means online, when I say IN it typically means print (or digital, such as PDF or eBook). Dates are for publication. I try to get pro pay or higher these days (2018 on). [Currently 176 total—125 original stories, 47 reprints, 4 non-fiction. 79 in collections.]

2024

1. “Choose Your Own Demise” with Repo Kempt in Qualia Nous 2 (Written Backwards)

2023

1. “The Caged Bird Sings in a Darkness of Its Own Creation” in Pulp Literature #38 (reprint) 
2. "Kindred Spirits" in Reflections (Lycan Valley Press Publications)
3. "Battle Not With Monsters" in Cemetery Dance #78
4. “The Keeper of the Light” The Fiends in the Furrows III: Final Harvest (Nosetouch Books)
5. "An Unusual Pedigree" in Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao (Journalstone)
6. "Oscillation" in Lightspeed #TBD
7. “Ripples in a Pond” in Deathrealm: Spirits (Shortwave Publishing)

2022

1. "Peripheral Vision" in The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors (Bad Hand Books)
2. “From Within” in Weird Horror (Flame Tree Press) (reprint)
3. “The H Word: Pacing in Horror” in Nightmare Magazine (non-fiction)
4. “Shackled to the Shadows” in Shallow Waters: A Flash Fiction Anthology (Halloween Edition) (Crystal Lake Publishing) (reprint)
5. “Chrysalis” in Alternative Holidays (B Cubed Press) (reprint)

2021

1. "Saudade" in PRISMS (PS Publishing) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
2. “Rotten to the Core” in Liminal Spaces (Cemetery Gates Media)  

2020

1. "How Not to Come Undone" XVIII (Underland Press) (reprint)
2. “Chrysalis” in Christmas Horror, Volume Three (Dark Regions Press) (reprint)
3. “Little Red Wagon” at Cossmass Infinities (reprint)
4. "In His House" in The Nightside Codex (Silent Motorist Media)
5. "Gandaberunda" in Shallow Waters, Volume Six (Crystal Lake Publishing) (reprint)
6. "Requital" in One of Us (Bloodshot Books) (reprint)

2019

1. "Golden Sun" in Chiral Mad 4 (Written Backwards) (novelette) with Michael Wehunt, Damien Angelica Walters, and Kristi DeMeester in Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eleven (reprint)
2. "Undone" in Gorgon: Stories of Emergence (Pantheon Magazine) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
3. "Open Waters" in When the Clock Strikes 13 (In Your Face Books)
4. "The Caged Bird Sings in a Darkness of Its Own Creation" in Shallow Creek (STORGY)
5. "Clown Face" in Greasepaint and 45s (Down & Out Books)
6. "Ring of Fire" (novelette) in The Seven Deadliest (Cutting Block Books)
7. "In the Shadows" in The Field Guide to Evil (MONDO / Alamo Drafthouse)
8. "The H Word: How The Witch and Get Out Helped Usher in the New Wave of Elevated Horror" Nightmare (non-fiction)
9. "Love Letters" in Shallow Waters: A Flash Fiction Anthology (Crystal Lake) (reprint)
10. “Danielle Descends” for Gotham Ghostwriters, on Twitter
11. “Richard Returns” for Gotham Ghostwriters, on Twitter
12. “Martin Migrates” for Gotham Ghostwriters, on Twitter
13. "Urgent! Do Not Delete." in Trickster's Treats #3: The Seven Deadly Sins 509 (reprint)
14. "Love Letters" in Trickster's Treats #3: The Seven Deadly Sins 509 (reprint)

2018

1. "White Picket Fences" at Hypnos (reprint)
2. "Urgent! Do Not Delete." in 13 Dark Project
3. "Golden Sun" in Chiral Mad 4 (Written Backwards) (novelette) with Michael Wehunt, Damien Angelica Walters, and Kristi DeMeester 
4. "Requital" in Lost Highways (Crystal Lake)
5. "The Many Faces of Horror: Craft Techniques" (non-fiction) in It's Alive: Bringing Your Nightmares to Life
    

2017

1. "How Not to Come Undone" at The Writing Disorder (reprint)
2. "Nodus Tollens" in Deciduous Tales (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
3. "Hiraeth" in Behold! Oddities Curiosities and Undefinable Wonder (Crystal Lake Publishing) 
4. "The Many Faces of Horror: Story Techniques" (non-fiction) Where Nightmares Come from: The Art of Storytelling in the Horror Genre
5. "White Picket Fences" in Tales from the Shadow Booth (reprint)
6. “Vision Quest” at Norwegian American (reprint)
7. "The Offering on the Hill" at Gamut (reprint)
8. "Repent" at Gamut (reprint)

2016

1. "How Not to Come Undone" in Blue Monday Review
2. "Repent" in Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories (Crystal Lake Publishing) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
3. "The Offering on the Hill" in Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
4. "Golden Geese" novella in The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books)
5. “Little Red Wagon” in Unoriginal #3 (reprint) 2,566

2015

1. "Little Red Wagon" at The Writing Disorder (reprint)
2. "Twenty Reasons to Stay and One to Leave" in Blue Monday Review (reprint)
3. "From Within" at Cease, Cows (reprint) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
4. "Shackled to the Shadows" in Truth or Dare? (PMMP)
5. "Chasing Ghosts" in Cemetery Dance
6. "From Within" in Slave Stories: Scenes from the Slave State (Omnium Gatherum) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year AND the Million Writers Award) 

2014

1. "Tinkering With The Moon" at Goreyesque 
2. "Chrysalis" in XIII (Underland Press)
3. "Fireflies" in Spark: A Creative Anthology (reprint)
4. "Surrender" in The Sirens Call eZine (reprint)
5. "Sugar and Spice" in CCLap Journal 
6. "The God of War" in Pantheon Magazine 
7. "Homecoming" in 22 More Quick Shivers
8. "White Picket Fences" in Shadows Over Main Street (Hazardous Press) (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year) 
9. "Balance Sheet" in Penumbra 
10. "Asking for Forgiveness" at Menacing Hedge (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
11. "Dance, Darling" in The Oddville Press
12. "Little Red Wagon" in Litro 
13. "Moving Heavy Objects" at storySouth 
14. "Bringing in the Sheaves" in Dead Harvest (reprint)
15. "The Jenny Store" in Qualia Nous (reprint) (Written Backwards)
16. “Descent” at ManArchy (reprint)
17. “Because the Night” in Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen (Gutter Press)
18. "Gandaberunda" at ManArchy (reprint)
19. “Trinity” in Revenge of the Scammed 1,198 (reprint)

2013

1. "Kiss Off" at Parable Press 
2. "The Fix-It Man" at Black Heart Magazine 
3. "Garage Sales" in Midwestern Gothic 
4. "Bringing In the Sheaves" in Sanitarium Magazine (reprint)
5. "Love Letters" at Cease, Cows (reprint)
6. "Trinity" in Reloaded: Both Barrels (Vol. 2) 
7. "Head Like a Hole" in Pantheon Magazine 
8. "Vision Quest" at Parable Press (reprint)
9. "Flowers for Jessica" at MAYDAY Magazine (reprint)
10. "Herniated Roots" in Long Distance Drunks
11. "Death Knell" in Bleed
12. "Playing With Fire" in Chiral Mad 2 (Written Backwards)
13. "Divining" at Revolt Daily (reprint)
14. "Rapture" in Pantheon Magazine
15. "Wicker Park Pause" at Revolt Daily (reprint)
16. "Gandaberunda" at Shotgun Honey
17. "This is How It Ends, My Love" in Vignettes from the End of the World
18. "Flowers for Jessica" in Gaia: Shadow & Breath (reprint)
19. "Bury Me Deep" at The Big Adios
20. "Victimized" in The Best of the Horror Society
21. "The Culling" in Fear the Reaper (Crystal Lake Publishing)
22. "Dance, Darling" in Cipher Sisters
23. "Surrender" in The Booked Anthology
24. "Bloodline" in Daddy Cool (Artistically Declined Press)
25. "Chrysalis" in Arcadia
26. “Descent” at We Are Vespertine

2012    

1. "Flowers for Jessica" in Weird Fiction Review #3 (Centipede Press)
2. "Fireflies" at Circa Review (reprint)
3. "Ten Steps" at The Dying Goose (reprint)
4. "Something's Broken" at Flywheel Magazine
5. "Bringing In the Sheaves" at Beat the Dust
6. “On a Bent Nail Head” in Nova Parade (Solarcide)
7. "Divining" in Curbside Splendor #3
8. "Tinkering With the Moon" in Gargoyle #58
9. "Fireflies" in Polluto #9 (long-listed for Best Horror of the Year)
10. "Rudy Jenkins Buries His Fears" in Slices of Flesh (Dark Moon Books)
11. "Dyer" at Beat to a Pulp
12. "The Handyman" at Conjectural Figments
13. "Misty" at ManArchy
14. “Jimmy Five Ways” at Punchnel’s (contest finalist)
15. “Vision Quest” at The Surreal Grotesque
16. “Cassandra Left Behind” at Thickjam
17. "The Wastelands” in Into the Darkness (Necro Publishing)

2011    

1. "Wicker Park Pause" in One Buck Horror (contest winner)
2. “Charlotte Sometimes” at ZOUCH (contest runner-up)
3. "Transmogrify" in Dark Moon Presents: Vampires (Dark Moon Books) (reprint)
4. "The Jenny Store" in In Search Of a City: L.A. in 1,000 Words (Thunderdome)
5. "Kiss Off" in Emprise Review #21
6. "Buried" at Rotten Leaves
7. “Transmogrify” in Terror Scribes (Dog Horn Publishing) (reprint)
8. "Death Knell" at Thunderdome
9. "Twenty Reasons to Stay and One to Leave" at Metazen (Pushcart Prize nomination)
10. "Love Letters" at Cannoli Pie
11. "Underground Wonder Bound" in Noir at the Bar, Volume 1 (reprint)
12. "Seeing Red" in Crime Factory #7
13. "Say Yes to Pleasure" in Warmed and Bound
14. "Herniated Roots" in Speedloader (Snubnose Press)    
15. "Daybreak" at Stepaway Magazine
16. "After She Has Gone" at Shotgun Honey
17. "Gateway" at Dirty Noir
18. "Ten Steps" at ChiZine (The Chiaroscuro)    
19. "Splintered" at PANK
20. "Stillness" in Shivers VI (Cemetery Dance)
21. "Victimized" in Murky Depths #15
22. "Terrapin Station" in Pear Noir #5
23. "Again" at Leodegraunce
24. “Stephen King Ate My Brain” at Nefarious Muse
25. “Fool Me Once” at Blink-Ink
26. “Carve Away Everything That Isn’t a Turtle” at Blink-Ink

2010    

1. "Released" at Outsider Writers Collective
2. "Transmogrify" in Eternal Night: A Vampire Anthology (Living Dead Press)
3. "Condemned" at Cherry Bleeds

2009    

1. "Everything is Beautiful" at Troubadour 21
2. "Dishwater Blonde" in Sideshow Fables (as Gordon Hurstgreen)
3. "Maker of Flight" at ChiZine (contest winner)
4. "Honor" in Colored Chalk #10
5. "Interview" at Troubadour 21
6. "Your Enemies Will Devour You" in The Oddville Press
7. "Paying Up" in Colored Chalk #8
8. "A Bird in the Hand" at 3:AM Magazine
9. "Three Mistakes" at Word Riot
10. "Twenty-Dollar Bill" in Colored Chalk #7
11. "Unzipped" at Dogmatika
12. "Underground Wonder Bound" in Vain #5
13. "Freedom" at Nefarious Muse
14. "Fate" in Cause & Effect #5 

2008    

1. "Amazement" in Colored Chalk #5
2. "Fringe" in Colored Chalk #4
3. "Fallible" in Colored Chalk #3
4. "Committed" in Colored Chalk #2
5. "Steel-Toed Boots" in Colored Chalk #1
6. "Redemption" in Gold Dust Magazine #15
7. "Animal Magnetism" at Opium Magazine

THE MARKETS

Okay, here are the lists. I’m going to add my BIG LIST at the end of this article, but for now I’m going to break it down by genre. Obviously there will be some overlap, so keep that in mind. I’m searching only for short stories, so for flash, novellas, etc. just be aware of this. Most places that take flash fiction also take short stories.

Doing a quick search on Duotrope, there are 256 professional paying markets (.05 a word and up). Of those, there are 28 for horror, 43 for fantasy, 17 for crime/thrillers, and 189 for literary fiction. Obviously there are a lot more literary markets out there, about 2,000 according to my searches, with only about 10% paying professional rates. There are about 139 that pay semi-pro rates (.01-.05 a word) and 104 that pay token rates (.01 a word or less). That leaves about 1,600 literary markets that do not pay anything—just something to chew on. Of my personal list of favorites (356 markets, across many genres) there are 63 that pay something, with 21 paying professional rates, 13 paying semi, and 15 paying token rates. I have a total of 220 literary markets in my favorites list, so that leaves a whopping 157 that don’t pay anything at all. And this is a list of publications that, in theory, are all top-notch magazines and journals, all places I want to be. We’ve been talking about pay rates lately at Lit Reactor so just keep some of these numbers in mind. (Favorites get an asterisk * next to the name.)

HORROR

I have 262 markets listed for horror. Of them, 32 pay pro rates, 53 semi to pro, 81 at token rates, leaving 96 that don’t pay at all. I’m only going to talk about semi pro and higher here, the rest will be on the big list:

GENERAL THOUGHTS: Clarkesworld is elite, Black Static is very cool. Cemetery Dance is fantastic (often closed, and very slow), The Dark, Nightmare, and Lamplight are great. On my list of non-paying, I’ve published at Beat to a Pulp, Conjectural Figments, and Surreal Grotesque. I also like Uncanny Valley and Hyperpulp. Newer markets are Augur, Flame Tree, and Vastarien, as well as Deadlands and Uncharted.

FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION

You will start to see some repeats here. Many publications that like dark fiction are open to fantasy/sci-fi, horror, and even crime/thrillers. I have 264 on my list, with 48 paying pro rates or above, 55 paying semi and up, 79 with a token payment, leaving 82 non-paying markets. Again, I’ll only list the semi and higher below.

GENERAL THOUGHTS: On places I haven’t already mentioned, I’m a big fan of F&SF. I don’t write as much F/SF as I do horror/neo-noir, so I know less about these markets. BUT, obviously Asimov and Analog are two big names, as is Tor (currently closed to submissions). Beneath Ceaseless Skies is cool. Lightspeed is a hot market. I forgot to mention Orson Scott Card’s website, but he’s a huge name in the business, but they only want content up to PG-13. Bourbon Penn is a little bit easier to get into, and I like them a lot.

MYSTERY/CRIME/THRILLERS

There are really very few markets for crime writers these days. That’s why it’s great to find a market that is open to fantasy, SF, horror and crime. You should be able to squeeze in there with dark fiction in general. I’m going to combine crime, mystery, thrillers and suspense into one category here, but be aware that there is a wide range within these 49 markets.  Only 3 pay pro rates, 11 at semi and up, 11 paying a token amount, and the rest paying nothing. Tough racket, these guys, but if anything, that will help you to focus.

GENERAL THOUGHTS: Hitchcock and EQ are the big names, but they are also pretty straight. I don’t think I have to say (or maybe I do) that you must do your research and READ what is in these various publications. Go to the library and check them out, buy them cheap at used bookstores, get a subscription, swap copies with friends, or read the work online. What Hitch and EQ want compared to Shroud is very different. Dark Intent is a new White Cat rag, and I dig them a lot. I really like Shroud a lot, too. Of the non-paying not listed, that I haven’t mentioned before, I’ve published at Flywheel, Punchnel’s, and Crime Factory, and really love Needle.

LITERARY FICTION

This is a huge list, so please do consult the BIG LIST later for more ideas. I’m going to make a couple of different sub-lists here, since there are hundreds of literary journals out there. A new policy that some journals are adopting is charging MANDATORY fees to submit. I’ve put an asterisk next to those. I don’t like this approach, but if the postage is the same, I MAY pay it.

Pro:

GENERAL THOUGHTS: Wow, what a list. But only 21 markets here, out of MY favorites. I’d pretty much love to publish with any of these. Tin House is not only cool, but also elite. Atlantic, New Yorker, Paris Review, impossible to get into, and I wonder if they actually do read the slush pile. I have sent many stories to Missouri Review and Ploughshares. All of these are very hard to get into.

Semi-Pro:

GENERAL THOUGHTS: Love Black Warrior. These are all very difficult to get into.

Semi:

GENERAL THOUGHTS: Cincinnati Review is open to some wild stuff, magical realism and whatnot. One Story is a great tiny independent rag that really carries a lot of weight.

THE MOST DIFFICULT

I just wanted to list the most exclusive markets at Duotrope to show you where some of the overlap is. (There’s also a list of EASIEST markets there, but you can do better than that).

Maybe you recognize a few of these from my previous lists, yeah? The top 25 and we’re still under 1% acceptance rate.

MY WHITE WHALES

This is my final list before the BIG LIST. It’s a list of the markets that have rejected my work the most. Obviously these are the people I’ve been going after, the publications that I most want to publish with, so maybe that will help you as well. Obviously, these are across various genres, so keep that in mind. Minimum inclusion on this list is FIVE rejections (the number next to the listing is how many stories of mine they have rejected). I was going to make a list of just “cool markets” but I think you can probably assume any listing you see on THIS list that wasn’t on any previous list—yeah, I think they’re cool and worthy of submission.

That’s quite a list, yeah? Painful stuff, but when I finally break through, it’ll be so fantastic.

THE BIG LIST

Well, here you go. I hope that everything leading up to this has helped. You don’t have to go to Duotrope.com, all of that information is out there, there are other sources, but I really love what they do, and find it easy to stay organized there. Try Ralan for speculative and New Pages for literary, if you must. This big list has publishers as well as journals, magazines and websites. It also notes where I have been accepted, and if they have closed. Most of those stories are still available, so I’ve left them on the list. Feel free to keep an eye on this list, as it is always evolving, being trimmed down, and beefed up, over at my blog.

Please feel free to post up any questions if I’ve missed something, or if you want more information on a particular publication. Enjoy! And start submitting! Make 2013 the year you break through. (NOTE: Not up to date.)

About the author

Richard Thomas is the award-winning author of seven books: three novels—Disintegration and Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi), as well as Transubstantiate (Otherworld Publications); three short story collections—Staring into the Abyss (Kraken Press), Herniated Roots (Snubnose Press), and Tribulations (Cemetery Dance); and one novella in The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books). With over 140 stories published, his credits include The Best Horror of the Year (Volume Eleven), Cemetery Dance (twice), Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders (Bram Stoker winner), PANK, storySouth, Gargoyle, Weird Fiction Review, Midwestern Gothic, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Qualia Nous, Chiral Mad (numbers 2-4), and Shivers VI (with Stephen King and Peter Straub). He has won contests at ChiZine and One Buck Horror, has received five Pushcart Prize nominations, and has been long-listed for Best Horror of the Year six times. He was also the editor of four anthologies: The New Black and Exigencies (Dark House Press), The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers (Black Lawrence Press) and Burnt Tongues (Medallion Press) with Chuck Palahniuk. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and Thriller awards. In his spare time he is a columnist at Lit Reactor and Editor-in-Chief at Gamut Magazine. His agent is Paula Munier at Talcott Notch. For more information visit www.whatdoesnotkillme.com.