Paying Markets for Poetry With No Submission Fees
Information about paying markets without submission fees that accept poetry submissions year round and on specific dates with links to sites.
“If people only read poetry, which you can never stop poets producing even when you pay them nothing at all, then the law of copyright would disappear in a trice.” — Tim Parks
A successful novelist can, with luck, make a sizable amount of money, as can a memoir writer (if he or she is fortunate to have lived through a psychotic break, multiple personalities, or had a family parent who was secretly in the mob which they only found out when said family member fled to some small island nation where there was no extradition, children in tow. A moderately talented painter can also do relatively well if a hotel chain or a bank discovers they like the artists seascapes, abstracts and local attractions or an entrepreneur with numerous buildings would like murals painted on all the outside walls. But few poets ever made a living from poetry.
In the past, they poets might be able to hope for a dinner invitation from some noblemen holed up in his castle with drunken guests he needed entertained, or even receive a title or small piece of land from a king after writing an epic poem attesting to his courage and various conquests and massacres.
But this sort of thing ended with Stalin and poets can no longer hope to cozy up to the rich and mighty and live the good life without a care thereafter. Even Robert Frost, who was one of the most celebrated figures in American poetry even in his lifetime popular couldn’t support himself through his art alone.
He and his wife tried many things to make a living including poultry farming and animal husbandry, all of which were unsuccessful. Frost ended up in a teaching position ,which he had to keep throughout his lifetime. As for the rest of our great poets, their combined income from poetry, if it were known, would likely make most non-poets shudder at their tendency to make barely more than pennies if they in fact made anything.
Medium is one of the only sites online that you can make any income from your poetry. While never an enormous amount as the platform focuses more on long form essays, recent changes to the earnings algorithm has made what poets could once earn even smaller for most of them. In an effort to find other income streams for poetry outside of Medium, I am going to begin composing a list of paying markets for poetry that don’t have submission fees. Some of these markets I am including only pay token amounts but a number pay professional fees.
Since I hate it when I find a list of markets that tell you next to nothing other than a due date, I will try to make this list as helpful as possible by including information that describes the market and what genre they they focus on, if it is other than general. Hopefully, that will help tell you which of these markets might be up your alley so you can focus on them first. I am also including some publications with genres that aren’t often seen in calls for poetry, such as speculative fiction, and some which seem to have a focus that would fit a number of writers whose work I have read on Medium or which have a theme common to poets on the platform.
In the first section, I’ve included publications that have a call for poetry in December or January for those who are raring to submit some of their work where there is the potential to make a little money. Then I’ve listed some markets that accept poetry year round. Finally, I’ve included a few literary magazines/journals that have a fast turnaround time averaging from 48 hours to a month.
It is my plan to update this list regularly, to make it timely in terms of set deadlines in addition to those that have rolling submissions. I also hope to include a variety of options such as translation, poetic forms, contests, anthologies, chapbooks etc. to make this as widely useful as possible. If there are options you’d like to know more about, (e.g. writing retreats for poets), please let me know in the comments.
Paying Poetry Markets Without Submission Fees
MARKETS WITH DEADLINES
Currently open for poetry, flash fiction, short stories, dramatic monologues, and creative nonfiction for their annual print anthology.
From the website: “Our focus is on the fearless, the unpredictable, and experimental but we do not have a set theme for our anthologies.
They accept 1–4 poems or any length that have never been published. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but not multiple submissions (in the same genre).
They provide two sites with interviews that include submission tips. Submission deadline is January 15th and submissions are free except for the last week (January 9 -15) during which they charge $3.
🔹 Modern Poetry in Translation
Currently open for general submissions until December 31, 2019.
From the site: “We only publish translations of poetry (and not original English-language poetry) and the translations must be previously unpublished. We welcome work from any age, but we have a preference for contemporary work. You are welcome to send submissions of up to six poems. You must be able to obtain rights for the reproduction of these translations both in MPT and online on our site. We pay a fee to our contributors.”
From the site: “EHS is an ezine dedicated to original poetry and short fiction about the Gods and Goddesses and heroes of the world’s many Pagan traditions. We’re looking for hymns to Odin and Inanna and Sekhmet. Prayers to Hermes and Brigid and Asherah. Short stories featuring (or otherwise referencing) Lugh and Yinepu and Hekate.
Every poetic form, from sonnet to rhyming couplet to free form, is acceptable. There is no set length. Any genre of short story is welcome, from mystery to fantasy to true lifeish to reimaginings of classic myths, provided the Deities and heroes are treated respectfully (no bashing someone else’s Gods, please!). Poems or stories that feature Deities from pantheons generally considered to be outside the Pagan umbrella, but which are still from polytheistic traditions — such as a poem to the Hawaiian Pele or a short story focusing on the Shinto Amaterasu-omikami — are absolutely welcome. The wider the diversity of traditions represented, the happier the editors are.”
There are two issues a year, one in the winter and one in the summer and each has a theme. The theme for Winter 2019 in The Americas. They are looking for poems, short stories, and essays about both the many indigenous spiritualities of the Americas, and those which have been born or evolved there. The submission period for this issue ends on December 1, 2019. The magazine limits you to three poems per submission period.
EHS pays a flat rate of $5.00 for an original piece. (The Special Feature section pays $15.00.) They ask for first electronic publishing rights. After the piece moves to the archives and the new issue is posted, all rights revert to the author. Payment will be made via PayPal only but if you don’t have one they may pay with an online gift certificate to the merchant of your choice.
From the site: “SLICE magazine welcomes submissions for short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We’re looking for anyone with a fresh voice and a compelling story to share, and we are particularly enthusiastic about championing emerging voices. At the core, SLICE aims to bridge the gap between emerging and established authors by offering a space where both are published side-by-side. In each issue, a specific cultural theme becomes the catalyst for articles, interviews, stories, and poetry from renowned writers and lesser known voices alike. We offer all contributors of SLICE a monetary award for their work ($400 for stories and essays, $150 for flash fiction pieces, and $100 for poems).”
Their reading period for 2019 ends December 1, 2019. The next issue, to be released in fall 2020, has the theme Persistence. They want work that responds to the theme, especially in unusual or unexpected ways. You can submit up to 5 poems, 2 stories, 5 flash fiction pieces, and 2 essays for any issue. The accept simultaneous submissions but don’t accept reprints.
There are other opportunities to submit work as well. Slice also holds a literary conference with the aim of bridging the gap between emerging writers and the professional publishing world. Conference attendees can submit a story, an essay, or a poem to the Bridging the Gap Competition. Winners are selected in each category and they will each receive a $150 award. Winners are announced at the conference.
From the site: “Mythridate Magazine aims to be your ultimate source for everything the modern, antique-loving aesthete needs to survive. We feature artists of all backgrounds and welcome submissions from the community, The magazine seeks solace in the nostalgia of decades past. Here, beauty triumphs over everything, whether it be found in the form of words or the stroke of a paintbrush or a camera’s ever-curious lens. Here you will find an inclusive, affirming community of individuals just like you — the history lovers, the English majors, and the aficionados of all things Romantic. We may be a small independent magazine but we proudly provide token payments for all submissions accepted for print.”
Mythridate Magazine is published twice a year, one in Fall/Winter, and one in Spring/Summer. The next issue will be released in April 2020. Each issue has a theme. For the next issue they are looking for work which focuses on the idea of Decadence.
From the editor: “We are especially interested in works centering on royalty, wealth, corruption, indulgence, religion, and romance. Your exploration of these topics can be positive or negative, but must in some way relate back to the issue’s theme.”
They pay $15 for each accepted poem, which must be previously unpublished. You can submit three poems and simultaneous submissions are allowed. The deadline for this issue is December 1, 2019.
“Since our first anthology, Workers Write! and Overtime have become important voices in working class literature. We are collecting the stories and poems about jobs that define who we are as individuals and communities. The next issue of Workers Write! will be our first free-for-all. No theme, just stories and poems from the workplace — any workplace.”
Length is 500 to 5,000 words. Payment is between $5 and $50. Reprints will be considered and simultaneous submissions are accepted. The deadline is December 31st.
From the site: “Speculative City is a quarterly magazine featuring literary works that explore themes, characters, and landscapes exclusive to urban environments and that highlight voices often unheard.We are looking for fiction, poetry, and essays within the horror genre. We seek provocative works that are centered within a cityscape. Writers published will be paid $20-$75 according to the category and length of their submission. “
They take only previously unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are fine. For poetry, they accept multiple submissions as well. The editors try to respond to all submissions individually and they provide a formatting guide. The deadline for submissions is December 2nd.’
From the site: “Frozen Wavelets is an e-zine of speculative flash fiction and poetry, offspring of The Earthian Hivemind. What are you going to find here? Discussions about science in SF. Interesting stuff collected here and there, often (but not exclusively) on the space sector. Book/movie reviews on SFF&H (that stays for Science-Fiction Fantasy & Horror). History in all its forms, fiction and not. And Japanese manga/anime. Nothing is forbidden here, provided is original (i.e., NO fanfiction) and remains in the SSF&H domain. I encourage writers to push boundaries, in format and topics. Tell me something I haven’t thought of (yet), and tell it well.”
Their first issued just came out in November, so being a new publication, the chances of being accepted are higher than long established and well known journals. This is one of the only publications I’ve seen that accepts and pays for haiku. In fact the editor says she loves I haiku, tanka, senryu, and short poetry in general. Poems should be no more than 10 lines. While the publication pays $.08 a word, she pays a set rate which would be equal to more than this for poetry.
Up to five poems can be submitted at a time with a response day of 30 days or less. No simultaneous submissions, reprints for poetry are by invitation only. Deadline is December 15th.
From the site: “Shenandoah aims to showcase a wide variety of voices and perspectives in terms of gender identity, race, ethnicity, class, age, ability, nationality, regionality, sexuality, and educational background (MFAs are not necessary here). We love publishing new writers; publishing history is not a prerequisite either.”
For poetry submission, you can submit up to five poems (they ask for three to five) with a limit of ten pages total. According to the site, the poetry editor reads for, “power, surprise, intelligence, big-heartedness, complicated craftiness, mystery, and risky strangeness.” Simultaneous submissions are okay. They don’t accept reprints. They pay a flat fee of $100 per poem, and $100 per 1000 words of prose up to $500, and $50 per page of comics up to $500. The deadline is December 15th.
From the site: “Please See Me is a new “online literary journal that features health- and healthcare-related stories in the form of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and digital media, including photography, podcasts, and short films. At the heart of our publication is the cultivation of meaningful patient–provider partnerships in the spirit of wellness. To that end, we publish work written by patients, family members, creatives, caregivers, and providers. We are especially looking for content that connects us, make us feel something, or helps us see illness, wellness, health, or the healthcare environment differently.”
According to the editor, the publication was created to establish a community of people who want to share a health-related story in any form. It is intended to be a place where patients, families, healthcare professionals, students, writers and artists from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe can have their work read. feel supported, and know that their voices can be heard.
They are currently running two no fee contests for their March issue. The first has the theme, Hope. The second contest is intended to increase awareness about issues related to mental health, such as homelessness, missed or delayed diagnosis, or loss (of family, husband/wife, jobs). Each contest has a prize of $250.
You can submit up to three poems at a time for each contest. The deadline is January 15th.
YEAR ROUND SUBMISSIONS
According to the site: “We like poems of any length. Send up to four poems at a time. We’re looking for poems that move us, that might make us laugh or cry, or teach us something new. We like both free verse and traditional forms — we try to publish a representative mix of what we receive. We read a lot of poems, and only those that are unique, insightful, and musical stand out — regardless of style.”
Rattle publishes unsolicited poetry and translations of poetry. While they accept multiple submissions and encourage simultaneous submissions they don’t accept previously published work (although they don’t count self-published blogs, or comments on message boards, or social media as publication.)
Rattle pays $200 and a complimentary one-year subscription to the magazine for each poem published online and $100 for each poem published online. Editors also award a $2,000 prize for the annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor.
Special issues include:
- Tributes — collections of poetry on an ethnic, vocational, stylistic, or social group
- Poet’s Respond — A poem written about a current event that happened during the previous week
- Ekphrastic Challenge — A monthly contest for poems written about an image or artwork
From the site: “New Reader Magazine is a quarterly arts, literature, and culture journal. Our purpose is to publish fearless fiction and non-fiction, poetry, identity and culture essays, and groundbreaking visual art. We want to bring you the world and all the amazing things going on in it, and introduce you to all the weird and wonderful people who are Making Things Happen.
New Reader Magazine is always looking for fresh perspectives and provocative new voices. We want stories about humans and about being human.
Investigative stories are welcome, as are memoirs and profiles, interviews, etc. of people who are doing interesting things and changing perspectives in big cities or small, secret towns. We’re also looking for fiction and poetry of all kinds, and we especially welcome experimental fiction and poetry and work that defies genre conventions.
Guidelines for Poetry:
- All genres and types of poetry are welcome.
- We accept videos of spoken word poetry if the video has not been previously published.
- Minimum of three (3) poems per submission in a single 3-month period.
- All poems must be in a single .doc or .docx file
- Times New Roman, 12
- Single spaced
- Rates start at 5 USD per piece”
They have themes for different issues, so be sure to go to the site to see what they are looking for. Currently, they are looking for work on the theme of “Fight or Flight”.
They accept NSFW submissions as long as they are labeled as such. Simultaneous and multiple submissions are also accepted.
You can download copies of their publications for free to see what they publish.
From the site: “The Sunlight Press is a nonprofit, digital literary journal that provides a home to new and established voices. We welcome creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, reviews, photography, and reflections by artists on their craft. We want to hear the ways people turn toward light and hope, whether it is through the arts, culture, spirituality, or humor, and also how they respond to the darkness and navigate unknown spaces. Epiphanies are born from the ordinary and the extraordinary; whether it’s a reflection unfolding during a morning walk, after the loss of a loved one, or in the middle of unexpected laughter, we want to know about these moments.
Poetry: Up to five poems in one submission (Please note: we will be closed to poetry submissions in November, 2019.)
The Sunlight Press pays for original work only, via PayPal. We occasionally accept previously published work (in print, on a personal blog, or another digital publication) but offer no payment.”
They publish twice a week, with poetry appearing on alternating Wednesdays. This means you have a pretty good shot at getting in, considering that most literary journals don’t publish near this frequently.
From the site: Star*Line is the official newsletter and network instrument of the SFPA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association), established in 1978. It is a venue for speculative (including science-fiction, fantasy, and horror) poets and poetry enthusiasts, and features interviews, articles, reviews, member news and letters, association business, and poetry — by members and nonmembers.
Guidelines: Submit no more than five poems per submission. Do not send multiple submissions. Paste into body of e-mail (attach .doc or .rtf only in case of very unusual format). No previously published poems.
Payment: The SFPA pays on publication for First North American Serial Rights and First Electronic Rights. Editor’s Choice poems may be selected to appear on the SFPA website and are archived there. Subsidiary rights revert to the author on publication. Payment for poetry: 3¢/word rounded to next dollar, minimum $3. One copy to all contributors.”
Star*Line publishes quarterly and is open for submissions year-round. They also cover the PayPal fees instead of passing them on to writer so that they won’t be deducted from Star*Line contributor payments for poems accepted and published. This is quite rare in today’s market.
FAST RESPONSE MARKETS
Here are a few publications have a fast turnaround time, averaging 48 hours to a month.
Deadline : Reading periods vary, check site for details Format: Digitally and print issues available Payment: $5 Forms: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, visual art
Deadline: Reading periods vary, check site for details Payment:$50 per submission of poetry, and $.05/word for prose with a maximum payment of $100 Forms: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation
Deadline: None Payment: $400 per story or article, $200 per poem Forms: Poetry, flash fiction, non-fiction, hybrids, reviews and artwork
Deadlines: June 15 — September 15, December 15 — March 15 Payment: $50 Forms: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, “and even kitchen sinks”
Deadline: Year Round Payment: $10-$50 Genres/Forms: Speculative fiction and poetry
If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also like these:
Where Can I Submit Poetry on Medium?
A list of publications that accept poetry on Medium.
medium.com
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