October brings another packed month of opportunities for creative writers, and today we’re sharing 50 paying literary magazines and journals opening or closing their submission windows during the month.
The markets below range from smaller independent publications to established university journals, with payments stretching from modest honorariums to professional per-word rates and payments of up to $720 for accepted work.
There is plenty here for writers of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction, alongside more specialised opportunities for flash, hybrid work, translation, drama, literary nonfiction and speculative writing. Themes and editorial interests include healthcare and healing, climate optimism, faeries, war and geopolitical violence, seaside gothic, human capital, queer speculative writing and more.
Some of these windows last the full month, while others open for only a few days or close as soon as they reach a submission cap. If something feels like a good fit for your writing, it’s worth reading the guidelines and preparing your submission early rather than waiting until the deadline.
The Freelance Writing Network isn’t only a home for pitch calls and writing jobs. Alongside our regular opportunities, we’re here to help fiction writers, poets and essayists find publications that value their creative work—and pay them for it.
As always, check the publication’s latest guidelines before submitting. Reading a recent issue will also give you a much better sense of its style, interests and the kind of work its editors are hoping to find.
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Paying Literary Magazines: October 2026 Deadlines
Café Irreal – Fall 2026 issue
A long-running online magazine devoted to fabulist and surreal short fiction, with stories running up to roughly 2,000 words. It has been publishing fiction that departs from ordinary reality since 1998.
Payment: $0.01/word, $2 minimum, for first internet rights.
Deadline: October 1, 2026.
Cherry Tree – Issue 11
Washington College’s national journal is seeking original, unpublished fiction, poetry, and nonfiction for Issue 11. There is a $3 submission fee.
Payment: $20 plus two contributor copies.
Deadline: October 1, 2026.
Foglifter Journal – print issue (nonfiction, hybrid, drama only)
A print journal dedicated to queer and trans writing, with a particular interest in cross-genre, intersectional, and transgressive work. Fiction and poetry have already reached their submission caps for this cycle, leaving nonfiction, hybrid, and dramatic work open.
Payment: $100 honorarium plus two contributor copies.
Deadline: October 1, 2026.
Gordon Square Review – general submissions
Literary Cleveland’s journal is seeking poetry, fiction up to 5,000 words, and brief nonfiction up to 1,000 words. Previously published-elsewhere reprints and simultaneous submissions are welcome, and there is no fee.
Payment: $25 honorarium.
Deadline: October 1, 2026.
Independence Literary Review – Healthcare and Healing folio
Baylor University’s new national magazine welcomes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction on any theme, alongside work for an additional folio focused on healthcare and healing. There is no submission fee.
Payment: $50 for the first poem/$25 for each additional poem; $50–$200 for fiction and creative nonfiction.
Deadline: October 1, 2026.