13 Paying Horror Markets for Writers
For many of us, late autumn is the highlight of the year. The air gets cooler, the nights grow longer, then Halloween arrives to signify the real start of winter. It inspires us like no other holiday and gets those creative juices flowing, so why not surrender to the dark side?
There is no shortage of paying markets for your tales of terror and best of all, most are available all year round, not just during Halloween. Remember to read an issue or two before you submit to get a handle on the kind of material each outlet publishes, and check the individual guidelines for formatting requirements, issue themes, and submission windows.
Nightmare
This horror & dark fantasy magazine edited by Wendy N. Wagner seeks original horror and dark fantasy stories spanning the spectrum of dark fiction, with an emphasis on ‘fascinating characters and delicious prose’ and no subject considered off-limits. Pays $0.08 per word for stories up to 7,500 words. No reprints.
The Dark
Monthly online horror and dark fantasy magazine paying $0.05 per word for original fiction from 2,000 to 6,000 words and $0.01 for reprints. Encourages prospective contributors not to, “Be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary,” but stresses it is not a market for graphic, violent horror. No multiple submissions. Extremely fast response time.
Baffling
Quarterly flash fiction online magazine looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror ‘with a queer bent.’ Currently publishes two to three flash story a month on its Patreon which are then made available in quarterly issues, and finally in an annual print anthology. Pays $0.08 per word for stories up to 1,200 words.
Tales of Horror
New magazine launching in September 2024 on the hunt for ‘literary wordsmiths of the weird, chilling, and the horrific.’ Plans to publish a mix of classic and contemporary fiction four times a year, and pays $0.06 for original stories up to 5,000 words. Reprints accepted. No multiple submissions.
https://talesofhorrormagazine.com
Apex
Magazine and podcast specializing in ‘horror, fantasy and SF with an edge,’ publishes a bimonthly mix of original fiction, classic fiction, nonfiction, interviews, and reviews. Pays $0.08 a word for new stories up to 9,000 with a minimum payment of $50. If your story is used in their podcast, they pay an additional $0.01 per word. Also runs a flash fiction contest. No reprints.
Dust & Dark
New quarterly print and online magazine open to submissions from October 2024 and scheduled for launch in spring 2025. Paying $0.09 per word for ‘stylish, atmospheric’ horror fiction between 2,000 and 7,000 in length, with the majority being in the 3,000-5,000 range. States they are more interested in ‘expertly rendered dread’ than straightforward shocks. Plans to publish in British English.
Weird Horror
Claims to be a home for the strange, the macabre, the eerie, the esoteric, the fabulist, and the gothic, offering $0.02 per word for stories 500 to 5,000 words with a minimum payment of $25. Not interested in extreme horror, science fiction, or fantasy. Simultaneous submissions welcome, but no multiple submissions.
The Deadlands
Monthly speculative fiction magazine paying $0.10 per word ($0.01 for reprints) for pieces up to 5,000 words in length that concerns itself with death and everything that may involve. Publishes short stories, poems, and essays about the “other realms, of the ends we face here, and the beginnings we find elsewhere.” No multiple or simultaneous submissions.
The Dread Machine
Digital magazine publishing futuristic dark fiction, speculative fiction, cyberpunk, slipstream, and science fiction under the tag line “Where nightmares are manufactured.” Pays $0.05 per word for original fiction up to 4,000 words and $0.01 per word for reprints up to 7,000. Operates a ‘blind’ submission system whereby contributors are asked to remove all identifying information.
Electric Spec
Not-for-profit speculative fiction magazine established in 2005 paying $20 per acceptance for ‘Shockingly good short works of science fiction, fantasy, and the macabre’ between 250-7,000 words in length. Publishes four issues a year and has dedicated reading periods for each issue, but never closes to submissions. No over-the-top sex or violence.
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Aurealis
Australian zine pays between $13.50 (USD) and $40 (USD) per 1,000 word for stories between 2,000 and 8,000 in length. All types of science fiction, fantasy, and horror will be considered, but does not publish horror lacking a supernatural element. No reprints, extracts, or serializations. Operates separate submission windows for Australian/New Zealand writers and those in the rest of the world.
Gamut
Gamut Magazine is a non-profit seeking fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, neo-noir, new-weird, transgressive fiction, magical realism, and literary fiction that ‘leans into genre.’ Pays $0.10 per word for original fiction up to 5,000 words, and $0.03 for reprints. Blind submission policy.
Seize the Press
Anticapitalist publication looking to publish ‘dark speculative fiction, bleak sci-fi, dark fantasy, horror and all kinds of weird, messy, genre-defying stories that defy labels.’ Pays £0.03 ($0.04) per word for original fiction up to 7,500 words. Also publishes nonfiction, and accepts simultaneous submissions.