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Paying markets for essays and nonfiction

Outlets that pay for personal essays, criticism, reported pieces and creative nonfiction. Some take finished drafts and some take pitches first; the source link says which.

22 open, from 19 outlets. 16 charge no fee or state none. 13 read all year. Checked Oct 19, 2026.

  1. Magazine

    PRISM international Fiction, poetry and nonfiction

    Pays$40 CAD/page prose, $45 CAD/page poetry
    Fee$3 CAD reading fee
    Closes
    Guidelines for PRISM international, Fiction, poetry and nonfiction
  2. Magazine

    Riddle Fence Fiction, poetry and nonfiction

    Pays$50 per published page
    FeeFree during this window
    Closes
    Guidelines for Riddle Fence, Fiction, poetry and nonfiction
  3. Magazine

    Booth Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics and lists

    Pays$50 per piece
    Fee$3 per submission
    Closes
    Guidelines for Booth, Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics and lists
  4. Magazine

    Prairie Fire Fiction, poetry and nonfiction

    Pays10 cents/word prose (fiction max $250), $40 per poem (CAD)
    FeeNone stated
    Closes
    Guidelines for Prairie Fire, Fiction, poetry and nonfiction
  5. Magazine

    The Baltimore Review Fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry

    Pays$75
    FeeNo fee
    Closes
    Guidelines for The Baltimore Review, Fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry
  6. Magazine

    Copper Nickel Poetry, fiction, essays and translation

    Pays$30 per printed page ($50 minimum)
    FeeNone stated
    Closes
    Guidelines for Copper Nickel, Poetry, fiction, essays and translation
  7. Magazine

    AGNI Fiction, nonfiction and poetry

    Pays$30/page prose, $50/page poetry
    Fee$3 per online submission
    Closes
    Guidelines for AGNI, Fiction, nonfiction and poetry
  8. Magazine

    Ninth Letter Poetry, fiction and nonfiction for print

    Pays$25 per poem, $100 for prose
    Fee$3 reading fee (waived Dec 1-31)
    Closes
    Guidelines for Ninth Letter, Poetry, fiction and nonfiction for print
  9. Magazine

    Gulf Coast Poetry, fiction and nonfiction for print

    Pays$50 per page in print
    Fee$3 reading fee
    Closes
    Guidelines for Gulf Coast, Poetry, fiction and nonfiction for print
  10. Magazine

    Clarkesworld Nonfiction on SF, writing and publishing

    Pays12 cents/word, up to 2,500 words
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Clarkesworld, Nonfiction on SF, writing and publishing
  11. Magazine

    CRAFT Flash, short fiction and creative nonfiction

    Pays$100 flash, $200 fiction or CNF
    FeeNone stated
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for CRAFT, Flash, short fiction and creative nonfiction
  12. Magazine

    Geist Notes & Dispatches: short personal nonfiction

    PaysUsually $100-300
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Geist, Notes & Dispatches: short personal nonfiction
  13. Magazine

    Guideposts First-person true stories

    PaysPaid on acceptance (rate not published)
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Guideposts, First-person true stories
  14. Freelance

    Longreads Personal essays

    Pays$500
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Longreads, Personal essays
  15. Freelance

    Longreads Reading lists

    Pays$350 per list
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Longreads, Reading lists
  16. Freelance

    Longreads Reported features

    PaysFrom 50 cents/word
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Longreads, Reported features
  17. Freelance

    Longreads Researched and critical essays

    PaysFrom $500
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Longreads, Researched and critical essays
  18. Magazine

    Poetry Magazine Poems and prose about poetry

    Pays$500 per poem; $400 per prose page
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Poetry Magazine, Poems and prose about poetry
  19. Freelance

    Reactor Essays, lists and reviews, by pitch

    PaysPaid; rates sent when a pitch is accepted
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for Reactor, Essays, lists and reviews, by pitch
  20. Magazine

    The Christian Science Monitor The Home Forum: essays and short poems

    Pays$750 per essay; $250 per poem
    FeeNo fee
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for The Christian Science Monitor, The Home Forum: essays and short poems
  21. Magazine

    The Sun Personal essays, fiction and poetry

    Pays$200 and up, by length
    Fee$2.50 online; free by mail
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for The Sun, Personal essays, fiction and poetry
  22. Magazine

    The Yale Review Nonfiction essays and pitches

    Pays$250-$1,000 for prose
    FeeNone stated for nonfiction
    ClosesRolling
    Guidelines for The Yale Review, Nonfiction essays and pitches

Before you send

Pitch-first outlets want a paragraph on the idea and why you, not the full piece. Read two or three recent pieces on the outlet's site before you pitch.

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