6 Magazines for Memoirists
Sub Club Special!
I asked the Sub Club-al (…ugh) what list I should make this week and Shannan immediately said memoir because as we know, everyone and their mother is writing a memoir. But that doesn't mean it's easy to find magazines for memoir excerpts or essays. Nonfiction, even creative nonfiction, comes in so many sub-genres and forms that it can be tricky to judge what a magazine means when they say they publish it. The magazines on this list are open to submissions of memoir, and many of them are open to other forms of nonfiction as well, including hybrid forms of personal writing, criticism, and social analysis.
Raising Mothers | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2015 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction, Multimedia.
A digital literary platform centering the parenting and personal narratives of the global majority.
Accept simultaneous submissions.
You can find them on Instagram where they have 1K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #krouse top 500
Raising Mothers describes itself as “a digital literary platform that amplifies and provides a supportive and inclusive space for Black, Asian, Latine(x), Indigenous and other marginalized identities from the global majority to share their experiences and creative works, while also advocating for social justice and equity.” They specifically seek work from self-identified mothers and parents, but are looking for a breadth of narratives and experiences of family and parenting. They've recently moved over to publishing on Substack, they have no fee to submit, and it seems they pay for at least some work.
Cutleaf | Deadline: Nov 30
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2021 that publishes Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction.
Cutleaf seeks the best in contemporary writing in prose and verse from emerging and established writers.
Fee: No fee | Pay: $100-400
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 3.06% based on 102 tracked submissions.
You can find them on Instagram where they have 2K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #consistent quality #popular
Cutleaf publishes a broader than menu of creative nonfiction than just memoir, but the right piece of writing might be worth submitting here. They are open to experimental and hybrid forms like hermit crab essays and mention in their submission guidelines that the nonfiction editor is especially interested in work engaging with healthcare and public health. Submit before they close at the end of the month!
Tolka Journal | Closed for submissions
Ireland-based Literary magazine founded in 2021 that publishes Nonfiction.
A journal of formally promiscuous non-fiction, publishing essays, memoir, autofiction and the overflow.
Accept simultaneous submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 5K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #nominates for industry awards
Tolka Journal immediately gets a lot of points from me. Irish? Hell yeah. The phrase “formally promiscuous"? Stunning. I also love a relatively new nonfiction-only magazine, that rare bird. They publish in print but have examples online here. They're currently closed for submissions, but keep an eye on them.
Blue Earth Review | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2003 that publishes Nonfiction, Multimedia, Poetry, Fiction.
Small format. Dramatic impact.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 1.79% based on 254 tracked submissions.
You can find them on Instagram where they have 5K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #has print issues #nominates for industry awards #university affiliated #brecht top 1000 #highly competitive #krouse top 500 #20+ years old #extra popular
Blue Earth Review is popular and hard to get into, but they rock enough to make up for it. They unfortunately don't have a ton of examples online, but they ask for memoir in their guidelines, and specifically want “small, focused works in which every word matters.” Oh, and they're always open with no fee!
Image Journal | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 1989 that publishes Nonfiction, Multimedia, Poetry, Fiction.
Arts non-profit & literary journal serving the intersection of art + religion.
Fee: $3.50 | Pay: $100-400
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2.78% based on 102 tracked submissions.
You can find them on Instagram where they have 10K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #highly competitive #30+ years old #super extra popular
Image Journal is the oldest magazine on this list, and for anyone writing memoir themed around faith, it's a great submission opportunity. Many of the pieces they publish also engage with culture, history, and art. They have a nice, well-designed website and pay well.
Midway Journal | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2007 that publishes Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Hybrid, Multimedia.
We seek to publish a variety of styles and diverse voices, and we are honored to present work by new writers
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 6% (reported by editors).
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 #clmp member #somewhat competitive #engaged editors #10+ years old
Midway Journal fits into one of my favorite categories, well-established magazines that have stayed relatively accessible. In addition to memoir and CNF they publish poetry and fiction. They're not currently open to free submissions but they will be in the new year.
That's all for this list. If you're looking for agents for memoir, Kailey shared some recently over at Where to Query.
If you have deep desires for a particular list, leave them in the comments or subscriber chat.
https://hippocampusmagazine.com/submissions/
Hippocampus is a good one. They charge but they pay contributors and can be very selective. Full disclosure - I'm a reader for them, so yeah, I'm a tad biased.