Two updates!
Based on the poll in our International-Friendly Magazines post, we are going to make some of our Thursday lists shorter, but with more details and commentary.
We are brainstorming some features to offer Sub Club members on Chill Subs when we embed the membership into our site. We want them to be unessential but fun. This is the first step toward our eventual premium profiles. Some customization on profiles? Maybe something for anyone offering services. Open to ideas. Comment below if you’ve got them. Our goal, as always, is to make sure essentials stay free (i.e. nothing like ‘browse limits’) and instead try to make cool fun extras payable.
Next week’s list: What the f*ck is Flash Fiction and where do you send it?
There is nothing worse than being the new kid (okay, there are a lot of things worse), but it really sucks!
Starting a new job? Barf!
New to school? Yikes!
Being a writer who hasn’t published anything? Okay, now we are really getting nauseous.
But hear me out. Even if you don’t have a short story or a poem or an essay hanging out in its folder on your laptop, just waiting to be read. Even if you are starting from scratch- you are not alone. We all have to start somewhere.
Don’t let the fear of being new at this stop you from writing and submitting.
Smash that submit button anyway.
This week we are featuring magazines that are the new kids too! These ones have only been around since 2021 or later, and they are excited to receive the work of a cute little newbie like you.
Now for that ham and cheese recipe.
I chose this sandwich because it's a sandwich for beginners. It's a sandwich that requires options but not too many options.
All you need is four simple ingredients:
Bread (you chose!)
Sliced ham (maybe some honey baked?!)
Cheese of your choice (I will NOT be recommending American cheese as a certain reader was very adamant in our grilled cheese post that American cheese is plastic and inedible. I will have to agree in terms of this cold sandwich. Not ideal. Cheddar, gouda or maybe a nice Swiss.)
Mustard (I’m recommending a nice classic yellow mustard. But with the varieties of mustards out there, you could really go wild.)
To assemble, smear your mustard on one side of bread, stack your ham and cheese and top with another slice of bread.
There, you did it. Now go write.
The Sub Club Weekly Specials!
Magazines that were founded within the last two years and fall into Chill Subs ‘We’re just chillin’ here or ‘wtf even is it?’ vibes.
Cream Scene Carnival
"Send us your weirder stuff. We like surrealism, magical realism, speculative, confessional essays, feminist diatribes, punk DIYs, paper dolls, poems, comics and more."
Fast Facts: Free subs, sim subs, previously published okay, currently has a call open for themed submissions: ‘Wild West,” and REALLY COOL ART.
Genres: Fiction (3500 words), interviews, Nonfiction (2000 words), art, comics, photography.
Special Sauce: “Cream Scene is an art & culture mag that showcases artists who work in a variety of mediums, sharing art in its myriad forms, so we’re not the usual lit mag. So check us out first because our readers are wonderful weirdos and we are queer, lefty, sexpos, bodypos and punk. More than a magazine, Cream Scene is an active community of artists. We are non monetized so we don’t pay, but we work as a team to promo our contributors on multiple platforms within our community and we will nominate the best writing in both of our mags for pushcarts.” - Dia & Katy
Catch the feels! Read:
By the Numbers: CSC asks for 5 days to respond to works which is already amazing, but our stats indicate they get back to writers even quicker with 1 day as the average (the slowest was 2 days). They’ve been bookmarked 39 times and have an acceptance rate of 20%. They do themed calls, have a super clean submission form, and take submissions as Google Doc links which we’ve seen become more and more common with newer magazines. Save our desktop files!
Flash Frog
"An online flash fiction magazine featuring stories under 1,000 words. We like our stories like we like our dart frogs: small, brightly colored, and deadly to the touch."
Fast Facts: accept simultaneous submissions, are always open, and nominate for prizes.
Genres: Fiction (1000 words)
Special Sauce: “First and foremost, I recommend reading a handful of Flash Frog stories to feel out if we would be a good fit for your work. We love stories that pay attention to language and rhythm and pacing just as much as plot. We want to feel, taste, smell, and hear the story just as much as we want to know what happened. And while we don't care too much about fonts and typos, it is important to follow the basic submission guidelines. And thank you in advance for submitting. We appreciate and read every piece carefully!” - Eric Scot Tryon
Catch the feels! Read:
Honeybud By Melissa Ragsly
In Case You Missed It The First Time, She Confesses Again By Salena Casha
By the Numbers: OK, for only being around since 2021, Flash Frog is killing it. They have been bookmarked by 191 users on Chill Subs with 79 tracked submissions giving us a pretty clear picture of their process. For starters, they respond in around a week. Their claimed acceptance rate of 1.5% pretty much lines up with our stats of around 2.5%. They nominate for pushcart, best of the net, and best small fictions, are open year-round, don’t charge a fee, and pay $25! Fuck, I’m going to go submit to them today. This is a great example of a newer magazine that entered the scene and thought, ‘OK, what can I do better.’ And they did it. They also run contests. And Aimee Bender was a judge! I love Aimee Bender.
Flash Frog | Chill Subs Profile
All Existing Literary Magazine
"A literary magazine dedicated to the strange and beautiful. Think: secrets in exchange for stories, children born as bears, houses that come to life at night, singing love songs to the earth, praying to Birds instead of Gods."
Fast Facts: Nominates for prizes, free subs, and fast response times
Genres: Fiction (4000 words), art, photography
Special Sauce: “All Existing Literary Magazine highlights work that is a little off-kilter. We want to read stories with lush prose that makes us think: “what on earth did I just read?” when we’re finished. We want to read poems that play with words and imagery in strange ways. We want to receive art where the longer we look at it the more we see.
Since we are a new magazine, there are unfortunately no past issues to give you an idea of what exactly we want (yet!). If you aren’t sure if your piece fits our vibe, send it anyway! You’ll never know if you don’t try.” - Claire Westbrook
Catch the feels! Read: This magazine doesn’t have any submissions posted yet which means the possibilities are endless! Read their detailed submission guidelines instead.
By the Numbers: All Existing Literary Magazine was founded in 2023 with a response time average of 6 days. We’ve tracked 18 submissions with an acceptance rate of 81% making them one of our more accessible markets. Something to keep in mind with new magazines is that they often have low submissions at the start so your competition is less. This is especially relevant if you like a magazine’s vibe and believe they are headed for great things. They have no fee or pay so it’s all level and have been bookmarked—woah—74 times which indicates they are on quite a few writers’ radar.
Writing Hand Magazine
"Writing Hand Magazine is full of writing prompts for every kind of writer. Readers can submit any pieces they’ve written based on our prompts and writing activities to have them featured in future issues, on our website and our socials."
Fast Facts: Free subs, sim subs, available in print, super fast response time, and subs are writing prompt focused, which is perfect for those just getting into writing or who don’t know where to start.
Genre: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry (all of any length).
Special Sauce: “All you need to stand out when submitting to Writing Hand Magazine is to choose one of our prompts that speaks to you and respond in any way that you feel inspired! Whatever the genre, style or medium, we just want to read your unique take on our writing prompts.” - Eve Dalton
Catch the feels! Read:
From Issue One with the prompt “ World-Building:” A Cosmic Loom by Joe Hosking
From Issue One with the prompt “Ruin the page,” Fireworks by Cameron Hose
By the Numbers: Founded in 2022. Ooo, 24-hour response time? Nice. Since they are a new listing, we don’t have much in the way of statistics. Only one submission has been tracked (let’s change this! It’s only 24 hours). And they are in print with no word count guidelines. They take submissions via Google Doc which is becoming more and more common.
Papers Publishing
"Papers Publishing is a literary magazine that puts the content over the glitz! We believe in going back to the basics, and publishing work from emerging writers whose names can sometimes get overlooked. We celebrate BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and ageless creators.”
Fast Facts: Free subs, sim subs, previously published okay, very writer-focused, working to elevate and highlight your writing and you as the creator. Awesome fucking website.
Genre: Fiction (3000), Nonfiction (4), Poetry
Special Sauce: We take a tremendous amount of pride in the work we put forward and the artists who choose to publish their work with us. We're a literary magazine that understands the importance of inclusion, which is why we make it our personal mission to publish work that speaks to us, and not publish work based on the value of the writer themselves. Don't get us wrong—we love to discover more about the people we publish, which is why we hold our biweekly interviews Behind the Pages to give those writers the opportunity to tell their story, but we lead our magazine with the intention of broadcasting the beauty in the work. In doing so it has welcomed us to a wide range of stories, personalities, and connections we will cherish throughout our publication, and even our personal lives.
We are huge fans of personal narratives and writing that pushes the boundary. We love experimental writing that is abnormal, but also zany yet true. You'll often find a common theme within our published collection, and that is that each story centers around a sense of morality, and what in turn makes us human. - Jade, Viola and Rian
Catch the feels! Read:
Other Mother by Shriya Mkumar
The Night Concert By Lydia Hord
Check out their Dream Journal Series where writers to recount their dreams and put them into the form of poetry or prose.
By the Numbers: Not only does Paper Publishing promote their writers, they have a specific category called 'Open Book' series. Every two weeks we publish a set of three writers, highlighting their work on our homepage as well as through our social media accounts. They have a quick turnaround of 2-3 weeks (17 days based on our stats) and have a 20% acceptance rate based on 6 submissions. For a magazine that has only been around since 2022, Papers Publishing has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into creating a magazine that puts writers first.
Honorable Mentions
DED Poetry- "Make it weird, make it ded." Founded in 2022, this poetry mag accepts poems up to 50 lines.
MOONLOVE press- An independent press publishing love poetry by women, MOONLOVE was founded last year in 2022. They also offer three publishing opportunities- chapbooks, journals and moon cycle-inspired notebooks.
Bubble -The online literary magazine dedicated to publishing the weirdest and most eccentric fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art around. Founded in 2022.
the opheliac - "a feminine death lit mag for underrepresented groups (bipoc, lgbtqia+, and women)" This mag was founded this year and responds within 1 week!
trash to treasure lit- "trash to treasure lit was created to foster a community of writers who may not believe in their abilities, but deserve to. for writers to learn from their words and others, and to open the conversation around why we reject our work before it’s given a chance." They are currently looking for your fiction, nonfiction and poetry.
Rollick Magazine - "Stories worth telling. A literary magazine for new and emerging writers. Make this life magical. Rollick is committed to championing new literary voices and is open to unsolicited submissions of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. "
This week’s Hit Submit party!
When: Sunday, May 21 at 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST
SIGN UP USING THIS FORM (Hoagie Tiers & Up)
Bring your submission stories and all your rejections! We’ll chat about being new to the process (and all our complicated feelings and imposter syndromes), where we are submitting this month, and whatever else comes up!
We hope that these new magazines and submitting opportunities make the whole process less daunting for you. Writing and submitting can be lots of fun if we don’t bog ourselves down with fears and imposter syndrome or just worrying what others will think.
I know that's much easier said than done, but just remember that every writer, yes even those big names that we worship, feels how you are feeling right now. Scared to start, typing clumsily, waiting for at least one good sentence to be found throughout paragraphs of hot garbage.
So fuck it, right? Just keep writing.
Ham and Cheese with Yellow Mustard: New magazines who love new writers
Great job on the cheese selection!