Literary Magazines Who Want Writers 40, 50, & 60+
7 exclusive magazines and about a dozen more recommendations.
Note: We’re still navigating this whole Substack thing and didn’t want to bombard your inboxes so tried to make a mini-list using threads. It’s about 3 contests closing this week. We’ll get better with this but for now, if you’re into contests, you can read it here. I think they’re all still open.
One of the main reasons we wanted to start Sub Club was that as writers starting out, we found it frustrating to get the information we needed out of the internet. It was a tangled web if you will.1
For example, if you wanted to find magazines looking for writers 40+ you pretty much just had to Google ‘Magazines accepting writers 40+ and hope for the best.
Of course, since the writing industry is so grossly saturated with lists that read things like ‘40+ magazines that want blah, blah, blah…’ you are essentially, and repeatedly, fucked.
Since Google relies so heavily on SEO keywords and phrases (and so content gets warped to account for that) it doesn’t always understand what you’re asking for. It just spits out what people usually look for when they want something related to 40+. Or, if you do find the right list, it’s from like 2015 and half the magazines are defunct.
Your other option is to ask on Twitter. Oh, hell. I’ve been on Twitter for 5-10 years and I doubt any single Tweet of mine has gotten more than 30 likes. So, unless your question goes viral, you are (again) fu— …you get it.
But what if you had 16,000 followers and a database of 3000+ magazines? Well then, you’d be able to create things like today’s list.
We did a shout-out for magazines looking for 40, 50, and 60+ writers and while not all have it as a ‘requirement,’ plenty were eager for them. So, let’s take a look.
Hot Pink Magazine
While putting together this month’s closing list, I noticed Hot Pink is doing a theme for 40+ writers this month. Total coincidence, but take a look:
“We are currently open for submissions for our next special issue: 40 over 40. Poets 40+ please send 3-5 poems to hotpinksubmissions@gmail.com We will be open for submissions from May 1st through May 31st (closing at 11:59 PM Eastern Time). At this time we are not able to pay contributors. We do not charge submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions.”
You can read more about them & their guidelines here:
Now, on to magazines that exclusively want 40,50,60+ writers based on a Tweet we put out earlier this year.
Instant Noodles Magazine (40+)
"Submissions must adhere to the following guidelines: Authors must be 40 years of age or older by the scheduled publication date. All work must be original and must belong to the author. Works that have been previously published will not be considered. Stories must be complete and self-contained (i.e., do not submit chapters of a larger work).
Currently Open for Submissions:
ISSUE 2 IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE FALL IN THE CEMETERY In which your work deals with the broad idea of fall: death/endings/Halloween/All Saints, a chill in the air, etc., not horror for this, but a piece that’s more ghostly than horror would work too. Submissions are open 5/1/2023, close 7/1/23, and publishes 9/1/23.
*BE AWARE: Instant Noodles [Devil’s Party Press, LLC] charges $10 to submit poems, fiction, etc. to their second issue. (Thank you to LindaAnn for pointing this out.)
Quartet Journal (50+)
൪uartet is an online poetry journal, published three times a year, designed by women over fifty to highlight the creativity of women fifty and over. We believe that at this time in a woman’s life we begin to surge, to come into our own. We believe experience speaks for itself, that by fifty we’ve accumulated enough courage to revel in our talents. We want to read poems that tackle difficult themes, that surprise and illuminate, that are genuine, that have momentum and play with language.
Quartet’s submission periods are as follows:
January 1st to February 1st, 2023
May 1st to June 1st, 2023
September 1st to October 1st, 2023
*and they nominate for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize.
Passager (50+)
Passager (passage + passenger) is a small, independent literary press whose mission is to publish the work of older writers, encourage the imagination in the later stages of life, and create beautiful and welcoming publications.
In 1990, in Baltimore, Passager was born. The idea was to bring attention to writers over 50 by giving them opportunities to publish with a nationally recognized press. At that time, it was unusual to find men and women writing in their 80s and 90s, but now we are happy to report that more and more authors join those ranks every day.
They also run some contests and publish books!
Persimmon Tree (60+)
Persimmon Tree’s mission is to bring the creativity and talent of women over sixty to a wide audience of readers of all ages. We are looking for work that reveals rich experience and a variety of perspectives. Each issue of the magazine will include several fiction and nonfiction pieces, poetry by one or more poets, and the work of one or more visual artists. The magazine is published quarterly.
They accept fiction, nonfiction, art, and poetry. They have several different submission windows so be sure to keep an eye on their guidelines.
Boomer Lit
While Boomer Lit doesn’t only accept work from older writers, it does explicitly mention that they are the audience.
What about the name? Because our writing reflects not just our time of life but the historical and cultural time in which we came of age, our most natural audience is other Boomers. We are happily open to all writers and readers, and have featured authors from age 17 to age 97 on a myriad of topics, but have a home base in the Boomer generation. While Stephen has retired from work on BoomerLitMag, the magazine is continuing to grow and welcome new readers and writers, new themes and styles.
And it is always nice to know that editors you’re sending your work to have a relatable life experience to yourself.
Hags on Fire
You’re going to have to wait a bit for this one because:
*SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. WE WILL BE ON HIATUS UNTIL 2024. SUBMISSIONS WILL REOPEN JUNE 1, 2024 FOR WINTER 2024’s ISSUE.
But when they do come back, here is what Hags on Fire is looking for. From the editor:
I started this ‘zine to provide a space for women to write unapologetically about aging. I am in the beginning of menopause (I think, unless, SURPRISE, my menses returns again), and I had challenging perimenopausal symptoms. My mother said it was “no big deal” for her (which she also said about childbirth…) When I started talking about it with my friends, many of us had no reference points, no elders’ stories. As we become the elders, let’s not hide our stories from younger generations. Let’s leave a record of who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going. Let’s share joy and rage, humor and grief. Above all, let’s not hide our experiences.
Bloom (40+)
At Bloom, we believe it is never too late to take a risk and try something new. In that spirit, we are excited to announce that we are now accepting poetry and fiction submissions from blooming authors who first publish or publish in a new genre (for example, a novelist who publishes a poem, an academic who publishes a short story) at forty or later.
How to submit?
Please send your submissions of no more than 2,500 words to submittobloom@gmail.com. For poetry submissions, multiple poems with a total word count of 2,500 can be submitted at the same time.
Learn more about Bloom and how to get your work to them:
Those are the ones we found for now that have specific mentions. If you want more, Becky Tuch wrote a piece about 6 Mags for Writers Over 50. There are some repeats but also two we didn’t find. Not going to steal her thunder on those. She did the work, go give her the credit if you want a couple more.
OK, now for ones who expressed interest in 40+ writers from our Tweet.
*I’ve limited it to ones who specifically said they wanted 40+ writers, or a connection to 40+ writers, and left out any who simply said, ‘We love everyone!’
Diet Milk Magazine
Here Comes Everyone
A Coup of Owls
Splonk Flash
Crab Apple Literary
Coffin Bell Journal
SugarSugarSalt Magazine
MoonPark Review
io Literary Journal
Tap Into Poetry
JMWW Journal
Christy Tending
Know of any more? Or are you an editor looking for writers with more life experience under their belt?
Let us know in the comments below. And if you like lists like this, please join us in Sub Club!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I notice that Hags On Fire is actually closing - website staying live until January 2024...
Or a requisite of good writing?