The FISH List of Lively Indie Lit Mags 2025
Let's celebrate the passion projects of indie lit (with Fiction on the Web)
Nothing makes me happier than when someone comes to us with a cool project they want help with. Sometimes this gets misconstrued as “Oh, so you want to help us promote our contest!?” No…please, no.
No, we love when a project comes along where someone is trying to advance something we really care about. And that’s just what Charlie Fish did. He, like us, was tired of all the lists of best lit mags being only about accolades and industry cred. He set out to make a list that focused ONLY on independent magazines. To celebrate, as he puts it:
…the passion projects. No stuffy elitism here; this is the kaleidoscopic cutting edge. The hardest working, volunteer-run, lifeblood of the literary world. They survive on wit, will, and way too much caffeine.
Even better! He calculated his scores based on things like whether they pay, charge fees, allow comments, give feedback, their publication frequency, and loads more. So we gave him full access to our data so he could gather even more info to work with.
And the result is The FISH List of Lively Indie Lit Mags 2025. We saw so many incredible magazines rise to the top that we don’t often see in other prize-heavy lists.
It’s over 1800 mags long and can be found on Fiction on the Web. We will continue to provide our data to help Charlie refine and re-release this list year after year. Here at Sub Club, we’re happy to present the top 35.
All of it is free for everyone to view, download, share, whatever.
If you’re on Chill Subs, you can save the Top 100 lit mags from this list to your bookmarks.
If you want to learn more about Charlie’s process and methodology, he was kind enough to write about it for our startup diary here.
And hey, if you’re the kind of person who likes writing about these sorts of things, Charlie made this nifty press release.
Top 35 Lively Independent Lit Mags from The FISH List
Consequence | Closed
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2008 that publishes Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Multimedia.
Consequence is the print and digital publication of Consequence Forum, and addresses the human experiences, realities, and consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 5% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 1K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #nominates for industry awards #very competitive #krouse top 500 #10+ years old #nonfiction prize winner #poetry prize winner
The Lascaux Review | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2012 that publishes Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction.
The Lascaux Review seeks accessible fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction of literary quality, as well as essays on the craft and business of writing.
Accept simultaneous submissions and some reprints. Acceptance rate of 0.83% based on 279 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 4K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #30-day response time #brecht top 1000 #clmp member #extremely competitive #10+ years old #extra popular
Pangyrus | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2014 that publishes Poetry, Multimedia, Fiction, Nonfiction.
A literary magazine that is dedicated to art, ideas, and making culture thrive. Our name is a portmanteau of pan (all) and gyrus (the folds on the cerebral cortex of the brain). Pangyrus is about connection.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 12% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 1K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #nominates for industry awards #poetry prize winner
SmokeLong Quarterly | Deadline: Feb 15
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2003 that publishes Fiction, Nonfiction, Hybrid.
We are dedicated to bringing the best flash narratives to the web quarterly, whether written by widely published authors or those new to the craft. We pay $100 or $150 with audio.
Fee: No fee | Pay: Per piece: $100-$150
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 0% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 20K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 #clmp member #extremely competitive #engaged editors #krouse top 500 #20+ years old #chill subs community favorite #mega super popular. woah.
McSweeney's Internet Tendency | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 1998 that publishes Fiction.
Since 2007, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency has been run by one person out of a living room in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 1% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 200K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #two week response time #nonprofit #highly competitive #20+ years old #mega super popular. woah.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2008 that publishes Fiction.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies (ISSN 1946-1046) is a non-profit, SFWA-qualifying pro-rate online magazine dedicated to publishing literary adventure fantasy: fantasy set in secondary-world or historical paranormal settings, written with a literary focus on the characters.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 3.84% based on 734 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 10K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #very competitive #10+ years old #super extra popular
trampset | Closed
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2017 that publishes Nonfiction, Poetry, Fiction.
A literary journal, trampset publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry on a rolling basis. We welcome diverse voices, including writers working outside academia.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2.20% based on 653 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 10K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 #clmp member # consistent quality #highly competitive #engaged editors #chill subs community favorite #super extra popular
Terrain.org | Opening on: Apr 1
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 1997 that publishes Fiction, Multimedia, Hybrid, Poetry, Nonfiction.
An independent, ad-free online magazine founded in 1997 that focuses on place by publishing a mix of award-winning contributions, including poetry, nonfiction, fiction, editorials, interviews, reviews, recommended reads, artwork, and community/regional case studies.
Fee: No fee | Pay: Flat rate: $0
Accept simultaneous submissions and some reprints. Acceptance rate of 5% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 3K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #independent #very competitive #beautiful design #fiction prize winner #krouse top 500 #20+ years old #nonfiction prize winner #poetry prize winner #extra popular
BULL lit mag | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2009 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction.
Fiction and Nonfiction dedicated to rewriting modern masculinity (looking for all sorts of perspectives--not just cis-hetero-white male)
Accept simultaneous submissions and some reprints. Acceptance rate of 63.41% based on 46 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 2K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #popular
One Story | Closed for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2002 that publishes Fiction.
One Story is an award-winning, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit literary publisher committed to supporting the art form of the short story and the authors who write them—through One Story, One Teen Story, education, community, and mentorship.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 0.72% based on 172 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 35K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #has print issues #brecht top 1000 #clmp member #extremely competitive #engaged editors #fiction top prize winner #krouse top 500 #20+ years old #mega super popular. woah.
Apple Valley Review | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2005 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry.
An international literary journal. Issues feature a collection of short fiction, poetry, personal essays, and translations. The journal was founded in 2005 by its current editor, Leah Browning, and is published semiannually.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 1% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 900+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #extremely competitive
The Margins | Closed
United Kingdom-based Literary magazine founded in 2012 that publishes Hybrid, Nonfiction, Multimedia, Poetry, Fiction.
The Margins is an award-winning digital magazine of literature, arts, and ideas published by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW). The Margins draws upon a commitment to social justice to imagine a vibrant, nuanced, multiracial, and transnational Asian America.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 48.28% based on 29 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 25K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #one week response time #engaged editors
Flash Frog | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2021 that publishes Fiction.
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.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 5K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 # fosters inclusivity # consistent quality #extremely competitive #engaged editors #extra popular
december magazine | Opening on: Jan 31 | Theme: BIPOC — Fee Free All Genres
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 1958 that publishes Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Multimedia.
A literary legacy since 1958 - an independent nonprofit literary magazine nurturing writers and artists at every stage of their careers.
Fee: $3 | Pay: Per page: $10
Do not accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 10% (reported by editors).
You can find them on Instagram where they have 2K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #nominates for industry awards #nonprofit #brecht top 1000 #very competitive #krouse top 500 #50+ years old
beestung | Deadline: Jan 31
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2019 that publishes Hybrid, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Multimedia.
beestung is a quarterly online micro-magazine for non-binary, genderqueer, and two-spirit writers and readers, with an emphasis on intracommunity sensibilities and exploration and expansiveness. beestung resists the canon and all forms of bigotry.
Fee: No fee | Pay: Flat rate: $20
Accept simultaneous submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 2K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #30-day response time #nominates for industry awards #extra popular
The Rumpus | Opening on: Mar 15
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2009 that publishes Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry.
A place to read, on the Internet. A literary community.
Fee: No fee | Pay: Flat rate: $50
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 4.54% based on 495 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 100K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 #clmp member # good vibes #highly competitive #supportive community #10+ years old #mega super popular. woah.
Room | Open for submissions
Canada-based Literary magazine founded in 1975 that publishes Poetry, Nonfiction, Multimedia, Fiction.
Room is Canada’s oldest feminist literary journal, and has published fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, interviews, and book reviews for forty years.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2% (reported by editors).
You can find them on Instagram where they have 15K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #highly competitive #30+ years old #nonfiction prize winner #super extra popular
Electric Literature | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2009 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction.
Electric Literature is a daily website that publishes essays, author interviews, and reading lists.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 11.11% based on 25 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 200K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards
Baltimore Review | Closed
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 1996 that publishes Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction.
The mission of The Baltimore Review is to showcase Baltimore as a literary hub of diverse writing and promote the work of emerging and established writers.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 1.30% based on 811 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 9K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 # beautiful design # consistent quality #extremely competitive #engaged editors #fiction prize winner #krouse top 500 #20+ years old #chill subs community favorite #nonfiction prize winner #super extra popular
Reckoning: creative writing on environmental justice | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2016 that publishes Multimedia, Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction.
An annual journal of creative writing on environmental justice.
Accept simultaneous submissions and some reprints. Acceptance rate of 4.76% based on 38 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 1K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #nonprofit #highly competitive #popular
The Offing | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2015 that publishes Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Multimedia.
An online literary magazine publishing creative writing in all genres and art in all media.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 4.09% based on 393 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 15K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards # consistent quality #engaged editors #chill subs community favorite #mega super popular. woah.
Variant Lit | Opening on: Jan 1
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2019 that publishes Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction, Multimedia.
A small nonprofit press + mag committed to publishing diverse voices at all stages of their career. Our staff is entirely volunteer run and all proceeds go towards creating new books and paying writers.
Fee: No fee | Pay: Per piece: $10
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 10K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #nonprofit #super extra popular
Whale Road Review | Opening on: Jun 15
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2015 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry.
Whale Road Review publishes poetry, flash fiction, and micro essays that don’t demand too much time up front, but somehow leave readers changed. We hope readers of all sorts will enjoy these short pieces in stolen moments—waiting in line, using the restroom, riding a train, steeping tea.
Fee: No fee | Pay: No payment
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 5.69% based on 86 tracked submissions. You can find them on X where they have 15K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #nominates for industry awards #brecht top 1000 # fosters inclusivity # consistent quality #somewhat competitive #engaged editors #super extra popular
The Colored Lens | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2011 that publishes Fiction, Multimedia.
The Colored Lens was created to showcase stories that shift our perspective on the world, through the far-reaching genre of speculative fiction. However, the fundamentals of good storytelling always come first.
Do not accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2.80% based on 619 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 300+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #highly competitive
Swords and Sorcery Magazine | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2012 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction.
Webzine devoted to pre-industrial fantasy stories.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 23.53% based on 34 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 100+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #accessible #10+ years old
MAYDAY | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2009 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Multimedia.
MAYDAY presents new poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, cultural commentary, and visual art to an international community of readers. We publish artists that explore culture and history; politics regional and global; the past, present, and future.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 14% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 4K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #somewhat competitive #extra popular
Kweli Journal | Deadline: May 30
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2009 that publishes Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction.
an online literary journal that celebrates community and cultural kinships
Fee: No fee | Pay: Payment information not specified
Accept simultaneous submissions.
You can find them on Instagram where they have Under 100 followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #brecht top 1000 #10+ years old #poetry prize winner
Flash Fiction Magazine | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine that publishes Fiction.
We publish one flash fiction story a day. Download our FREE book and read new stories every Wednesday.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 14.00% based on 116 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 15K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #one week response time #brecht top 1000 #somewhat competitive #mega super popular. woah.
Maudlin House | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2014 that publishes Fiction, Poetry.
Maudlin House is a bridge between new form fiction and experimental lit that takes on mainstream pop culture through the lens of 21st-century indie art
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 16.50% based on 297 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 8K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #30-day response time #brecht top 1000 # fosters inclusivity # consistent quality #somewhat competitive #good vibes #super extra popular
Flash Fiction Online | Closed
United States-based Literary magazine that publishes Fiction.
Bold. Brief. Beautiful. Fiction in fewer words.
Do not accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 2.48% based on 148 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 7K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #has print issues #brecht top 1000 #highly competitive #consistent quality #krouse top 500 #extra popular
Diabolical Plots | Closed
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2008 that publishes Fiction.
SF/F/H zine of Nebula nommed/winning & Hugo-nommed fiction, Ignyte-winning Submission Grinder, Long List Anthology.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 3.87% based on 542 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 7K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #30-day response time #very competitive #consistent quality
The Sun | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 1974 that publishes Multimedia, Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction.
We’re looking for narrative writing and evocative photography from all over the world. Send us work that maps the human landscape, where the light catches on the faintest joy, where darkness sometimes threatens to overwhelm, and where ✗ never marks the spot.
Accept simultaneous submissions and some reprints. Acceptance rate of 0% (reported by editors).
You can find them on Instagram where they have 15K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #has print issues #nominates for industry awards #independent # good vibes # beautiful design #extremely competitive #engaged editors #30+ years old #mega super popular. woah.
The Forge | Closed
Literary magazine founded in 2016 that publishes Nonfiction, Fiction.
The Forge Literary Magazine was founded by volunteers from the Fiction Forge, an international online writers’ forum.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 1% (reported by editors).
You can find them on X where they have 7K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #nominates for industry awards # consistent quality #extremely competitive #engaged editors #super extra popular
Milk Candy Review | Open for submissions
United States-based Literary magazine founded in 2018 that publishes Fiction.
We're here for your beautifully weird flash fiction.
Accept simultaneous submissions. Acceptance rate of 3.16% based on 132 tracked submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 5K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #one week response time #brecht top 1000 #highly competitive #engaged editors #extra popular
Lunate | Closed
United Kingdom-based Literary magazine that publishes Fiction, Nonfiction.
Award-winning literary journal based in Manchester.
Accept simultaneous submissions.
You can find them on X where they have 4K+ followers.
Noteworthy: #read for free #two week response time #extra popular #3-day response time
Variant is open now! and closing on the 31st, don’t wait.
Grateful that Baltimore Review is included. We open our Submittable doors again on February 1. Wish Happy Holidays to all the fine folks and friends at Chill Subs!