Geist is the Canadian magazine of ideas and culture with a strong literary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat.

Geist is published four times a year by The Geist Foundation.

Every issue brings together a sumptuous mix of fact + fiction, photography and comix, poetry, essays and reviews, and the weird and wonderful from the world of words.

At the heart of our enter­prise is the imag­i­nary coun­try that some of us inhabit from time to time, and which often has some­thing to do with Canada.

Our office is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Who doesn't love getting paid? Who doesn't love Canadians? The literary magazines listed below were founded in Canada and pay for published work.

Canadian Lit Mags That Pay Writers

Publications based in Canada that primarily publish Canadian writers, though many accept international submissions as well.

Canadian Magazines

Who said that poets don't make money? Okay, we don't. But sometimes we do. Start with these amazing magazines paying highly competitive rates.

Lit Mags Paying Big Bucks for Poetry

What's dumb money for poetry? Anything substantial. These magazines pay at least $200, often more, for poems.

Lit Mags That Pay Dumb Money for Poetry

Not just words. These magazines publish paintings, comics, illustrations, and other visual art alongside or instead of traditional text-based work.

Magazines That Publish Comics, Art, or Other Visual Works

We're not in it for the money, but it certainly helps. These nonfiction magazines pay at least $200 per acceptance.

Nonfiction Lit Mags That Pay $200+

The mags in this list are competitive and publish physical print editions, so you get the satisfaction of seeing your work in print: pocket-sized, book-like, tangible. Way cooler than you'd expect.

Reputable Lit Mags with Print Issues

Double-dipping is for winners. High-quality magazines that welcome previously published work, giving great writing a second life.

Top Lit Mags That Accept Reprints

Explore the most popular literary magazines of all time. These long-established publications are a staple in the literary world for writers of all genres.

Most Popular Literary Magazines of All Time

Geist

General call

We publish short stories (up to 5000 words) in the Features section. We usually publish one story per issue, so please send only your best work. Send one story at a time.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada. 
Geist buys First North American Serial Rights. We only accept work that is ORIGINAL and PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED. Copyright reverts to the author after publication. 
If your piece is selected for publication, you can expect to work with the editor-in-chief to revise and edit the piece in a manner consistent with the Geist house style, audience, as well as the author’s intention for the work. The editorial process may consist of several drafts and revisions until the piece is ready for publication.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.

Fiction

Send a maximum of 5 poems, all in the same document. We publish 1-2 poems per issue.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada. 
Geist buys First North American Serial Rights. We only accept work that is ORIGINAL and PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED. Copyright reverts to the author after publication. 
If your piece is selected for publication, you can expect to work with the editor-in-chief to revise and edit the piece in a manner consistent with the Geist house style, audience, as well as the author’s intention for the work. The editorial process may consist of several drafts and revisions until the piece is ready for publication.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.

Poetry

Members of the Reading Collective read submissions and help us discover the best, weirdest, Geist-iest work out there. If you're someone who loves to discover new authors and believes in the important work of literary magazines, consider applying for one of our volunteer spots.<div><br></div><div>Geist is seeking volunteers to read and comment on submissions across genres (fiction, non-fiction, poetry and comics). We’re particularly looking for readers with a strong sense of literary non-fiction who are familiar with our magazine. Members of the volunteer Reading Collective work with Geist magazine's Editor-in-Chief, receive complimentary copies of Geist, and are credited in the issues they work on.</div>

Members of the Reading Collective

Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black artists, Indigenous artists, and artists of colour. 

  It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada. 
  Please submit once and wait to hear back from us before submitting more work.
  Work submitted to the Art & Photography category that does not follow the guidelines will not be considered and will be automatically declined. 
  Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.  

We seek art and photography to accompany written work in the magazine. You may attach up to 5 samples and should include a link to your online portfolio (if you have one) in the cover letter. 
The majority of our artwork is to accompany written pieces. This means that artwork is usually kept on file until it can be matched with a written piece, and we may keep submissions on file for up to one year.
What we look for:
Send us your collages, photography, mixed media, cartography and art, whether it be traditional, digital or hybrid!
Geist is a magazine of ideas and culture with a strong literary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat. Each issue represents a convergence of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, comics, reviews, little-known facts of interest, cartography and the legendary Geist crossword puzzle. 
The writing in Geist is often grounded in a sense of place. We publish historical narrative, essays on art, music and culture, profiles of ordinary people with extraordinary stories, fascinating fields of work, practices or hobbies, and everyday occurrences that show the humour and strangeness of life. 
We look for art that is weird, funny, unexpected or experimental.

Art & Photography Submissions

We publish short (up to 2000 words, flexible) non-fiction, usually personal narrative, in the Notes and Dispatches section. Longer (up to 5000 words) non-fiction pieces are published as Features. Send one piece at a time.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada. 
Geist buys First North American Serial Rights. We only accept work that is ORIGINAL and PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED. Copyright reverts to the author after publication. 
If your piece is selected for publication, you can expect to work with the editor-in-chief to revise and edit the piece in a manner consistent with the Geist house style, audience, as well as the author’s intention for the work. The editorial process may consist of several drafts and revisions until the piece is ready for publication.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.

Nonfiction

We publish shorter comics in the Notes & Dispatches section, and publish longer comics as features, max. 8 pages. Hybrid forms, e.g. poetry comics, are welcome. Send up to three strips or one longer comic at a time. 
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada. 
Geist buys First North American Serial Rights. We only accept work that is ORIGINAL and PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED. Previously unpublished also means that the comic cannot appear on a personal blog, website or on social media. 
Copyright reverts to the author after publication. 
If your piece is selected for publication, you can expect to work with the editor-in-chief to revise and edit the piece in a manner consistent with the Geist house style, audience, as well as the author’s intention for the work. The editorial process may consist of several drafts and revisions until the piece is ready for publication.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.

Comics

Tell us a ghost story in 500 words or less. We welcome works that orbit fact and fiction.

2026 PolterGeist Writing Contest

Canadian writers. Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of colour.

 Comics: No Fee Submissions for BIPOC writers

Canadian writers. Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of colour. 

Nonfiction: No Fee Submissions for BIPOC writers

Submit your entry to the 2026 Short Long-Distance Writing Contest by following the contest guidelines.

 

    Please make sure the cover letter field includes your name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, title of entry and a note about how you found out about the contest. Even though you have already entered this information when creating your Submittable account, we still need it to appear in the cover letter.

 

 Judging is blind, so please do not write your name on your entry.

 

 Deadline is June 19, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST.

 

    You will be asked to pay the entry fee before submitting your work. You can then enter the name of your submission and fill in the cover letter field, and then attach your entry.

Deadline: June 19, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST

How it works:

Send us a story, 500 words or less, fiction or non-fiction, that spans two or more Canadian time zones. This could mean a physical transition across time zones (like a road trip), or an implied transition between them (like a phone call). The details are up to you—get creative!

For inspiration, check out previous winners: "Pekoe" by Benjamin Dugdale, "Stardust" by Terri Favro, "The Other James Buchanan" by Christopher Geisel, "Security" by Jill Talbot and more.

Prizes:

First Prize: $500

Second Prize: $250

Third Prize: $150

All winning entries will be published in Geist and on geist.com
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Entry Fee: $25

Includes a one-year subscription to Geist, Canada's favourite literary magazine. International entrants will receive the digital edition.

All additional entries are $5.

How to enter: Submit your entry online through Submittable.

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You can also mail your entry, fee and cover letter to us at:

Short-Long Distance Contest
210-111 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4

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Please note that judging is blind, so ensure your name doesn't appear on the story.

Entries without an accompanying cover letter or entry fee will not be accepted. Entries must be postmarked by contest deadline.

Good luck and happy writing!

Questions? Check out our Short Long-Distance Contest FAQ.

Still unsure? Please email geist@geist.com with your queries.

THE FINE PRINT

Winning entries: Geist takes first serial rights for print and non-exclusive electronic rights to post your entry at geist.com. All other rights remain with the author.

All publication rights for non-winning entries are retained by the entrants.

Geist contests are open to all entrants except Geist staff, contract employees, board members and executives of the Geist Foundation.

Short Long-Distance Writing Contest - Fiction

Short Long-Distance Writing Contest - Nonfiction

Submit your entry to the 21st Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest by following the contest guidelines.
Please make sure the cover letter field includes your mailing address, telephone number and email address. Even though you have already entered this information when creating your Submittable account, we still need it to appear in the cover letter.
Judging is blind, so please do not write your name on your entry.

 

The deadline is October 16, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST.
You will be asked to pay the entry fee before submitting your work. You can then enter the name of your submission and fill in the cover letter field, and then attach your entry. You will only be allowed to attach two files: your story and your postcard.

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