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The Sun

Literary Magazine

Fiction

Nonfiction

Poetry

Photography

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Submission info
Read the magazine

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.

www.thesunmagazine.org

Highlights

Vibe:Top-tier stuff. Not Paris Review, but ok
Response time:
3 months*
Editor reported data
/
72 days*
Chill Subs tracker stats
Acceptance rate:
0.1% *
Editor reported data
/
0.7%*
Chill Subs tracker stats

Paysfrom $200

Find more details in the Genres section

Fee$2.5

Find more details in the Genres section

Accepts simultaneous submissions
What's that?
When you can submit your work to multiple magazines at the same time
Accepts previously published
What's that?
When the magazine wants to publish your previously published work. Requirements vary
Nominates for prizes
From the editors
Pushcart Prize
Active on social media
Available in print
Provides contributor copies
From the editors
10
Has examples online
Offers expedited response
What's that?
Expedited submission: When the magazine offers a faster response time for an extra fee

Fiction - 7000 words max

Max words: 7000

Sub Genres: Literary, Humor, LGBTQ+ Stories, Magical Realism, Speculative

Submission fee: $ 2.5

Payment: from $200

Send us your emotionally honest story — the one that helps us learn what it feels like to be someone else. Share satire that hits close to home, tragedy that's cathartic without being manipulative, or a parable that lingers long after we finish reading. We’re looking for stories in any genre of fiction that take risks to tell us something true about ourselves.

Nonfiction - 7000 words max

Max words: 7000

Submission fee: $ 2.5

Payment: from $200

Send us your essay that’s too personal for any other journal — the one where you’re so unguarded you need editors you can trust and compassionate readers who will honor your vulnerability. Share a clear-eyed reflection on your big mistakes, a joyful celebration of your hard-won victories, or a testament that makes a newsworthy event feel intimate instead of faceless. We’re looking for essays that seek to understand the world from a fresh perspective and that wrestle with questions that resist easy answers.

Poetry

Max pieces: 5

Submission fee: $ 2.5

Payment: from $200

Send us your poem that basks in the mysteries of the universe — the one where the smallest detail tells us about our place in the world. Share reflections on your relationships, questions for God, or an elegy for something you’ve lost. We’re looking for poems — usually narrative but always accessible — that invite us into your confidence and lead us to revelation.

Photography

Max pieces: 36

Submission fee: $ 2.5

Payment: from $200

We're interested in black-and-white photographs — from intimate moments of human connection to striking natural wonders — reminding us to take a closer look at the world around us.

How to submit

Processs
Submittable
Cover letter
This magazine does not list any details on their website for this section.
Eligibility
No specific eligibility requirements
Formatting
We prefer manuscripts in any legible 12-point font with double-spaced paragraphs, page numbers in the footer, and 1-inch margins. On page 1 please include the author’s name, submission title, and genre. While we appreciate careful proofreading, we don’t disqualify submissions for formatting inconsistencies or typos. Please don’t withdraw and resubmit just because you spot a mistake.
Author's rights
We purchase one-time print and online publishing rights.
Additional info
We pay $200 and up depending on published length. We consider simultaneous submissions. Submission fee: $2.50. We pay our manuscript readers as well as our contributors. We are particularly looking for work by writers of color, queer and trans writers, writers with disabilities, incarcerated writers, and others who are marginalized on the basis of their circumstances or identity.

Tracker statistics

393

Total submissions tracked

72 days

Average response time

0.7%

Average acceptance rate

0 days

Fastest response time

473 days

Slowest response time

*Weird response times we excluded from calculations: 488 days, 486 days, 773 days, 2292 days

Сhill Subs is able to provide internal statistics because you use our tracker! You're the best!

Managed by editors

Submission calls

All genres

Always open

About

The Sun is an independent, ad-free magazine that for more than forty years has used words and photographs to evoke the splendor and heartache of being human. Each monthly issue celebrates life, but not in a way that ignores its complexity. The personal essays, short stories, interviews, poetry, and ...

Founded

1974

Country

www.thesunmagazine.org

Masthead

Sy Safransky

Editor-in-Chief

Rob Bowers

Publisher