Bold and Weird - Best Lit Mags of 2025

Wallstrait publishes hard-to-define fiction on a triweekly basis. We respond quickly and include feedback as time allows.

Wallstrait is all about publishing quality, hard-to-define fiction and treating writers right. We love discovering and championing great fiction across all genres, especially bold stories that don't quite fit the aesthetic of other journals. We don't have any demands on style or genre. If we love it, we'll publish it. 

We publish triweekly and pay $100 per story. 

Out of 3,264 votes, these lit mags came out on top in 2025 as the best lit mags for experimental work.

Quality magazines that compensate writers and don't charge submission fees. Supporting writers financially from both ends of the transaction? Hell yeah.

Lit Mags That Pay & Don't Charge Fees

Recently founded magazines with selective editorial standards and acceptance rates under 10%. These mags have a vision, and they're on the ball.

Most Competitive New Lit Mags

We asked, you guys answered. This time we switched it up a little bit, so we're bringing you the community's top picks for the strange, bold, and experimental.

Want to check out our previous crowdsourced themed lists? We've un-paywalled them for you guys, so get them before they're gone.
Part 1: https://www.chillsubs.com/lists/cool_kids_3
Part 2: https://www.chillsubs.com/lists/Cool_kids_2
Part 3: https://www.chillsubs.com/lists/cool_kids_pt3
Part 4: https://www.chillsubs.com/lists/cool_kids_4

Where Our Favorite Weirdos Are Sending Their Writing

Quality magazines publishing magical realism that also nominate for prizes, accept simultaneous submissions, and maintain under 20% acceptance rates.

Where to Publish Magical Realism

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Specialized publications that recognize exceptional brief fiction through Pushcart nominations.

The ultimate ranking of the world's liveliest indie literary magazines, curated by author and editor Charlie Fish. These are the passion projects; the kaleidoscopic cutting edge.

FISH List of Lively Indie Literary Magazines 2025

FISH List of Lively Indie Literary Magazines 2026

Digital publications advancing very short fiction for Best of the Net consideration.

Flash Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

Essential publications that nominate short fiction for the O'Henry Prize anthology, one of America's most venerable literary awards. Established in 1919.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the O'Henry Prize

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

These magazines have the fastest response times, so you won't be left hanging for months. No more endless waiting. Just, you know, regular waiting.

Literary Magazines with the Fastest Response Times

All-time most competitive literary magazines. Getting published in these is a significant achievement for any writer.

Most Competitive Literary Magazines of All Time

Explore the all-time most competitive speculative fiction literary magazines. These magazines are revered in the fiction world for their editorial rigor.

Most Competitive Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

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

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Wallstrait

It's free to submit from October 1 - October 8!
What We Publish:
No limitations on genre. Just send us your best fiction. See our home page for a weirdly detailed example of the many genres we'll consider. But then again, the whole point of that list is that we'll consider pretty much anything.
We welcome flash fiction, longer stories, hybrid, and experimental stuff you can't quite define. We publish a new piece every three weeks. Help us keep our readers on their toes.
What We Pay:&nbsp;
$100 via PayPal upon publication.
Word Count:
500 – 3,000 words is our preferred range, but you can submit up to 5,000 words maximum. Please submit only one story at a time. If you have a dozen flash fiction stories, please send us one of them. We respond very quickly, so if we pass, feel free to submit again. Note: We have nothing against microfiction, but since we publish one standalone story every three weeks, we will not consider stories less than 500 words in length.
Format:
We love hard-to-define fiction, but we also love easy-to-read fonts. All work should be double-spaced and formatted somewhat traditionally.
Response Times:
Our goal is to be one of the fastest-responding literary journals in the industry. If you get a quick “pass,” it is not a reflection of your writing but rather a reflection of our commitment to responding quickly.
Although we generally respond pretty quickly, our response times can vary with volume. If you don’t hear anything from us within 60 days, feel free to email Danny at Editor@wallstrait.com with the subject line, “Status of Submission: [Title]”. He’ll look into it and get back to you.
Note: We'll publish fiction in any genre as long as we love it, but we draw the line at AI-generated prose. We'll take humans writing about robots—but we don't want robots writing about humans. Please: No AI.&nbsp;
Miscellaneous:

  No Multiple submissions. One at a time.
  We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  No Reprints. Original, unpublished stories only.

Cover Letter:

  Please include the word count.
  Publishing under a pseudonym is fine — be yourself in the cover letter and let us know the name under which you'd like to publish.
  We don't care how the cover letter is addressed. Some journals are weird about this, which seems weird to us. You can address it however you see fit.

Fiction - No Fee

FICTION: Expedited decision with 500+ words of feedback from a Senior Editor.
You'll receive a decision in 10 days or less, along with 500+ words of feedback from a senior editor discussing what worked really well, what worked, and what could use some work. 
All feedback is generated by a human person who's reviewed thousands of submissions—we don't use AI or any external tools for this, and you'll likely see a typo or two as evidence of our very human process.
Note: If we accept your story for publication, our feedback will likely be closer to, like, 10 words. "We really like this one and want to publish it." Or something like that. But you'll get a paid publication ($100) and a super fast turnaround, if that's any consolation.
We're a privately funded journal that operates at a nifty little loss. We're offering this to help support our recent pay increase for writers and our visual artist. And because we like doing it.
Please follow our submission guidelines. 5,000 words max. 


I just wanted to pass along my sincere thanks for your careful reading, your thoughtful deliberation, and your incredibly kind and helpful comments (which are well in excess of the promised 250 words)! This kind of editorial feedback is worth its weight in gold, especially for a "late bloomer" such as myself.  – Trais P.
Thank you for your generous words and for the time it takes to give this much substantive feedback. This was so helpful and so great. I have so much to think about. I'm so glad I submitted this to you, thank you again so much for this, I really appreciate it.  – Danila B.

Fiction: 10-Day Response w/ 500-Word Feedback

What We Publish:
No limitations on genre. Just send us your best fiction. See our home page for a weirdly detailed example of the many genres we'll consider. But then again, the whole point of that list is that we'll consider pretty much anything.
We welcome flash fiction, longer stories, hybrid, and experimental stuff you can't quite define. We publish a new piece every three weeks. Help us keep our readers on their toes.
What We Pay: 
$100 via PayPal upon publication.
Word Count:
500 – 3,000 words is our preferred range, but you can submit up to 5,000 words maximum. Please submit only one story at a time. If you have a dozen flash fiction stories, please send us one of them. We respond very quickly, so if we pass, feel free to submit again. Note: We have nothing against microfiction, but since we publish one standalone story every three weeks, we will not consider stories less than 500 words in length.
Format:
We love hard-to-define fiction, but we also love easy-to-read fonts. All work should be double-spaced and formatted somewhat traditionally.
Response Times:
Our goal is to be one of the fastest-responding literary journals in the industry. If you get a quick “pass,” it is not a reflection of your writing but rather a reflection of our commitment to responding quickly.
Although we generally respond pretty quickly, our response times can vary with volume. If you don’t hear anything from us within 60 days, feel free to email Danny at Editor@wallstrait.com with the subject line, “Status of Submission: [Title]”. He’ll look into it and get back to you.
Note: We'll publish fiction in any genre as long as we love it, but we draw the line at AI-generated prose. We'll take humans writing about robots—but we don't want robots writing about humans. Please: No AI. 
Miscellaneous:

  No Multiple submissions. One at a time.
  We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  No Reprints. Original, unpublished stories only.

Cover Letter:

  Please include the word count.
  Publishing under a pseudonym is fine — be yourself in the cover letter and let us know the name under which you'd like to publish.
  We don't care how the cover letter is addressed. Some journals are weird about this, which seems weird to us. You can address it however you see fit.

Wallstrait

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