7 Paying Places to Submit Your Writing in Fall 2025

September is upon us again! Although my school days are comfortably behind me, I still think of September as the start of a new year and a fresh beginning. If you're looking to get a fresh start with your writing after a long summer, here are 7 paying markets to submit to this fall:

The Mollie Savage Memorial Writing Contest (Toasted Cheese Literary Journal)

• Deadline: all stories must be written over the weekend of Sept 18-21

• About: The Savage Writing Contest runs twice a year, on the weekends closest to March 21 and September 21. All entries must be composed within the contest time frame, and adhere to the topic and word range announced at the contest start. The autumn edition of the Savage Writing Contest is a SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY contest.

• Word Count: not specified

• Payment: If 50 or fewer eligible entries are received, first place receives a $35 Amazon gift card & second a $10 Amazon gift card. If 51 or more eligible entries are received, first place receives a $50 Amazon gift card, second a $15 Amazon gift card & third a $10 Amazon gift card.

Story Unlikely

• Deadline: September 29, 2025

• About: To put it simply, we're looking for good stories, measured both by the quality of the writing and the skill in storytelling. We prefer prose that elicits emotion: make us laugh or cry, think or consider, anything on the edge or in between.

• Word Count: 3500 words

• Payment: 8 cents per word (capped at $500)

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists "Write Before Midnight" Contest

• Deadline: September 30, 2025

• About: Submitted stories can be about any of the existential threats the Bulletin covers: nuclear weapons, climate change, biological and chemical weapons, artificial intelligence, killer robots, doomsday drone submarines, bioengineered zombies, the gray goo of nanotechnology gone wild, and so, so much more. The stories can be dystopian or utopian; pre-, post-, or non-apocalyptic. They can be optimistic as Sesame Street or dark as Edgar Allan Poe’s basement. Entries can be of any genre: high literature and potboiler noir will vie on a level playing field.

• Word Count: up to 7500 words

• Payment: $3,000 for first place, with $500 each to four runners-up

Open Secrets Personal Essays

• Deadline: September 30 (may close early)
• About: We are looking for original, unpublished 1,000-2,500-word personal essays that explore transformative, powerful human experiences, especially those that are often kept secret or hidden.
• Word Count: 1,000 - 2,500
• Payment: $25y

Home Constellations: An Anthology of Unconventional Bonds

• Deadline: October 1, 2025

• About: Home Constellations is an anthology focused on stories about the future which feature non-traditional families. This volume will contain stories and poetry. Submitted works should be of any genre, as long as the work depicts a world that is noticeably in the future. 

• Word Count: "no hard limit"

• Payment: 5$ + 1c/word over 500 (up to 5k) words + .2c/word over 5k words

Africanfuturism Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing)

• Deadline: November 2, 2025
• About: For this open submission call, the stories should be set in and about Africa – whether that's a future Africa, an alternative Africa or a parallel Africa, the choice is yours. The genre implies a lean towards science fiction rather than fantasy, and towards positive scenarios and concepts, but of course is open to interpretation.
• Word Count: 2000-4000 (with flexibility)
• Payment: 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories, 6 cents/4 pence for reprints.

The Dark Lane Anthology #14

• Deadline: open until full

• About: What we’re looking for:Well-written stories: dark, weird, strange, magical.Our tastes lean more towards literary 'dark' fiction, but we're not against reading something frivolous and fun if done well.

• Word Count: 2000-7000

• Payment: £10 payable by Paypal

Happy writing!