May 2026 Monthly Market Report
Welcome to the monthly market report brought to you via a collaboration between Dream Foundry and the Submission Grinder. You can check here for new reports and an archive of past ones, or sign up to receive them in your inbox through our Market Report Newsletter.
To be included here, each market must meet The Submission Grinder’s standards for a full listing, minimal standards for payment set by Dream Foundry, and publish speculative fiction or poetry. We may be making tweaks to the inclusion/exclusion criteria in the coming months to ensure we’re meeting our goal of including markets that meet our basic standards for professionalism in their business practices. Inclusion in this list is not an endorsement. If you have reason to believe a market doesn’t meet a basic threshold for professionalism, please report that to The Submission Grinder. If you think there’s an issue with the criteria used to curate the list, reach out to us here at Dream Foundry.
Speaking of market opportunities, the Dream Foundry contests for Emerging Artists and Emerging Writers are currently open for submissions, though it’s closing soon! Submit your portfolio or short story before June 8 for a chance at cash prizes and getting a special showcase at Flights of Foundry.
FICTION
New Markets
Anhedonia Press Drabbles (Upcoming)
Democratic Futures Prize
The Book of Demons
Markets Currently Open for Submissions
Apex Magazine (Recently Opened)
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest (Recently Opened)
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Book Worms (Recently Opened)
Clarkesworld Magazine
Crepuscular Magazine
Escape Pod
Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter
Flash Fiction Online (FFO) (Originals) (Recently Opened)
Gavagai
Haven Spec Magazine (Recently Opened)
Reckoning
Story Unlikely
The No Sleep Podcast
The Tomorrow Prize
Thyme Travellers Anthology Series
Torch Literary Arts
Uncharted Magazine
Were- Anthology Series
Markets Recently Closed for Submissions
100-Foot Crow
Al Blanchard Award
Anomaly
Climbing High (Permanent)
Extremely Weird Splatter (Permanent)
Missed-Fits (Permanent)
Orion’s Belt
PodCastle
PseudoPod
Tales From the Cryptids (Permanent)
The Cookout (Permanent)
Three-Lobed Burning Eye
Tome and Space
Utopia Science Fiction
Upcoming Market Changes
Anomaly‘s Submission Window begins and ends soon.
Apex Magazine‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Book Worms‘s “Summer” Theme ends soon.
Cast of Wonders‘s “Banned Books” Theme begins and ends soon.
Escape Pod‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Flash Fiction Online (FFO) (Originals)‘s Translations Only Submission Window ends soon.
Flash Fiction Online (FFO) (Originals)‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Haven Spec Magazine‘s Submission Window ends soon.
If There’s Anyone Left‘s Submission Window begins soon.
The Book of Demons permanently closes soon.
Were- Anthology Series permanently closes soon.
POETRY
Markets Currently Open for Submissions
Alocasia
Book Worms (Recently Opened)
BSFS Poetry Contest
Dreams & Nightmares
Haven Spec Magazine (Recently Opened)
Heartlines Spec (Recently Opened)
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
MENACE
Radon Journal
Reckoning
Seven Story Hotel
Spec Colorways In Verse (Recently Opened)
Strange Horizons
Tales From the Cryptids (Recently Opened)
The Green Sheaf (Recently Opened)
The Neurodiversiverse: Bridging Worlds
Torch Literary Arts
Trollbreath Magazine
Markets Recently Closed for Submissions
Orion’s Belt
PULP Literature
Small Wonders
Utopia Science Fiction
Upcoming Market Changes
Assembly Press‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Book Worms‘s “Summer” Theme ends soon.
Haven Spec Magazine‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Heartlines Spec‘s Submission window ends soon.
Roses & Wildflowers‘s “Le Chat Noir” Theme ends soon.
The Dream Foundry Market Report is compiled by David Steffen, editor of Diabolical Plots and The Long List Anthology series, and administrator and co-founder of the Submission Grinder. Diabolical Plots was the publisher of “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything” by Effie Seiberg, which is a finalist for the Nebula and Hugo Awards, and you can read it for free! You can support Diabolical Plots and the Submission Grinder on PayPal or Patreon or by buying books or merch.