Despite frequent cries to the contrary, there are lots of great places buying speculative fiction these days. Professionally-paying science fiction markets top the list, followed closely by fantasy, trailed distantly by markets open to horror. Still, there are many options—even more if you expand your search to include semi-pro rates, one-off anthologies, or open forums. But today I thought I’d gather up some of the strongest markets for speculative fiction writers to submit their work to. These twenty options all pay professional rates, have been around a while, and are ether currently open to submissions or plan to be within the next month.

Standard disclaimers: I am not personally endorsing any of these markets or their work. I have submitted to some but not all; I’ve had work published in some but not all. You still need to do your due diligence to see if you like the publications and/or feel good about their terms of agreement. Nor can I promise maintained accuracy of the details; contributor guidelines change frequently, as do submission windows and the markets themselves. So be sure you check their websites for details before sending in your own work.

Without further ado and in no particular order, twenty great places to submit your speculative short stories right now:

What: science fiction, fantasy, horror Publication format: digital, audio, print Length: up to 7,500 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy, horror Publication format: digital Length: up to 7,500 words Pay for original fiction: $0.05/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy Publication format: digital, print Length: up to 25,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.07-$0.12/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy Publication format: digital, audio Length: up to 10,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.08/word Guidelines What: horror Publication format: audio Length: up to 6,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy, horror Publication format: digital, print Length: 1,000-16,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.10/word for the first 5000 words, $0.08/word over 5000 Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery/crime Publication format: digital, print Length: up to 7,500 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines: general magazine & open prompts What: science fiction, fantasy Publication format: digital Length: 100-1,500 words Pay for original fiction: $0.08/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy Publication format: print, digital Length: 1,000-20,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.08-$0.10/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy, horror Publication format: digital Length: up to 17,500 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines What: fantasy Publication format: audio, digital Length: up to 6,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06 Guidelines *next window opens April 1 What: (interactive) science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, romance Publication format: digital Length: 1,000-5,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word, $0.03/word for interactivity Guidelines What: science fiction Publication format: audio, digital Length: 1,500-6,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy, mainstream Publication format: digital, print Length: up to 45,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines What: science fiction Publication format: print Length: up to 40,000 words (excluding novels) Pay for original fiction: $0.08-$0.10/word Guidelines What: fantasy Publication format: digital, audio Length: up to 14,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy Publication format: digital, print Length: 1,500-3,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.06/word Guidelines: general & themed calls What: science fiction, fantasy Publication format: digital Length: up to 7,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.07/word Guidelines What: science fiction, fantasy, horror, mainstream Publication format: digital, print Length: up to 4,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.125/word Guidelines *next window opens April 23 What: science fiction Publication format: digital Length: up to 2,000 words Pay for original fiction: $0.20/word Guidelines

A final reminder to check the details before sending in your work, plus encouragement: hop to it! The worst they can say is no. Now get to work.