Variant ★Work published here has won or been selected for: Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poe…, The Best Small Fiction Anthology, Best of the Net.

Open now for fiction, flash fiction, and poetry.

Last checked

Variant Literature is accepting poetry, flash prose or micro series, literary fiction, and speculative fiction for its Winter 2027 issue.

Response time info: Within two months; average closer to one month

Read the full guidelines at variantlit.com↗

Submission calls

fictionLiteraryCloses Nov 20Pays: $25 per accepted longform story, paid through PayPal

Submit one literary fiction piece of 1,200–5,500 words. Submissions for the Winter 2027 issue are accepted October 10 through November 20, 2026. Pays $25 per accepted longform story via PayPal.

fictionScience FictionFantasyHorrorCloses Nov 20Pays: $25 per accepted longform story, paid through PayPal

Submit one speculative fiction piece of 1,200–5,500 words. Submissions for the Winter 2027 issue are accepted October 10 through November 20, 2026. Pays $25 per accepted longform story via PayPal.

flashLiteraryScience FictionFantasyHorrorCloses Nov 20Pays: $15 per accepted flash piece or micro series, paid through PayPal

Submit one flash prose piece of 750–1,200 words or a connected series of exactly three micros, 250–400 words each. Literary fiction, speculative fiction, and nonfiction are welcome. Submissions for the Winter 2027 issue are accepted October 10 through November 20, 2026. Pays $15 per accepted flash piece or micro series via PayPal.

poetryLiteraryCloses Nov 20Pays: $15 per accepted poem, paid through PayPal

Submit up to 5 poems totaling no more than 10 pages. Submissions for the Winter 2027 issue are accepted October 10 through November 20, 2026. Pays $15 per accepted poem via PayPal.

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