Fee-Free Literary Essays

We began as The Dominion Review, an annual student literary journal housed at Old Dominion University in 1983. In 2008, the journal relaunched under the name Barely South Review as an online biannual publication staffed by students of the MFA program. Our name refers to our unique location in the US, while highlighting the idiosyncratic blend of voices and histories that commingle here…
Topics:   Open to all/most topics, including: Other.
Lengths:   Essay, Narrative Nonfiction.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 49.2 days.
Acceptances: Unknown. None reported yet in nonfiction.

The Citron Review started back in 2009 when a group of writers decided to create a literary venue that celebrates short literature. These writers had all graduated from the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at Antioch University in Los Angeles, where they were collectively known as The Citrons. So they named the journal The Citron Review…
Topics:   Open to all/most topics, including: Other.
Lengths:   Essay, Narrative Nonfiction.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Average responder. 53.0 days.
Acceptances: Unknown. None reported yet in nonfiction.

Hibiscus is a literary and arts magazine with sweet and tangy content that warmly feeds the soul. We seek the sweetest poem or the tangiest essay. We seek authenticity and raw diction, quirky creativity, and literary chaos. We want beckoning art, and anything that seems too weird to submit anywhere. We honestly won’t know what we’ll like until we see it. So send us your weird, your best, your worst, and your in-betweens. We welcome all! Ultimately, we just want our souls fed.
Topics: Open to all/most topics.
Lengths:   Essay, Narrative Nonfiction.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Slower than average responder. 285.8 days.
Acceptances: Unknown. None reported yet in nonfiction.

In Short: A Journal of Flash Nonfiction is an independent literary magazine for flash nonfiction at every length. We publish creative nonfiction of 1,000 words or fewer, micros of 400 words or fewer, and short-shorts of 100 words or fewer. By publishing short-form creative nonfiction, we aim to provide a platform for writers who lack the time and resources typically needed for publication…
Topics:   Open to all/most topics, including: Memoir.
Lengths:   Essay, Narrative Nonfiction.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 44.6 days.
Acceptances: Challenging. 2.9% of nonfiction submissions accepted.

We strive to publish creative nonfiction (as well as poetry, photography and art) that explores the human experience as it relates to mortality. Why dedicate a journal to writing about death? Contemplating mortality – be it by a terminally ill patient, a hospice nurse, a bereaved person, a recovering cancer patient – sparks profound and compelling writing rich in insights about the human condition. It seems it is nearly impossible to contemplate dying without also reflecting on how to live well.
Topics:     Health/Medicine, Memoir, Psychology, Other.
Lengths:   Essay, Narrative Nonfiction.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Average responder. 56.6 days.
Acceptances: Unknown. None reported yet in nonfiction.

Still Point Arts Quarterly is a beautifully-designed publication of words and images focused on art, nature, and spirit. Each issue includes portfolios of contemporary artists as well as articles, essays, fiction, and poetry. Featured artists have included painters, photographers, and mixed-media artists from around the world; featured writers have included novelists, frequent contributors to literary journals, nominees for the Pushcart Prize, and chapbook poets…
Topics:      Open to all/most topics, including: Nature/Environment, Religion/Spirituality, Visual Arts, Other.
Lengths: Essay.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Average responder. 67.2 days.
Acceptances: Approachable. 32.4% of nonfiction submissions accepted.

The name Superpresent conveys multiple meanings. It could be something very much in the here and now, or something beyond the present state of being or thinking, or something surreal, or it could simply be a great and wonderful gift. In this sense, we seek to present poetry, essays, short stories, and visual arts that are compelling and in someway represent an aspect of the super present.
Topics:   Open to all/most topics, including: Other.
Lengths:   Essay, Narrative Nonfiction.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 30.2 days.
Acceptances: Average. 8.3% of nonfiction submissions accepted.