10 Notable Canadian Literary Magazines

If you’re a Canadian writer looking for a home for your work that’s a little more close to home, look no further. This is far from a comprehensive list, but what follows are ten quality literary publications that are based in Canada (with one exception). As always, familiarize yourself with what they publish before submitting, and follow their submission guidelines carefully.

Don’t forget, for literary magazines to exist, they need readers. Consider buying a subscription to support these journals as well as submitting your work. After all, the best way to hone your craft is to read widely, diversely, and insatiably.

The Antigonish Review

One of the oldest continuing literary magazines in Canada, The Antigonish Review is a quarterly literary print journal published by St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.

They accept submissions from around the world of: poetry, fiction between 500 to 3,000 words, translations, and creative non-fiction. It is a paying market, and there is a fee to submit—currently $3 for poetry and $5 for all other forms.

Blank Spaces

A Canadian literary arts magazine, Blank Spaces is published quarterly in print and digitally.

They accept submissions from Canadian creatives in the following categories:

• flash fiction (under 1,000 words)
• photography
• art
• poetry
• creative non-fiction
• fiction feature (up to 3,500 words)

There is a $6.00 fee to submit a fiction feature or $3.00 for anything else, but release months are also free submission months (September, December, March, and June). Blank Spaces is currently a non-paying market.

Dreamers Creative Writing

Dreamers Magazine is published tri-annually and sent to hundreds of subscribers across North America and Europe. It’s also sold in independent bookstores, as well as in Chapters, Coles and Indigo. Issues are also available digitally.

They are open to world-wide submissions of short stories, poems, personal essays or excerpts (that stand alone) from any genre. Accepted pieces are published on their website and authors will be paid a one-time $20 CAD honorarium. Three times per year, they select the best from among all the published online submissions for publication in Dreamers Magazine. There is a $3 submission fee.

Event

Event magazine is one of Western Canada’s longest-running literary magazines, and they welcome submissions written in English from around the world. Event publishes digitally and in print three times per year.

They are currently accepting submissions of fiction only, but see their website for the next poetry submission window and more information regarding submissions of non-fiction and reviews. There is no fee to submit. Contributors are paid $40/page for poetry and $35/page for prose, up to a maximum of $500, upon publication.

filling Station

filling Station magazine is a literary and arts magazine based in Alberta, published three times per year in print.

They are looking for submissions of previously unpublished poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, critical non-fiction (about literature and occasionally about visual art), and visual art. Their mandate is to publish Canadian experimental literature in all its diversity and would like to promote artists who have been historically underrepresented; however they will also consider work from non-Canadian creators.

There are no submission fees and filling Station pays a $50 honorarium to contributors.

Grain

A literary print quarterly that publishes writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists, Grain Magazine is based in Saskatchewan.

They accept submissions of poetry, fiction, and literary non-fiction, as well as queries for other forms of work. All contributors, regardless of genre, are paid $50 per page to a maximum of $250. They do not charge a submission fee.

Great Lakes Review

While not based in Canada, due to the focus of this journal I’ve included it on this list. Great Lakes Review publishes fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and photography from and about the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, both in print annually and on a rolling basis digitally.

Closed for submissions until September 1, 2022, but well worth keeping in mind, they consider fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and photography submissions. Be certain that either you are or have been a resident of the Great Lakes Region of the United States or Canada or that the manuscript you’re submitting involves the Great Lakes region of either the United States or Canada. Great Lakes Review is not a paying market.

Into the Void

An award-winning print and online literary magazine, Into the Void is published quarterly out of Vancouver, British Columbia. They are looking for fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and visual art submissions from around the world.

Into the Void has free submission windows during each reading period and offers $10 per poem, flash fiction or visual art piece, and $20 per long-form prose piece. Their current reading period, sadly, closed yesterday, but look for them to be accepting submissions again starting May 1.

Nunum

Nunum is an online literary journal dedicated to blending flash fiction and art, published quarterly. They operate out of New Brunswick, Canada.

They accept submissions of flash fiction of 500 words or less, as well as visual art. There is a fee of $3 to submit, and authors are paid $20 upon acceptance.

Parentheses Journal

An independent literary journal based in Ontario, Canada, Parentheses Journal publishes in print bi-annually, with issues releasing in April and October in print and digitally.

They welcome international submissions of poetry, prose, and art—do check their website for specific reading periods.

They do not charge for submissions and are currently a non-paying market.