I’m back again with ten more quality literary publications that are based in Canada. Most of these magazines accept submissions from all over the world, but for all my fellow Canadian writers, it’s a little bit special to find a home for your work that is close to home.
A few tips to consider before submitting to any literary magazine:
- Read their submission guidelines carefully.
- Familiarize yourself with what kind of work they publish. Read an issue or two.
- Make sure your work is polished and ready for submission.
And most importantly, please be mindful that for literary magazines to exist, they need readers. Consider buying a subscription to support these journals in addition to submitting your work. After all, reading diversely and voraciously is the ultimate way to hone your craft!
Brick
Brick is an international literary journal published twice a year out of Toronto. They focus on literary non-fiction, challenging personal essays, interviews, translations, memoirs, belles lettres, and unusual musings.
If you want to know more about Brick before you submit or purchase, you can subscribe to Bricolage, a monthly newsletter that offers a sampling of the best of the magazine delivered right to your inbox.
Brick is open for submissions twice a year: from September 1 to October 31 and from March 1 to April 30. Opening soon!
Broken Pencil
Established in 1995, Broken Pencil publishes online and in print four times a year. Each issue of Broken Pencil features reviews of hundreds of zines and small press books, plus comics, excerpts from the best of the underground press, interviews, original fiction and commentary on all aspects of the indie arts.
Broken Pencil is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They ask for an optional submission fee to offset the cost of keeping an open submission policy but do state that all submissions will be treated the same regardless of whether or not you opt-in to the submission fee. Currently, they pay between $60 and $120 per accepted piece.
Carousel
Established in 1983, Carousel is a hybrid literary/arts magazine representing new and established artists, focusing on positioning Canadian talent within an international context. It publishes biannually, exclusively online.
Carousel does not charge reading fees but does note that there are a limited number of free submissions per month. Accepted contributors will receive the following honorarium upon publication: Poetry: $20 per poem; Fiction: $40–$80 per story; Experimental Reviews: $20–$40 per review.
Carousel will be opening for submissions on September 15, 2022.
The Dalhousie Review
The Dalhousie Review was founded in 1921 and has been in continuous operation ever since, making it one of the oldest literary journals in Atlantic Canada. It has developed an international reputation for consistently publishing high-quality work by established and emerging writers in Canada and worldwide.
The Dalhousie Review is a literary journal published tri-annually by Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They invite submissions from established and emerging writers in Canada and around the world of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and reviews. Contributors receive two complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears.
Geist
Geist is published four times a year by The Geist Foundation. The magazine features a mix of fact and fiction, photography and comics, poetry, essays and reviews, and the weird and wonderful from the world of words.
Although currently closed for fiction submissions, Geist is always seeking short (800-1200 words) non-fiction, typically personal narrative, for their Notes & Dispatches section. Notes & Dispatches are brief and often humorous or lighthearted evocations of life (most often) set in the land north of America, written in plain language with strong verbs.
Geist is a paying market; please see their website for details. There is a $3.00 reading fee.
Existere – Journal of Arts and Literature
Existere is a publication established, administered, and published by students in the Professional Writing Program at York University in Toronto, Canada. It publishes biannually, and submissions of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and art are accepted from national and international contributors all year.
Existere pays authors $50 per accepted submission (maximum $250), along with a complimentary copy. There is no charge to submit work.
The New Quarterly
The New Quarterly publishes short fiction, poetry, postscripts, and non-fiction from Canadian writers. They are dedicated to promoting emerging Canadian writers alongside the work of established Canadian writers.
They pay their contributors as follows: Fiction and Non-fiction: $275; Poetry and Postscripts: $50 per piece; plus a complimentary copy and a special contributor subscription rate. There is no charge for general submissions, and they run three annual contests with an entry fee.
The Puritan
The Puritan began in 2007 as a quarterly prose journal based in Ottawa, Ontario. It now publishes in the form of an online magazine run from Toronto and has expanded its mandate to include poetry and reviews.
The Puritan seeks submissions all year round, from anywhere in the world. Their payment rates for publication are as follows: $100 per interview, $200 per essay, $100 per review, $150 per work of fiction, and $25 per poem.
Regular submissions to the magazine are free of charge and are accepted in these four categories: fiction, essays, poetry, and reviews.
Room
As Canada’s longest-running feminist literary journal, Room is published quarterly by the West Coast Feminist Literary Magazine Society. Room publishes fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, interviews, and book reviews.
Writers from around the world are welcome to submit work. All contributors will be paid upon publication: $50 for one page, $60 for two pages, $90 for three pages, $120 for four pages, and $150 for five or more pages.
The Walrus
Based in Toronto, The Walrus publishes content nearly every day online and eight times per year in print. They accept submissions from Canada and around the world of short essays, long reads, fiction, poetry, visual features, and more.
Please note that The Walrus welcomes stories on any subject but does not publish mystery, historical romance, thrillers or genre fiction.
For an additional ten fabulous submission opportunities for Canadian writers, see my previous article, 10 Notable Canadian Literary Magazines.
Aly Writes 
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