This is a list of publications that accept unsolicited non-fiction submissions and don't charge reading\submission fees. - C. A. Broadribb.

Many writers have shared their thoughts with the public:

Publishing Non-Fiction

This is a selected list of publications that accept unsolicited, completed pieces: creative non-fiction, essays, memoir, travel articles or other articles. They don't charge anyone a reading\submission fee or require a subscription to submit. Some are digital-only publications (available to read online or download), some have printed editions too and a few are print-only. Some publications accept submissions at any time while others are open at various times during the year.

Some publications will let you submit more than one piece at a time or during a particular submission period ('multiple submissions') and\or submit a piece that's under consideration elsewhere ('simultaneous submission'). Different publications have different requirements for formatting\presentation, additional information to include and file types. Some are very picky. A publication can take weeks or months to respond to you, and some will respond only if they want to publish your piece.

Most publishers won't accept material created using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) because they're interested in your experience, thoughts, feelings etc and want to see your personal writing style rather than a homogenized one from a computer program. They appreciate writing on which you've spent time, effort and skill.

If you have a piece accepted by a publication, they'll want certain rights such as First Electronic Rights, or First Serial Rights and Non-Exclusive Electronic Rights. Occasionally, the information on a publication's website about rights is inaccurate. A publication will probably ask that you don't publish your piece elsewhere for a time ('exclusivity period') and might ask that in future, you credit them as the first publisher. Note that they might not accept any further pieces from you for a time, in order to publish a variety of writers.

There are many other publications out there too, in addition to the ones on this list. Some have more restrictions on who can submit to them. Note that this list isn't for publications seeking journalism or academic articles.

I'm not affiliated with any of these publications and can't guarantee the accuracy of the information so please do your own research before submitting anything.

Publications that pay for non-fiction:

Publications may obtain funding from various sources: subscriptions, donations, selling enrolments in writing courses\workshops, sales of books\anthologies or merchandise, state or federal government arts grants etc.

Non-fiction - unpublished pieces:

Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts articles on speculative genres\writers\fans, science, history etc. Size limit: under 5000 words (preferably around 3000 words). Pays AUD $10.
Aniko Magazine. Print. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creative non-fiction. Themed issues. No specified word limit. Pays AUD $125. Also accepts book reviews at times: size limit 600 - 900 words, pays AUD $50.
Aurealis. Digital. Accepts submissions from Mar 1 through Sep 30. Accepts articles and interviews of interest to readers and writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror; preferably with visuals included. Size limit: 500 - 2000 words. Pays AUD $40.
Barrelhouse. Print and\or digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts a variety of non-fiction including personal essays and book reviews. Themed issues. Size limit: varies. Pays USD $50 for articles, no payment for book reviews.
Broad Ripple Review. Digital. Accepts creative non-fiction including memoir, lyric essay and narrative non-fiction, and also accepts critical book reviews. Size limit: 4000 words for most submissions, around 800 - 1200 words for reviews. Payment not specified.
Consequence. Print and digital. Accepts submissions Jan 15 through Apr 15, and Jul 15 through Oct 15 each year. Accepts narrative non-fiction, critical and personal essays, interviews etc. Theme: war. Size limit: 4000 words. Pays USD $30 - $50.
Craft. Digital. Accepts creative non-fiction including memoir, lyric essays, personal essays, narrative non-fiction. Varying limits up to 6000 words. Pays USD $50 - $200 for unpublished pieces.
Dreamworldgirl Zine. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions during Apr through Jun, and Oct through Dec each year. Accepts non-fiction. Themed issues. No specified word limit. Pays USD $5 - $10. See the contact page on their website for the email address for submissions.
Electric Literature. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creative non-fiction including personal essays. Size limit: 2000 - 6500 words. Pays USD $100.
Going Down Swinging. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. A writer can submit once every 6 months. Accepts creative non-fiction. Size limit: 2000 words. Pays AUD $60 for under 500 words, AUD $170 for 500+ words.
Griffith Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays, memoir, reportage, visual essays, Q&As. Themed issues. Size limit: 4000 words. Pays (Australian) 75 cents\word.
GR Online. Digital (an online-only supplement to Griffith Review). Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays and reflections. Size limit: 1500 words. Pays AUD $500.
Gutter. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during Northern Hemisphere Spring and Autumn. Accepts essays. Size limit: 2500 words. Pays GBP £50.
Island. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from Australia, New Zealand, and Australians overseas. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 4000 words. Pays (Australian) 40 cents\word with a minimum of AUD $600 and a maximum of $1500 but deducts the cost of a subscription for non-subscribers.
Island Online. Digital (an online-only supplement to Island magazine). Accepts submissions only from Australia, New Zealand, and Australians overseas. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 1500 words. Pays AUD $600 but deducts the cost of a subscription to Island for non-subscribers.
Larina's Lit Lounge. Digital. Accepts non-fiction written in response to one of their prompts. Size limit: up to 1000 words (preferably around 500 words). Pays USD $20.
Longreads. Digital. Accepts submissions of personal essays (and pitches for other non-fiction). No specified word limit. Pays USD $500 for personal essays.
Mascara Literary Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays and reviews. Size limit: 3000 words for non-fiction, approximately 1200 - 1500 words for reviews. Pays AUD $200 (to Australians only).
MudRoom. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays. Size limit: 6000 words. Pays USD $15.
Narratively. Digital. Accepts first-person pieces about interesting moments for The Personals section. Size limit: 2200 words (preferably 1000 - 1500 words). Pays USD $300.
Nightmare. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creative non-fiction (theme: horror\dark fantasy) for the Horror Lab section. Size limit: 1500 words. Pays (US) 8 cents\word.
Notch Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 1500 words. Payment not specified.

Overland.

Peril. Digital. Accepts non-fiction, essays, creative-nonfiction, opinion\blog posts etc related to issues of Asian Australian interest. Usually has themed issues. Size limit: preferably under 1000 words. Pays AUD $75 - $300.
Pictura Journal. Print and digital. A writer can submit up to twice every calender year. Accepts creative non-fiction. Size limit: 1500 words. Pays USD $5.
Prairiefire. Print. A writer can submit non-fiction once every 12 months. Accepts creative non-fiction. Some issues are themed. Size limit: 10,000 words. Pays (US) 10 cents\word up to a maximum of USD $250 (or lower maximums for some categories).
Quadrant. Print and\or digital. Accepts articles. Size limit: approximately 3000 words. Payment not specified.
Rat Bag Lit. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creaive non-fiction. Size limit: 1000 words. Pays (US) 1 cent\word up to USD $10.
SmokeLong Quarterly. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts reviews of flash fiction collections, essays on craft, articles on teaching flash. Size limit: 1000 words. Pays USD $100.
Southerly. Print and digital. Accepts creative non-fiction only from Australians and New Zealanders, and accepts other pieces relating to Australians. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Size limit: 3000 words. Pays AUD $160 for printed reviews, AUD $525 for other printed pieces, AUD $50 - $300 for digital-only pieces.
Splinter. Print and digital. There can be restrictions on who can submit. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts memoir (and pitches for essays\articles). No specified word limit. Pays AUD $600 for memoir.
The Big Issue. Print. Accepts submissions only from Australia. Accepts personal essays, articles, interviews etc. Varying word limits up to 2300 words. Pays AUD $200 - $300.
The Dublin Review. Print. Accepts non-fiction. No specified word limit. Pays GBP £300+.
The First Line. Print and digital. Accepts critical essays on the first line of a literary work. Size limit: 500 - 800 words. Pays: USD $25.
The Masters Review. Digital. Accepts essays on the craft of writing: 1200 - 2500 words, pays USD $50.
The New York Times - Modern Love column. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during Sep through Dec, and Mar through Jun. Accepts personal essays on relationships. Size limit: 1500 - 1700 words. Payment not specified.
The Rumpus. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts articles of cultural criticism, essays, interviews. Size limit: 5000 words. Pays USD $500.
The School Magazine - Countdown, Blast Off, Orbit, Touchdown. Print and digital. Accepts articles for 7 - 12 year old children. Size limit: 800 - 2000 words. Pays (Australian) 50 cents\word.
The Stinging Fly. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during two-week periods during May and Nov each year. Accepts non-fiction including essays. No specified word limit. Pays GBP £175 - £1250.
The Suburban Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creative non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 500 - 2500 words. Pays AUD $300 - $450.
The Threepenny Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions from Jan 1 through April 14 each year. Accepts critical articles, essays, memoir. Varying size limits up to 4000 words. Varying payments up to USD $400.
Uncanny. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays. Theme: science fiction and fantasy. No specified size limit. Pays USD $100.
Vast Chasm Magazine. Digital. Accepts creative non-fiction. Size limit: 5000 words. Pays USD $50.
Virginia Quarterly Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays, memoir, literary journalism, investigative reporting. Size limit: 3000 - 7000 words. Pays (US) approximately 25 cents/word.
West Branch. Print and digital. Accepts submissions from August 1 through April 1 the following year. Accepts creative non-fiction. Size limit: 30 pages. Pays (US) 10 cents\word up to a maximum of USD $200.
Westerly. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts memoir, creative non-fiction, essays, literary criticism, reviews. Size limit: 3500 words. Pays AUD $500 for printed pieces, AUD $250 for digital pieces.
Yellow Arrow Journal. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts creative non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 100 - 2000 words. Pays USD $10.

Non-fiction - both unpublished and previously published pieces:

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published outside of the USA. Accepts criticism, reviews, creative non-fiction, essays, true crime. Theme: crime. Size limit: almost any length (preferably 2500 - 8000 words). Pays (US) 7 cents\word.
Exist Otherwise. Print and digital. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts essays, creative non-fiction, hybrid, or experimental writing. Themed issues but the theme is optional. Size limit: under 100 words or 300 - 500 words. Pays USD $15.
inScribe. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Generally accepts unpublished pieces but may consider previously published pieces. Accepts creative non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 3500 words.
Mslexia. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were self-published (not selected or commissioned via an independent editorial process). Accepts non-fiction. Varying themes. Varying word limits. Pays GBP £30+.
NonBinary Review (from Zoetic Press). Print and digital. Accepts submissions in Feb, May, Aug and Nov each year. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts speculative non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 3000 words. Pays (US) 1 cent\word.
Ruadan Books. Digital. Accepts essays on the craft and business of writing, and speculative fiction, for the online column 'Thoughts From the Writer's Desk'. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they are not available to read online. Size limit: 1000 - 2000 words. Pays (US) 10 cents\word for unpublished pieces, (US) 3 cent\word for previously published pieces.
Scrawl Place. Digital. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts creative non-fiction about a place that others can visit. No specified word limit. Pays USD $35.
Solstitia. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts non-fiction. Themed issues but the themes aren't strictly enforced. Size limit: 10,000 words. Pays USD $50.
Stanchion. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on social media\personal blogs. Accepts creative non-fiction, essays, book reviews. Size limit: 4000 words. Pays USD $20.
Stanchion - Elegant Variations. Digital (an online-only supplement to Stanchion magazine). Accepts submissions at times. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on social media\personal blogs. Accepts creative non-fiction, essays etc. Size limit: 1000 words. Pays USD $5.
Story Unlikely. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts narrative non-fiction, humour, memoir. Size limit: 7500 words. Pays (US) 8 cents\word to a maximum of USD $350 for unpublished pieces, (US) 1 cent\word for previously published pieces.
The Lascaux Review. Digital. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts creative nonfiction including memoir, chronicles, personal essays, humorous perspectives, literary journalism. No specified word limit. Payment not specified.
The Memoirist Quarterly. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Prefers unpublished pieces but will consider previously published pieces. Accepts memoir, and essays about writing memoir. Size limit: 700 - 2500 words. Pays USD $50.
The Pink Hydra. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Accepts creative speculative non-fiction. Size limit: 50 - 30,000 words. Pays USD $5 - USD $25 depending on length.

Publications that accept non-fiction but don't pay for it:

Non-fiction - unpublished pieces:

African Writer Magazine. Digital. Accepts essays, commentary, creative non-fiction, memoir, braided essay, personal reflection, reviews. Accepts pieces about African people, places, ideas, experiences. No specified word limit.
All Your Stories. Print and digital. Accepts non-fiction, essays, articles on advice for writers, travel tales, memories, author interviews. Size limit: 2500 words.
Amethyst Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at the start of each month, until they've received 100 submissions. Accepts creative non-fiction about spirituality and the sacred. Size limit: 2000 words.
Antler Velvet. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts lyrical non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 1000 words.
Apricity Press. Digital. Accepts submissions each year from Sep 1 through Jan 1 the following year. Accepts non-fiction. Size limit: 6 pages.
Belladonna's Garden. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction. Themed issues. No specified word limit.
Bright Flash Literary Review. Digital. Accepts memoir. Size limit: 1500 words.
Club Plum Literary Journal. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts lyrical essays, creastive non-fiction. Some issues are themed. Size limit: 3000 words.
Confluence. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creative non-fiction. Size limit: 2500 words.
Cordella Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts essays, memoir, creative non-fiction. Themed issues but the themes aren't strictly enforced. No specified word limit.
Cosmic Daffodil Journal. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction. Themed issues. Size limit: 600 words.
Crannog Online. Digital. Accepts reviews, memoir, personal esaays about the writing life, articles about writers. No specified word limit.
Eleventh Hour Literary. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts creative non-fiction and essays, but only pieces that have been rejected by other publications and then revised. Size limit: 16 pages, about 5000 words.
Frankie. Print and digital. No specified word limit.
Funny Pearls. Digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts humorous pieces including memoir. Size limit: 2000 words.
Guernica. Digital. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 2500 - 7000 words (usually 4000 - 5000 words).
Heat. Print and digital. No specified word limit.
Headlight Anthology. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Size limit: 4000 words.
Inanot Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Size limit: 4000 words.
Literary Yard. Digital. No specified word limit.
Lotus-eater. Digital. Size limit: 5000 words.
Macabre Magazine. Digital. Theme: horror. Size limit: 6000 words.
Magazine Americana. Digital. Accepts articles on American popular culture (1900-present). No specified word limit.
Mangrove Review. Print. Accepts submissions at times. Size limit: 5000 words.
MER. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Theme: motherhood. Size limit: 1000 words.
Midnight Mind Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times for themed anthologies relating to American culture. No specified word limit.
n+1. Print and\or digital. No specified word limit.
Nineth Heaven. Digital. Themed issues. No specified word limit.
Northern Eclecta. Print and digital. Accepts submissions from mid Jan to early Mar each year. Themed issues. No specified word limit.
OyeDrum. Digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. No specified word limit.
Oyster River Pages. Digital. Accepts submissions from Jan 15 through May 1 each year. Size limit: 6000 words.
Persimmon Tree. Digital. Accepts submissions only from women aged over 60. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 3500 words. There are also themed sections ('Short Takes') that accept submissions at times and have a limit of 500 words.
Pure Slush. Print. Accepts submissions at times. Themed anthologies. Size limit: 150 - 1000 words.
redrosethorns journal. Digital. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Feminist slant. Themes: mental health, self-care, gender\sexuality, empowerment. Size limit: 3000 words.
Review Americana: A Creative Writing Journal. Digital. Accepts pieces that hold appeal for an American readership and bear a relationship to American culture. No specified word limit.
Right Now. Digital. Theme: human rights issues in Australia. Size limit: 1000 words.
Salvation South. Digital. Accepts only pieces that appeal to people living in, or with roots in, the American South. Size limit: they have published pieces from 300 words to several thousand words.
Scribeworth. Digital, and some pieces are included in a print anthology. Accepts submissions during Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 1000 - 2000 words.
Silly Goose Press. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Some issues are themed. Size limit: 3000 words. Some issues have lower word limits.
Spadina Literary Review. Digital. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 500 - 2000 words for an essay, 1000 - 2000 words for memoir.
St. Katherine Review. Digital. Size limit: 2000 words.
Stereo Stories. Print and digital. Accepts memoir based around a song. Size limit: 800 words.
StylusLit. Digital. Accepts submissions during May, Jun, Nov, Dec. Size limit: 5000 words.
Superpresent. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Size limit: 500 - 2000 words.
The Creatives Journal. Digital. Size limit: 50 - 2000 words.
The Fool's World. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Themed issues relating to travel. Varying word limits.
The Forgotten Writer. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Size limit: 5000 words.
The Gilded Weathervane (by FarmGirl Press). Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Theme: rural life. Size limit: 3000 words.
The Manchester Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Size limit: 6000 words.
The Masters Review. Digital. Accepts narrative non-fiction from emerging writers: size limit 7000 words, no payment. Accepts book reviews and interviews with authors\industry professionals. Size limit: 700 - 1200 words for a book review, 1200 - 2500 words for an interview. No payment for book reviews and interviews.
The Muleskinner Journal. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 3000 words.
The Paris Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during Feb, Jun and Oct each year until they reach capacity. Size limit: 40 pages.
The Penn Review. Digital, and has an annual 'best of' print issue. Accepts submissions at times.
The Rumen. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 5000 words.
Thorn & Bloom (from the same publisher as redrosethorns journal). Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Feminist slant. Themed issues. Size limit: 2500 words.
Twist & Twain. Digital. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 3000 words.
Up North Lit. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. No payment for general submissions from adults. Size limit: 4000 words.
Varnish. Digital, with a planned print issue in future. A writer can submit twice during a six-month period. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. No specified word limit.
Verity La Journal. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Size limit: 2500 words.
Wilderness. Digital. Size limit: 1000 words.

Non-fiction - both unpublished and previously unpublished pieces:

Braided Way. Digital. Accepts unpublished pieces and a very few previously published pieces. Theme: spirituality. Size limit: 2500 words.
Craft. Digital. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Size limit: varying limits up to 6000 words. No payment for previously published pieces.
Doubleback Review. Digital. Accepts only previously published pieces from defunct journals - pieces must not be available online or in print. Size limit: 4000 words.
Four Tulips. Print and digital. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on personal blogs. Size limit: 2000 words.
Incensepunk Magazine. Digital - some pieces are also included in a printed annual anthology. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Theme: the intersection of faith and emerging technology. Also accepts book reviews. Size limit: 1000 words.
January House Literary Journal. Print and digital. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on personal blogs or social media. Size limit: 1500 words.
Meniscus. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on blogs or social media. Size limit: 3000 words.
Pinch. Print and digital. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on personal websites or social media. Size limit: preferably under 4000 words.
Rabble Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Theme: anti-capitalism. Size limit: 2000 words.
Reed Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on a personal website. Size limit: 5000 words.
Remington Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. No specifed word limit.
Still Point Arts Quarterly (by Shanti Arts). Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Themed issues. Size limit: 5000 words.
The Metaworker. Digital. Accepts submissions during Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Jul, Aug, Oct, Nov. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Size limits: 150 words for micro pieces, 3000 words for other pieces.
Waffle Fried (a lit mag). Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only on personal blogs or social media accounts. Accepts non-fiction including memoir. Themed issues. Size limit: 1500 words.
Waywords Literary Journal. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts both unpublished and previously published pieces. Size limit: 5000 words.
Willows Wept Review. Print and digital. Accepts unpublished pieces, and accepts previously published pieces if they were published only in print more than one year ago, or on personal websites. No specified word limit.