Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine
Smoky Blue publishes poetry, short fiction, creative
nonfiction, and memoir. Since its inception, Smoky Blue has encouraged
submissions from seniors, but will accept submissions from people of any age,
and while they’re based in North Carolina, they accept submissions from
everywhere.
Their “main criteria is that the work be good: it should
engage the reader/viewer. Art should not merely strike a familiar chord; it
should enrich our experience. It must (in the words of Ezra Pound) ‘make it
new.’”
Poetry: Accepts a maximum of four poems per issue.
Prose: Accepts a maximum of one fiction and one
nonfiction work per issue. Any length up to 5,000 words.
Opens for submissions August 1 – December 15 for the
spring/summer issue and February 1 – June 15 for the fall/winter issue.
Charges a $3 submission fee to offset operating costs.
Full submission guidelines here.
Agnes and True
Agnes and True is a Canadian online literary
journal dedicated to providing a place for the work of Canadian writers,
both established and emerging. While they accept submissions from
outside Canada, we do place an emphasis on works of fiction that exhibit a
Canadian sensibility.
As their name suggests, Agnes and True celebrates
the achievement of women. In addition, they are particularly interested
in discovering and publishing the work of emerging older writers.
They’s seeking short fiction, 500 – 3,500 words.
Full submission guidelines here.
Bloom
Bloom is a literary site devoted to highlighting,
profiling, reviewing, and interviewing authors and artists whose first major
work debuted when they were forty or older… who bloomed in their own good time.
They also accept submissions of short fiction and
poetry.
Founded in 2011, Bloom is also a
community of readers and makers who believe that “late” is a relative term, not
an absolute one, and who are interested in bringing to attention a wide variety
of artistic paths—challenging any narrow, prevailing ideas about the pacing and
timing of creative fruition. If someone is labeled a “late bloomer,” the
question Bloom poses is, “Late” according to whom?
Bloom is not currently open for submissions.
Subscribe to hear about their open submission period for the summer of 2026. As
with most Substacks, they do have a free subscription option. Here.
BoomerLitMag
While open to all ages, this literary magazine
specifically has its "home base" in the Baby Boomer generation.
Send fiction or literary essays up to 5,000 words.
For poetry, send three to five poems, totalling no more than five single-spaced
pages.
Full submission guidelines here (in
the righthand column).
Thin Skin
“We want Thin Skin to be the
first point of contact for older writers looking for a home for their work. Our
aim is to become a must-read in the literary world, providing high quality
literary fiction that rivals anything our younger colleagues can produce.”
Based in the UK, but accepting work from anywhere,
Thin Skin seeks fiction (max 3,000 words), flash fiction (max 1,000
words) and poetry (max 3 poems, max 40 lines each) from writers, 50+, though
they’ll consider writers in their late 40s.
Full submission guidelines here.
***
Note: Beyond the dozen journals
mentioned here, virtually every literary journal in Canada, the U.S., the UK, and beyond declares it’s seeking a diversity of voices from underrepresented
groups. So if you’re you’re an "emerging writer over 50" or “an emerging
woman writer over 40” or whatever works for you, say so. It may give you an edge
with journals looking to diversify their age demographics.
Zoomer Magazine
This lifestyle magazine targets Canadians aged
45-plus. Its mandate is to celebrate a positive vision of aging.
They invite writers/artists to submit pitches. They
read all submissions but will only contact you if they’re interested in
publishing your material.
Email submissions to Peter Muggeridge: p.muggeridge@zoomermag.com
Passager Journal
This journal was founded in 1990 to focus on
publishing writing by authors who are 50 and older. Since 2005 they’ve also
published books (although for book queries, you must be a U.S. citizen and
they’re they are only interested in working with authors who were previously
published in the journal or poets over 70 who enter their contest).
Passager Journal charges a $5 fee to submit to electronically,
but postal submissions are free. They are currently open to submissions of
poetry, memoir and short fiction. Up to 5 poems, 40-line maximum, or up to 4,000
words of prose.
Deadline: Submissions for their winter issue are open now until
September 15, 2026. Full guidelines here.
Persimmon Tree
Persimmon looks to bring the creativity and talent
of women over sixty to a wide audience of readers of all ages. They are looking
for work that reveals rich experience and a variety of perspectives. Each issue
of the magazine includes several fiction and nonfiction pieces, poetry by
one or more poets, and the work of one or more visual artists. The magazine is
published quarterly.
For fiction and nonfiction, submit an individual piece up to 3,500 words.
They invite poets from outside the U.S. (including Canada) to submit this summer (2026). Submit up to three previously unpublished poems.
For their Fall 2026 issue, Persimmon is
looking for “short takes” – prose pieces 250–500 words, either fiction or
nonfiction or poetry on the theme of “The Creative Spark.” When did you first realize you wanted to become a
writer, a painter, a composer, a weaver? Did a particular moment move you? Did
you face setbacks? How did you overcome them? How do you live a creative life
and still take part in the everyday world and how does your art make life
meaningful?
For their winter issue, they're looking for short takes on the theme of "New Year Aspirations and Illusions."
For Short Takes submissions, wait until submission dates are announced (on the submissions page here).
Each issue, Persimmon Tree also asks readers
to contribute their views on questions of moment to the Persimmon Tree community
of older women writers and artists.
As with Short Takes, wait until submission dates are announced.
See their full submission guidelines here.
Instant Noodles
This online literary journal is put out by Current
Words Publishing – a self-publishing company, so perhaps expect invitations to
talk about self-publishing if you submit to them. Instant Noodles publishes very short
prose and poetry (up to 500 words) and focuses on publishing writers over the age of 40.
“Author’s / Artist’s Choice” is the theme for their last
issue of the year: you can choose any
theme you want.
Try writing a story about yourself, something you
observed, or something entirely imaginary. Create a video, a picture, even
combine two mediums.
Deadline: November 7, 2026. The issue publishes December 1, 2026
Full submission guidelines here.
Quartet Journal
This is a classy literary journal that publishes poetry by women over the age
of 50.
Full submission guidelines here.
Arachne
Press
This small UK-based independent publisher publishes
anthologies of short fiction and poetry, and some novels for adults and young
adults. They specialise in LGBTQ+, disabled / neurodiverse, global majority, older
women, and geographically isolated writers, including working with Welsh
language poets (and any combination of the above).
They accept submissions only in response to specific
call-outs, generally for anthologies. Currently, they’re seeking poets who are
Welsh by birth or upbringing, regardless of where they live, and poets who currently
live in Wales.
Full submission guidelines here.
North of
Fifty
North of Fifty publishes thoughtful, lived-in writing for
women over 50 – grounded in real experience, original perspective, and earned
insight. Personal essays, cultural commentary, and reported features are all
welcome, provided they align with our editorial pillars: life after 50,
reinvention, travel and place, leadership, faith and meaning, culture,
community, and women’s economic power.
See full submission guidelines here.
Quick Brown Fox
I welcome your short stories, poems, and essays about
reading, writing, favourite books, and libraries. Read a few pieces on the blog
to get a taste of what other writers have done. See here and scroll down.
Quick
Brown Fox also welcomes book reviews and reviews of any kind and of anything,
anywhere or anybody. If you want to review your favourite coffee shops or
libraries, babysitters or lovers (no real names please), go for it. See
examples of book reviews here {and scroll down).
Submit
to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca
Include
a short bio at the end of your piece and attach a photo of yourself. Thanks!
~Brian
See information about all our
upcoming weekly
writing classes, afternoon workshops, and writing retreats here.
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