Costs
What US literary magazines charge and pay, and how Canadian ones differ
Reading fees, per-page pay, rights wording and tax forms at named US and Canadian literary magazines, taken from their own guidelines and from IRS and BLS pages.
What to take away
- Three US journals checked for this article charge $3 to $3.75 to read a general submission online, and each pays by the printed page: $30 at AGNI, $45 at Ploughshares, $50 at The Georgia Review.
- Pay is capped or has a floor at some journals. Ploughshares pays at least $90 a title and no more than $450 per author. AGNI caps prose pay at $300.
- A Canadian journal can price the same work differently. The Malahat Review charges international writers CAD$7 per submission and pays CAD$70 per published page, and it asks for first world serial print and digital rights in English.
- US payers may ask you for an IRS form. A W-9 gives a US taxpayer identification number. A W-8BEN is how a foreign individual certifies foreign status. Which one applies depends on your tax residence, not on where the magazine sits.
- Literary magazine income is small beside the wider market. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $76,910 a year for all writers and authors in May 2025, a broad group that includes copywriters, bloggers and content writers, of whom 65 percent are self-employed.
What the guidelines say
Fees and rates change, so these figures are from each magazine's own guidelines page as read in October 2026. Check the page again before you submit.
| Magazine | Online reading fee | Pay for prose | Rights asked | Reading period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Georgia Review (US) | $3; free for print subscribers | $50 per printed page, plus two copies | First North American serial rights and non-exclusive digital rights | Aug 15 to May 15 |
| Ploughshares (US) | $3.75 service fee; free for subscribers | $45 per printed page, $90 minimum per title, $450 maximum per author, paid on publication | Not stated on the pages read | June 1 to Nov 15 |
| AGNI (US) | $3; waiver on request | $30 per printed page, capped at $300, plus a subscription | First worldwide serial rights | Sept 1 to Dec 15 and Jan 15 to May 31 |
| The Malahat Review (Canada) | CAD$7 for international writers; none listed for Canadians | CAD$70 per published page, plus a subscription and two copies | First world serial print and digital rights in English | Canadian writers Jan 1 to June 30; international writers Feb 14 to 28, or until the monthly cap |
All four allow simultaneous submissions for regular submissions, with conditions. The Georgia Review asks you to say so in your cover letter and to notify them at once through Submittable if another outlet accepts the work. Malahat excludes its contests from simultaneous submission. For the clauses themselves, see first, exclusive and reprint rights compared with work for hire and simultaneous submissions, rights grabs and silent edits.
Reading fees
The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses describes itself as hundreds of small publishers of books, magazines, online publications, chapbooks and zines. Fees are explained differently by each magazine. Ploughshares says its fee "supports the use of the online submission manager," and AGNI says its reading fees help pay the editors who read the work.
The Poets & Writers directory of literary magazines lists nearly 1,000 journals and lets you filter by payment and by reading fee. Editorial suggestion: use that filter before you build a list, then confirm on the magazine's own page.
Creative Nonfiction says that at any given time it has several submission portals open, many of which require a reading fee. The Authors Guild adds a caution: legitimate publishers and agents do not charge a fee to review a manuscript, though some literary magazines and small presses run contests with small fees, such as $25. If you do not know a contest or its sponsor, or the fee looks high, research both first.
Two ways to cut the bill:
- Subscribe where it makes sense.The Georgia Review and Ploughshares both waive the online fee for subscribers.
- Ask for a waiver.AGNI says you can request one. Editorial suggestion: ask before you pay, not after.
Arithmetic from the verified fees: ten general submissions at $3 each cost $30. At $3.75 each they cost $37.50. Contest fees are not included; check each contest's own page.
What the pay looks like
Per-page pay depends on how long the piece is in print, so the same essay earns different sums at different journals. Take an essay that runs six printed pages.
| Journal | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| The Georgia Review | 6 x $50 | $300 |
| Ploughshares | 6 x $45 | $270 |
| AGNI | 6 x $30 (cap $300) | $180 |
| The Malahat Review | 6 x CAD$70 | CAD$420 |
These are illustrations of the formula, not promises. A printed page holds a different number of words in each magazine, so ask or look at a back issue before you estimate. Ploughshares pays on publication, and The Georgia Review aims to answer within ten months, so the money can arrive long after you submit.
Contests pay more but sit in a different category. The Ploughshares Emerging Writers' Contest, open February 1 to March 31, gives each genre winner $2,000 plus publication. The Missouri Review's contests page lists a $5,000 prize for one winner in each genre, plus publication, in its Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize. Its 2026 deadline was extended to October 16, so that round has closed. The Malahat Review's Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize is CAD$1,250.
For context on writing income, the Bureau of Labor Statistics writers and authors profile reports a median of $76,910 in May 2025, about 140,300 jobs in 2025 and 65 percent self-employed. That covers writers and authors broadly, including copywriters, bloggers and content writers. It says nothing about what an essayist earns from magazines. Editorial suggestion: treat magazine payment as a credential and a small income stream, and plan to earn the rest elsewhere.
Canadian magazines: where they differ
The differences that show up in the guidelines read are about currency, who pays the fee and which rights are bought.
Currency. Malahat quotes CAD amounts. The Brick submissions page lists pay of 65 to 720 dollars depending on length but does not say which dollar, which is a good example of why to ask. Editorial suggestion: write the currency next to every figure in your submission log and convert at the rate on the payment date.
Fees. Malahat charges CAD$7, about USD$5 by its own estimate, to writers outside Canada, and it opens a narrow window for them. It lists no fee for Canadian writers. Its creative nonfiction limit is 5,000 words for everyone.
Rights. Malahat buys first world serial print and digital rights in English and leaves copyright with the author. That is wider than the first North American serial rights The Georgia Review buys. If you plan to sell the piece in another country later, the territory in the clause matters.
The same piece can appear in a US and a Canadian magazine only if each clause allows it. Editorial suggestion: read both clauses before you sign.
Tax forms for cross-border payments
This section describes US rules. It does not apply Canadian law, and you should ask the magazine or a tax professional about your own case.
- Form W-9gives the person who must file an information return with the IRS your correct taxpayer identification number. The IRS lists the current revision as March 2024.
- Form W-8BENis how a foreign individual certifies foreign status to a withholding agent or payer. The IRS says to give it to the payer if you are a foreign person and the beneficial owner of an amount subject to withholding. The current revision is October 2021.
- Withholding.IRS Publication 515 (2026) says payers must withhold at a statutory 30 percent on US-source income paid to foreign persons unless a treaty or exception reduces it. It also says that for personal services, the place where the work is performed determines the source of the income.
- Treaty rates.The IRS treaty table (revised May 2023) shows 0 percent for Canada in its copyright royalties column, under Article XII of the Canada-US treaty.
Whether a particular magazine payment counts as a royalty, a fee for services or something else is a question for the payer and your tax adviser. Do not assume. Keep a signed copy of whichever form applies so you can send it again when a new payer asks.
Before you submit
Editorial suggestion: use this order.
- Read the current guidelines page and note the date.
- Record the fee, its currency and any waiver.
- Record the rights asked, the territory and the term.
- Record the pay formula, the cap, and whether it is paid on acceptance or publication.
- Check which tax form the payer is likely to need.
- Log the submission, and withdraw promptly if another outlet accepts. Tracking and preparing submissions covers the record.
For a city-level look at where essays go, see New York City submission paths.
