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 Creative Non-Fiction\Essays\Memoir

This is a selected list of publications that accept unsolicited, completed creative non-fiction, essays, memoir and the like without charging anyone a reading\submission fee or requiring a subscription. 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 ('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 publications won't accept material created using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) because they're interested in your experience, perspective, thoughts, feelings etc and they appreciate writing on which you've spent time, effort and skill. They also want to see your personal writing style rather than a homogenized one from a computer program.

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 journalistic 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:

General non-fiction - unpublished pieces:

Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Theme: speculative genres\writers\fans, science, history etc. Limit: 5000 words (preferably around 3000 words). Pays AUD $10.
Aniko. Print. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. No specified word limit. Pays AUD $125. Also accepts book reviews at times: limit 600 - 900 words, pays AUD $50.
Aurealis. Digital. Accepts submissions Mar 1 through Sep 30. Accepts topics of interest to readers and writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Limit: 500 - 2000 words. Pays AUD $40.
Consequence. Print and digital. Accepts submissions Jan 15 through Apr 15, and Jul 15 through Oct 15 each year. Theme: war. Limit: 4000 words. Pays USD $30 - $50.
Craft. Digital. Varying limits up to 6000 words. Pays USD $50 - $200 for unpublished pieces.
Dreamworldgirl. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions during Apr through Jun, and Oct through Dec each year. 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. Limit: 2000 - 6500 words. Pays USD $100.
Gutter. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during Northern Hemisphere Spring and Autumn. Limit: 2500 words. Pays GBP £50.
Longreads. Digital. No specified word limit. Pays USD $500.
Mascara Literary Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 3000 words. Pays AUD $200 (to Australians only).
MudRoom. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 6000 words. Pays USD $15.
Nightmare. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts horror\dark fantasy creative non-fiction for the Horror Lab section. Size limit: 1500 words. Pays (US) 8 cents\word.
Notch Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Size limit: 1500 words. Payment not specified.

Overland.

Quadrant. Print and digital. Limit: 3000 words. Payment not specified.
SmokeLong Quarterly. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 1000 words. Pays USD $100.
The Big Issue. Print. Accepts submissions only from Australia. Varying word limits up to 2000 words. Pays (Australian) 20 cents\word.
The Dublin Review. Print. No specified word limit. Pays GBP £300+.
The Masters Review. Digital. Accepts essays on the craft of writing. Limit: 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. Limit: 1500 - 1700 words. Payment not specified.
The School Magazine (Countdown, Blast Off, Orbit, Touchdown). Print and digital. Accepts articles for 7 - 12 year old children. Limit: 800 - 2000 words. Pays (Australian) 50 cents\word.
The Suburban Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Limit: 1250 - 2000 words. Pays AUD $400 but deducts $40 for a subscription for non-subscribers.
Vast Chasm Magazine. Digital. Limit: 5000 words. Pays USD $50.
Yellow Arrow Journal. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Themed issues. Limit: 100 - 2000 words. Pays USD $10.

General non-fiction - both unpublished and previously published pieces:

Mslexia. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts previously published pieces if they were self-published (not selected or commissioned via an independent editorial process). Varying themes. Varying word limits. Pays GBP £30+.
Solstitia. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues but the theme isn't strictly enforced. Limit: 10,000 words. Pays USD $50.
Stanchion. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Previously published pieces are accepted if they were published only on social media\personal blogs. Limit: 4000 words. Pays USD $20.
Stanchion - Elegant Variations. Digital (an online-only supplement to Stanchion magazine). Accepts submissions at times. Previously published pieces are accepted if they were published only on social media\personal blogs. Limit: 1000 words. Pays USD $5.

General non-fiction and memoir - unpublished pieces:

Griffith Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Limit: 4000 words. Pays (Australian) 75 cents\word.
GR Online. Digital (an online-only supplement to Griffith Review). Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 1500 words. Pays AUD $500.
Island. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Accepts submissions only from Australia, New Zealand, and Australians overseas. 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 at times. Accepts submissions only from Australia, New Zealand, and Australians overseas. Size limit: 1500 words. Pays AUD $600 but deducts the cost of a subscription to Island for non-subscribers.
Prairie Fire. Print. You can submit non-fiction once every 12 months. Limit: 10,000 words. Pays (US) 10 cents\word up to a maximum of USD $250 (or lower maximums for some categories).
Splinter. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. There can be restrictions on who can submit. No specified word limit. Pays AUD $600 for memoir.
The Stinging Fly. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during two-week periods during May and Nov each year. No specified word limit. Pays GBP £150 - £1200.
The Threepenny Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions from Jan 1 through April 14 each year. Limit: 2500 words for articles, 4000 words for memoir. Pays USD $400.
Westerly. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 3500 words. Pays AUD $500 for printed pieces, AUD $250 for digital pieces.

General non-fiction and memoir - both unpublished and previously published pieces:

Story Unlikely. Digital. Accepts submissions from Feb 2 through Sep 29 each year - you can submit once every 90 days during that time. Limit: 3500 words. Pays (US) 8 cents\word for unpublished pieces and (US) 2 cents\word for previously published pieces.
The Lascaux Review. Digital. No specified word limit. Payment not specified.

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

General non-fiction - unpublished pieces:

Club Plum. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Some issues are themed. Limit: 3000 words.
Confluence. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 2500 words.
Eleventh Hour Literary. Digital. Accepts submissions from Jan 15 through Mar 15, and Aug 15 through Oct 15. Accepts pieces that have been rejected by other publications and then revised. Size limit: 7000 words.
Heat. Print and digital. No specified word limit.
Literary Yard. Digital. No specified word limit.
MER - Mom Egg Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Theme: motherhood. Limit: 1000 words.
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. Limit: 6000 words.
Prole. Digital and print. Limit: 7500 words.
Review Americana: A Creative Writing Journal. Digital. Accepts pieces that appeal to Americans and bear some relationship to American culture. No specified word limit.
Short Stories 101. Digital. No specified word limit.
Socjeta Literary Review. Digital. Accepts pieces about social issues. Limit: 1000 words.
Superpresent. Print and digital. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues. Limit: 500 - 2000 words.
The Manchester Review. Digital. Accepts submissions at times. Limit: 6000 words.
The Masters Review. Digital. Accepts book reviews and interviews with authors\industry professionals. Limit: 700 - 1200 words for a book review, 1200 - 2500 words for an interview. No payment for book reviews and interviews.
The Paris Review. Print and digital. Accepts submissions during Feb, Jun and Oct each year until they reach capacity. Limit: 40 pages.

General non-fiction - both unpublished and previously unpublished pieces:

Craft. Digital. Size limit: varying limits up to 6000 words. No payment for previously published pieces.
The Incandescent Review. Digital. Accepts submissions only from writers age 13 - 24. Accepts submissions at times. Previously published pieces are accepted if they were published only in print or on personal blogs\social media accounts. Size limit: 6 pages.
Willows Wept Review. Print and digital. Previously published pieces are accepted if they were published only in print more than one year ago, or on a personal website. No specified word limit.

General non-fiction and memoir - unpublished pieces:

African Writer Magazine. Digital. Accepts pieces that engage African people, places and ideas. No specified word limit.
All Your Stories. Print and digital. Limit: 2500 words.
Bright Flash Literary Review. Digital. Accepts submissions only from adults. Accepts memoir only. Limit: 1500 words.
Cordella Magazine. Print and digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts submissions at times. Themed issues but the theme isn't strictly enforced. No specified word limit.
Crannog Online. Digital. No specified word limit.
Funny Pearls. Digital. Accepts submissions only from women. Accepts humorous pieces. Limit: 2000 words.
Persimmon Tree. Digital. Accepts submissions only from women over 60. Limit: 3500 words. There are also themed sections ('Short Takes') that accept submissions at times and have a limit of 500 words.
Silly Goose Press. Digital. Accepts submissions only from adults. Accepts submissions at times. Some issues are themed. Limit: 3000 words. Some issues have lower word limits.
Spadina Literary Review. Digital. Limit: 500 - 2000 words for an essay, 1000 - 2000 words for memoir.
Twist & Twain. Digital. Accepts submissions only from adults. Limit: 3000 words.

General non-fiction and memoir - both unpublished and previously published pieces:

Nothing to see here yet.