The First Line

The First Line is a literary magazine in which it's relatively easy to get published. They provide you with a first line, and you write your short story with that. The sentences can always be found at their website and they welcome all genres.

They publish four times a year and are quite well-read. The guideline for entries is usually between 300-3000 words, but there aren't hard and fast rules where this is concerned.

They pay US $30.00 for fiction and US $20 for non-fiction. They will also send you a copy of the magazine your work appears in. You can see the submissions page here. And here is what they've said on their page:

All Stories: Writers should include a two- to three-sentence biography of themselves that will appear in the magazine should their story run.

Multiple Submissions: We don't mind if you want to submit multiple stories for the same issue. However, it is unlikely we will use more than one of your stories in the same issue.

Four-Part Stories: If you think you are up to the challenge, you can write a four-part story that uses the spring, summer, fall, and winter sentences. However, all the parts must be submitted at once (a single e-mail or snail mail) before the February 1st deadline. (If selected, each part will be published in its respective issue.)