We publish one story per month as our Featured piece. We will also periodically seek to publish one story in a new section - "Introducing" - which will be a showcase for excellent new writers; that is, writers for whom this is their first published piece. In both cases we are looking for the best, carefully crafted, deeply considered work. We especially welcome submissions from people who are underrepresented in UK publishing, including those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQI+ people.
All submissions are seen by two readers and we aim to respond within two months of our submissions window closing. There are no submission fees. We offer a paid Critique service (see here), which supports our future existence. We're also deeply grateful for metaphorical coffees bought at our Ko-Fi page and every small PayPal donation.
We're closed for regular submissions, but the SHORT FICTION INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2024 is now open -
We accept submissions via Submittable (link below). Please do not email your story unless using our Critique Service.
Before you submit, please read the following guidelines carefully:
1. We accept fiction between 500 and 5,000 words. We have wide-ranging tastes and have happily published traditional character-driven stories next to non-conformist work of extraordinary innovation. We admire and love poets and memoirists, but can’t accept poetry or life writing. The boundaries can be blurred in hybrid forms and that’s great; if you feel your hybrid piece qualifies as fiction, send it in. We might disagree in the end, but we’ll admire your bravado.
2. We accept submissions from the UK, Europe, the Commonwealth and every other country except for the USA. We are sorry to exclude the excellent work of our US friends, but in order to manage the volume of submissions, we've had to close this door for now. And of course there are many, many wonderful US literary journals to which such authors can submit.
3. Format: Please use a widely accessible format such as .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf or .odt. Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Calibri or Arial, 11/12pt – unless the story itself dictates different formatting. You can include page numbers or not, double-space or not, but please give us reasonable margins. Just make it readable.
4. Include in your brief Submittable cover letter:
a) the title of your story and its rough word count;
b) a short bio;
c) [only if the story has been previously published], the name and year of the print publication in which it appeared.
5. No multiple submissions – please only submit one story at a time, and don’t send more until you have a response from us, which we'll do our best to provide within two months of our submissions window closing.
6. Simultaneous submissions (i.e. you’re sending a piece to us while it’s also being considered by other magazines or competitions) are absolutely fine. However, please, please, withdraw your submission via Submittable if your piece is accepted elsewhere. We’ll be really happy for you, and it saves us the pain of reading, discussing, and making space for a story that then turns out to be unavailable.
7. Work that has been published online, or is available anywhere else digitally, is NOT accepted. Even if there's a paywall (sorry). We DO consider work that has been previously published in a print medium with fewer than 5,000 subscribers or sales.
8. Work should be in English (or, at least, a form of that language that’s been deliberately altered for artistic reasons). We can’t accept foreign-language submissions.
9. The Editors’ decision is final, and we can’t provide feedback (unless you’re using the paid Critique Service).
10. YES, WE PAY. Payment is 2p (£0.02) per word, to the nearest 100 words, with a minimum of £30 and maximum £100, paid via PayPal. (For those without a PayPal account, we can work out an alternative method of payment.)
Thank you for showing us your work.
We don't charge any reading fees, but if you feel moved to support us – perhaps because culture is the one of the cornerstones of human civilisation and it’s horrendously undervalued in the economy – please donate:
