Great Places to Submit Your Flash Fiction

Wondering where to submit your flash fiction? Here are some great places to start.

Flash fiction is usually defined as up to 1000 words (so around three double-spaced pages or fewer). Most of the publications on our list also accept poetry and longer stories and all are friendly to emerging writers. They have no required fees and are open to simultaneous submissions unless otherwise noted.

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts – (also accepts essays and poetry) publishes weekly online. As the name implies, they’re interested in compressed forms, so flash fiction of up to 600 words. They also encourage a unique 3-column form of story called a triptych. Fun! Submissions are open from March 15, 2019 to June 15, 2019. They try to make a decision within 3 days but sometimes takes a little longer. They pay $50 per story.

Jellyfish Review is looking for insightful flash fiction. Fun, sad, ugly, beautiful—they’re open to it all. They aim to let you know yea or nay within 7 days.

Ghost Parachute embraces flash fiction that’s bold, unexpected, unapologetic. They generally respond within two weeks.

After the Pause accepts flash fiction and poetry for their quarterly online journal. They love work that is real, gritty, or outlandish. They try to make a decision within 10 days but it often takes a little longer.

3Elements likes edgy, character-driven stories and also accepts longer stories, nonfiction and poetry. They publish quarterly online. For each issue, they ask that you include three specific words (3 elements) in your story. They generally respond within a couple of weeks.

Literally Stories publishes stories of between 500 and 3000 words. They pride themselves on their international scope and their fast response time—they aim to reply within 21 days and it’s often fewer.

Five on the Fifth publishes five short stories on the fifth of each month. They accept flash fiction and stories of up to 5000 words, including genre fiction. They aim to respond within one month.

upstreet – (also accepts short stories and essays) this award-winning annual literary anthology reads from 1 September to 1 March. Payment is between $50 and $250 per piece plus a free copy. Their response time is generally under 6 weeks and often fewer than 2.

Apple Valley Review – (also accepts short stories, poetry and essays) looks for literary fiction with a broad appeal. They read year round and publish two online issues per year. The editors aim to respond within two months but often get back in fewer.

CRAFT – (also accepts short stories and creative nonfiction) pays $100 for original flash fiction fiction. They also accept reprints. Response time is usually a couple of months.

/temz/ Review – publishes fiction (flash, short and long-form up to 10,000 words) and poetry (submit up to 8 pieces) quarterly online. They pay $20 per per story or batch of poems. It may take a couple of months for a response.

SmokeLong Quarterly – publishes flash fiction quarterly online. Some cool perks – they find original artwork to go with your story and include author interviews in each issue. They ask for up to 6 weeks to make a decision but usually they respond sooner. Payment is $50 per story.

Gaze – (also accepts poetry, short stories and creative non-fiction). Their website features a couple of authors each month. And they pay $25 per piece. They have no set response time—usually you’ll hear back with a month but up to 4 is not unheard of.

Fabula Argentea publishes flash fiction and short stories quarterly online and are open to most genres. They pay a flat fee of $8 for short stories and poems, $3 for flash, $15 to $25 for longer stories. They ask for 2 months to make a decision, but often respond in fewer and frequently send personalised rejections letters, the next best thing to an acceptance.

A-minor, as the name suggests, likes it dark and dreamy. They accept flash, short stories and poetry and welcome quirky, experimental, and genre-blurring work. They usually respond within a couple of months.

Molotov Cocktail only does flash fiction. They’re looking for ‘the kind of prose you cook up in a bathtub and handle with rubber gloves.’ Even their submission guidelines are entertaining. They generally respond within a couple of months.

Into the Void (also accepts poetry and short stories) nominates for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a bunch of others. Due to the high volume of submissions, Into the Void now only accepts a certain number of submissions per reading period for free. After their quota is reached you can still submit, but it will cost you $5 Canadian. They try to respond within 6 weeks but sometimes take a bit longer.

Five:2:One (also accepts poetry and nonfiction) loves flash fiction that is quirky, weird and experimental. You can submit for their daily online journal and/or their quarterly print edition. They ask for 3 months to make a decision, but often take fewer.

Atticus Review (also accepts short stories, poetry and essays) publishes regularly online. They like writers who test limits, play with genres, and who aren’t afraid to go dark and subversive. Response time is usually around 3 months.

Dime Show Review (also accepts 10-word stories, poetry and short stories) and they nominate for the Pushcart Prize. Each story or poem is paired with an original photograph. They ask for 3 months to make a decision, but often take longer.

Flash Fiction Online publishes stories of 500 to 1,000 words monthly online. They don’t accept simultaneous submissions but do accept reprints. Be sure to check out their list of “hard sells” before submitting. They pay $60 per original story. Their response time is often under a month, but they ask for 70 days.

Ruminate features flash fiction, short stories, essays, and poetry in a quarterly print publication. They are currently accepting poetry (you can submit 3-5) and creative nonfiction (up to 5,500 words). They pay $20 per 400 words for prose. Be prepared to wait up to 4 months for a decision.

Azure: A Journal of Literary Thought – accepts everything from flash fiction to novellas, plus poetry and narrative nonfiction, for their online magazine. If this describes your work “ornate, cerebral, and voluptuous prose executed with thematic intent”, then it may very well find a home with Azure. And a cool perk: every piece published in AZURE appears alongside a customized black & white sketch by their contributing illustrator. Response times vary a lot. In general they seem to reject fast and accept slow.