There are 30 literary markets, as well as a couple of contests in this list, that accept flash fiction in a variety of genres. Some also publish longer stories, and/or other genres, like nonfiction and poetry, and some pay writers. Most, but not all, of them are open for submissions now. They’re listed in no particular order.
Matter Press: The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
They publish weekly. “We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way.” General fiction (including prose poem) submissions are up to 600 words. Also see their guidelines for Topical Thursdays (up to 1,000 words) and Triptychs. Pay is $50. The deadline is 15 December 2021 for general submissions; Topical Thursdays are read year-round. Details here.
CRAFT
This magazine publishes flash fiction and creative nonfiction (CNF) of up to 1,000 words, as well as short fiction and CNF. They also publish essays on writing craft, critical essays, book annotations, and interviews/hybrid interviews. Pay is $100 for flash fiction and CNF, and $200 for short fiction and CNF. They read work on an ongoing basis. Details here.
elsewhere
This magazine “cares only about the line/no line. We want short prose works (flash fiction, prose poetry, nonfiction) that cross, blur, and/or mutilate genre.” They publish pieces of up to 1,000 words. They publish 6 writers quarterly. Details here.
Arcturus
This is the sister publication of the Chicago Review of Books. Their guidelines say, “we’re passionate about publishing new perspectives — new ideas, new voices, new worlds, new challenges, new ways of seeing, etc. — a theme that can take an infinite number of shapes, including speculative fiction, experimental poetry, political essays, narrative reportage, and virtually everything else.” They publish flash and short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid work. They read submissions year-round. Details here.
Bright Flash Literary Review
This journal was established in 2020. They publish flash fiction (50 word minimum), fiction, and memoir; submissions should be up to 1,500 words. They accept work on an ongoing basis. Details here.
The Abbey Review
This magazine will begin publication in January 2022, and they are reading submissions for their first issue. They want short stories (300 words to 30 pages), screenplays, and poetry. “The genre doesn’t matter, only the quality of the piece.” They pay $30, and the best piece of writing gets paid an additional $70. The deadline is 1 December 2021. Details here.
Short Édition: Short Circuit
They publish work for short story dispensers around the world, and also on their website. Submissions must be short stories and poems of maximum 7,500 characters (spaces included) or children’s works of maximum 7,000 characters. See guidelines about poetry length and formatting. They only accept fictional works, and they may be any style or genre, excluding erotica. Pay is €100 for fiction and €50 for poetry. Details here.
Archive of the Odd
“Archive of the Odd is a zine of uncanny occurrences, told in even stranger ways.” They want speculative fiction, with horror being preferred. They’d like a variety of time periods. Stories can be in any format, except traditional prose. Some of the suggested formats are: academic papers; technical writing; medication warning sheets; sales papers; newspaper articles; recipes; knitting/crochet/weaving/what-have-you guides; care guides (plant, animal, rock garden, etc); or any other unusual format. Submissions do not have to be entirely in text (see guidelines). Pay is $15-25 for fiction of 500-5,000+ words. The deadline is 1 December 2021 for their first issue. Details here.
Fiction From Between
They want horror flash fiction (up to 1,000 words), and their first issue will be published on Halloween this year. Stories “can be scary. Or weird. Gory. Literary. Whatever you like.” They also accept reprints. Pay is $20. Also, “Initially, we’re looking to show off flash fic to our Patreon, to our mailing list, and on our website… Some stories will end up being transferred to the publication itself. If that happens, we will contact you to request permission first, and then pay you again.” Details here.
SmokeLong Quarterly
They publish flash narratives–fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid–up to 1,000 words. They do not publish poetry. Pay is $50 for these narratives. They also publish reviews and craft essays, and are accepting submissions in French and German for their Global Flash series. They’re open for a prize on comedy writing, too; this has a fee. Details here.
Not Another Lit Mag
“The magazine takes inspiration from film parodies, pastiche art, and imitation poems. … At Not Another Lit Mag, we tend to focus on work that is in conversation with pop culture.
We enjoy ekphrastic poems that reflect on digital media, allusions to film tropes that characterize a speaker, meditations on pop icons.” They publish flash fiction (up to 750 words – send up to 3 pieces), book reviews, and poetry. Pay is $15 and they read submissions year-round. Details here.
MetaStellar
They are currently open for speculative flash fiction (science fiction, fantasy, or horror), of up to 1,000 words. They also publish reviews, essays, excerpts, and reprints. Pay is $0.08/word for fiction, and the deadline is 31 October 2021. Details here.
Spartan
They publish literary fiction, online quarterly and short-run print issues periodically. Submit one flash or micro fiction, of 1,000 words or fewer. They have four submission windows a year. The deadline is 30 November 2021. Details here.
The Cincinnati Review: miCRo
Submissions for their miCRo series are usually open on an ongoing basis, with some exceptions. This is their weekly online flash feature; fiction (up to 500 words), nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid. Send up to 3 pieces. They take submissions for the print magazine thrice yearly (the next window for this will be in December, and will close at the end of the month, or when the submission cap is reached). Details here and here.
Flash Frog
They publish flash fiction only, of up to 1,000 words, and also accept artwork. Their tagline is ‘Small. Brightly colored. Deadly to the touch.’ Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis. Pay is $25. Details here.
HOBART
They have a web magazine and a print annual. They publish fiction of up to 2,000 words, but prefer 1,000 words or less for the web edition. Writers submitting short shorts of around 400 words or less can submit up to 3 stories. They also publish nonfiction, poetry, some columns, and comics. Details here.
Flashes
They accept flash fiction (up to 1,000 words) and short stories in all genres, as well as nonfiction and poetry. “The emphasis is on original voice, innovative style, challenging plots and strong creativity.” They read on an ongoing basis. Details here.
Daily Science Fiction
They publish speculative fiction stories from 100 to 1,500 words — science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, etc. They try not to publish pure horror. They will also consider flash series — three or more flash tales built around a common theme; each story needs to stand on its own. Pay is $0.08/word. Details here.
Over My Dead Body!
“Over My Dead Body! The Mystery Magazine publishes a wide variety of mystery-related manuscripts, from cozy to hardboiled and everything in between.” Submissions should be 750-4,000 words. Pay is $0.01/word. Details here.
Brilliant Flash Fiction
This is a quarterly magazine. They publish flash fiction in all genres, of up to 1,000 words. They read on an ongoing basis; writers can send up to two stories per quarter. Pay is $20. Details here.
Alphabet Box
This magazine was launched in September 2021. They publish prose (fiction and nonfiction), as well as poetry, of up to 900 words. Writers can send more than one submission, as long as the total does not exceed 900 words. Pay is $20. Details here.
Flash Point Science Fiction
They publish speculative stories of 100 to 1,000 words. The genres are: fantasy (all kinds—epic, adventure, contemporary, urban, grimdark, fairy tale, magical realism, myths and legends, etc.); SF
(all kinds—hard, space opera, military, near future, science fantasy, cyberpunk, dystopian, etc.); slipstream; seasonal/holiday (please submit these at least 3 months in advance of the relevant occasion). They do not want horror or literary fiction. Pay is $15. Details here.
Manawaker Studio’s flash fiction podcast
This is a flash fiction podcast. All genres will be considered, but the story must remain accessible to all ages, which mostly means no erotica or gore-horror. The editor has a particular love for sci-fi, so those may get slightly stronger consideration. They also prefer stories that have a plot. Stories should ideally be around 800 words, but they will also read in the 250-1,500 word range. They’re currently low on sci-fi stories, and are always low on light-hearted ones (see guidelines). Writers can send up to 3 pieces. Pay is $0.01/word, up to $10. Submissions are read on an ongoing basis. Details here.
A Velvet Giant
They are open to work that takes the shape of basically any format: words, recordings, visual art, hybrid forms, etc, and translations. Also, “We do not categorize work by genre, so please do not tell us what genre you’re sending us (if you know).” Send up to 3 pieces, up to a total of 10 pages. They are especially interested in work by genderqueer & LGBTQ+ people, women, people of color, global writers, people living with disability and/or chronic pain/illness, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Pay is $20 per author. The deadline is 31 October 2021. Details here.
U.S. Kids: Two magazines
They have two magazines for children.
— Humpty Dumpty (for children ages 2-6): They want stories of 450 words or less, and pay $30 and up for these; they also publish Build-a-Book mini-stories (70-125 words – positive and light-hearted; often humorous, with children or animal characters), poetry, and crafts.
— Jack and Jill (for children ages 6-12): They want fiction of 600-800 words, fun and engaging stories with humor and witty dialogue; pay is $25 and up for these, and they also accept nonfiction. Details here.
Aquila
This is a UK-based children’s magazine. They publish stories and features for children aged 8-13 years, with the majority being in the 9-12-year range. They want stories of 1,000-1,300 words per double-spread stories, or 1,050-1,200 words per instalment for two-instalment stories. The content is designed to appeal to bright children who are confident and independent readers. The work should have not been published before in Great Britain. Pay is £105 per short story, or per instalment for a two-part story. Details here (click on Authors Guidelines).
Youth Imagination
They want stories by teens and adults. “Our goal is to publish the best writing for and by teens. We particularly love stories exploring their issues, such as bullying, drugs, romance, school, parental issues, teacher issues, etc., as well as about the grit and character of teens and young adults.
We accept most genres of fiction, including modern, urban or classical fantasy, as well as sci-fi, slipstream, literary, action-adventure or suspense.” They publish flash fiction (200-999 words), as well as longer stories, of up to 20,000 words. Pay is $3-15. Details here.
The Colored Lens
They publish speculative fiction of all varieties — from alternate history, to high fantasy, to nuts and bolts hard science fiction, to dark fantasy. Stories can be from flash length to long fiction. “Although we want stories that comment on our world and society, stories should also have a hook, rising action, climax, and resolution, although the handling of those elements can be experimental.
Flash fiction is great, but make sure it has a fully developed plot.” They publish fiction of up to 10,000 words and also longer novella-length work, but their preference is for stories of 500-5,000 words. They also publish articles. Payment for fiction is $10-20. Details here.
Welkin: A Magazine of the Fantastic–The Book of Idle Tears
Welkin is a journal of fantastic literature; they publish fiction. Their website says, “We specifically publish work in the magical realist, fabulist, fairy tale, fantasy, gothic, metafictional, slipstream, fantastic, weird, surrealist, and experimental genres. We seek a movement away from plotless, quotidian tales in favor of the imaginative and the gripping.” Their guidelines say, “While we encourage genre-bending and tropes typically excluded from mainstream literary magazines, elements of the fantastic and unusual in your work should not be used as a crutch.” They publish translations, as well. Also, “We have no hard rules regarding story length, but we do cap the whole magazine at 80 pages, so don’t send us more than that. A very long story will need to justify taking space that could have gone to other pieces.” Pieces under 1,500 words will be published in their online publication, ‘The Book of Idle Tears’, and are unpaid, while pay for Welkin is $0.01/word. They read submissions year-round for The Book of Idle Tears, and the deadline is 31 October 2021 for Welkin. Details here.
Apex Magazine: Holiday Horrors Flash Fiction Contest
They want stories of 250 words or less, The theme is Halloween. “Tell us tales of trick-or-treating gone wrong, monsters lurking in the darkness to grab kiddies on their way home, or teens who accidentally raise the dead.
Halloween is the scariest holiday of them all, so finding a way to twist it into something new and exciting will be a trick, and will definitely give us all a treat!” The prizes are $25 and $10. The deadline is 15 November 2021. Details here.
Weird Christmas Flash Fiction Contest
This is an annual contest, and the theme is ‘Weird Christmas’; there are also three prompts the writers can choose. Stories have to be about Christmas, and have to be weird in some way. Writers can send multiple entries. Stories have to be up to 350 words. The prizes are $75, $50, and $5 for honourable mentions. The deadline is 15 November 2021. Details here.
(Submissions are still open for César Egido Serrano Foundation’s microfiction contest, open to writers over 14 years of age – they have extended an earlier deadline. Their rules now say that they will close the contest within five days of announcing a new closing date. Entries have to be 100 words, and the prize is $20,000.)
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.
