Short Fiction is a high-quality online journal (previously also in print, since 2006), publishing some of the finest short stories from around the world.

Short Fiction is a high-quality online journal (previously also in print, since 2006), publishing some of the finest short stories from around the world.

Many of our authors are long celebrated; others we’ll take credit for as our discovery. We also publish original art work, as we enjoy the possibilities of dialogue between literature and the visual arts, and want to support all forms of artistic practice. 

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Short Fiction: The Visual Literary Journal

If you have never had a short story published before, please submit here for our "Introducing" section: a showcase for excellent new writers. Just as for our general submissions, there are no fees to submit, and we are looking for the best, carefully crafted, deeply considered work. Please note that in order to manage the number of submissions we receive, this submissions window will close when we reach 500 submissions.

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. Territory: We accept work from anywhere in the world excluding the USA (sincere apologies to our American friends - it's simply because when we open to the USA, we're deluged with more stories than we can handle! We hope you understand).

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 cover letter:​

  a) the title of your story and its rough word count;

  b) a short bio;

  c) [only if different from your Submittable account name] the name under which you’d want the story published. 

5. No multiple submissions – one submission at a time, please; 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 piece via Submittable if it 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 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.​

8. The Editors’ decision is final, and we can’t provide feedback (unless you’re using the paid Critique Service, in which case please send your story via email rather than through Submittable). 

9. 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 will discuss an alternative method of payment.) There are no submission or reading fees.

Thank you for showing us your work.

We accept work from anywhere in the world excluding the USA (sincere apologies to our American friends - it's simply because when we open to the USA, we're deluged with more stories than we can handle! We hope you understand).

Short Fiction - "Introducing"

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. Please note that in order to manage the number of submissions we receive, this submissions window will close when we reach 500 submissions.

2. Territory: We accept stories from anywhere in the world excluding the USA (sincere apologies to our American friends - it's simply because every time we open to the USA, we're deluged with more stories than we can handle! We hope you understand).

​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 cover letter:​

 a) the title of your story and its rough word count;

 b) a short bio;

 c) [only if different from your Submittable account name] the name under which you’d want the story published;

 d) [only if the story has been previously published] the name and year of the print publication in which it appeared.

 5. No multiple submissions – one submission at a time, please; 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 piece via Submittable if it 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, in which case please send us your story via email, rather than Submittable - instructions on our website). 

 ​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 will discuss an alternative method of payment.) There are no submission or reading fees.

 ​Thank you for showing us your work.

We accept stories from anywhere in the world excluding the USA (sincere apologies to our American friends - it's simply because every time we open to the USA, we're deluged with more stories than we can handle! We hope you understand).

Short Fiction: The Visual Literary Journal

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