October is the ideal time to get those short stories and flash fiction pieces out there. It gets your brain nimble as we head into National Novel Writing Month!
Fifty Word Stories
Yes, exactly 50 words. Aim for that. You need to submit between Oct 1 and Oct 15. That is always the date range. I’ve been published here a number of times. It’s fun to see how different people interpret the theme.
Press53
This current month’s theme is BLEND. Find a BLEND of genre ideas and mash them together!
https://www.press53.com/53word-story-contest
CarrotRanch
99 words, no more, no less. The theme right now is CONFIDENCE.
TheFirstLine
A super-fun contest. Everyone uses the EXACT SAME first line and then writes a story from there ranging from 300 words to 5,000 words. The line to Nov 1 2023 is “It was the farthest north they had ever been.”
https://www.thefirstline.com/submission.htm
101 Words
You guess the rules here. You can submit ONE piece a month on any theme. They pay for selected stories.
Flash Fiction Magazine
You can submit one piece each month, 300-1000 words long. They pay for selected stories.
Flash Fiction Online
Any genre, range of 500-1000 words.
Shenandoah Literary
Submissions for fiction opened on Sept 10th for pieces under 8,000 words. They take a limited number of submissions, so get ready!
Kenyon Review
“The Kenyon Review is open for general submissions from September 1 until September 30, 2023. In 2024, our magazine will feature three themed sections: Extinction, Writing from Rural Spaces, and Literary Curiosities. We invite work that broadly considers these themes. ” – DEADLINE NOW PASSED.
https://thekenyonreview.submittable.com/submit
Moonflake Press
I have been published here. I enjoy their team.
“UNDERWORLDS: Take us into the lands of the dead, real or imagined.. We may encounter familiar faces such as Persephone, Inanna, or Anubis, but we are also looking forward to reading your invented versions of gods, goddesses, spirits or other psychopomps… Give us your atmospheric poetry, spooky fiction, and meditative creative nonfiction.
https://www.moonflakepress.com/submit
Daily Science Fiction
Short / flash fiction scifi and fantasy stories from 100 to 1500 words. They pay.
https://dailysciencefiction.com/submit/story/guidelines
JMWW
Submit once a month, pieces under 3,000 words. Any genre.
Let me know any other short story / flash fiction magazines you enjoy submitting to!