5 Flash Fiction and Nonfiction Markets

One thing is certain in today’s publishing environment: Writers have choices when it comes to length. They can choose to write and publish book-length works, long-form journalism, personal essays, and short stories, but they can also go super short.

What’s shorter than a short story you might ask? Flash fiction, microfiction, and even flash nonfiction. The exact length of flash fiction and nonfiction can vary from source to source, but none of it runs longer than 1,500 words—and many sources think 1,000 words is pushing it. This means that flash fiction and nonfiction must be concise.

However, concision is a strength in a society that’s often reduced to tweets, memes, captioned images, and brief videos. As a result, there is a thriving market for flash fiction and nonfiction. Here are a few publications that pay for flash writing.

Baffling Magazine (BafflingMag.com)

Baffling Magazine is a quarterly online magazine that publishes speculative flash fiction with a queer bent. A project of Neon Hemlock Press, they pay $.08 per word for original stories under 1,200 words.

The editors say, “We especially love to see more stories under 500 words. We are looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want aro/ace stories. We want indefinable stories. We welcome weird, slipstream, and interstitial writing.”

As a quarterly magazine, this market has quarterly open reading periods that last a couple weeks. Potential writers can submit their stories via their online submission form with a brief cover letter that includes the title, length, and a brief bio.

The editors advise, “Submissions are open to all. Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors. Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit. Please don’t self-reject.”

Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction (BrevityMag.com)

Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction publishes brief nonfiction pieces. Published for more than two decades, this online publication pays writers a $45 honorarium for published work.

The editors say, “Brevity publishes well-known and emerging writers working in the extremely brief (750 words or fewer) essay form. We have featured work from Pulitzer Prize winners, NEA fellows, Pushcart winners, Best American authors, and writers from India, Egypt, Ireland, Spain, Malaysia, Qatar, and Japan. We have also featured numerous previously unpublished authors and take a special joy in helping to launch a new literary career.”

Potential writers can submit one story at a time via Brevity’s Submittable page, which requires a $3 submission fee. Writers can make multiple submissions as long as each piece is submitted separately.

The editors say, “Submissions should be formatted as seen on our Brevity site (single space, no indentation, space between paragraphs unless alternate formatting is a specific design element of the essay).”

Every Day Fiction (EveryDayFiction.com)

Every Day Fiction is an online publication that attempts to share a new piece of flash fiction almost every single day. They pay $3 for each published story of fewer than 1,000 words.

The editors say, “There’s no such thing as too short—if you can do the job in 50 words, have at it!—but our readers prefer pieces that tell or at least hint at a complete story (some sort of action or tension rising to a moment of climax, and at least a clue toward a resolution, though it doesn’t have to be all spelled out).”

Potential writers can submit up to three stories through Every Day Fiction’s Submittable page. The editors will try to respond within 90 days and ask that writers don’t simultaneously submit during that 90-day period.

The editors say, “Our readership is adult, so children’s stories are unlikely to be accepted unless they are relevant to adults as well. On the other hand, we are not impressed by gratuitous sex and violence, or pointlessly foul language; edgy content should be necessary and appropriate to the plot and characters. Please consider that our readers may be at work or enjoying our stories over a meal, so we tend to avoid explicit erotica and stomach-churning gore.”

Fractured Lit (FracturedLit.com)

Fractured Lit is an online publication that publishes new microfiction (up to 400 words) and flash fiction (401–1,000 words) every Monday and Thursday. This publication pays writers $50 for original micro fiction and $75 for original flash fiction.

The editors say, “Fractured Lit publishes flash fiction with emotional resonance, with characters who come to life through their actions and responses to the world around them. We’re searching for flash that investigates the mysteries of being human; the sorrow and the joy of connecting to the diverse population.”

Prospective writers can submit up to two stories at a time via Fractured Lit’s Submittable page. The editors will try to respond within two months.

The editors say, “Cover letters are optional, but it’s nice to know who is submitting to us. Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including the title and word count of each story is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement.”

SmokeLong Quarterly (SmokeLong.com)

SmokeLong Quarterly is an online publication that publishes flash narratives (both fiction and nonfiction, though not poetry). Established in 2003, this publication pays $100 per flash narrative of 1,000 words or fewer.

The editors say, “The term ‘smoke-long’ comes anecdotally from the Chinese, who noted that reading a piece of flash takes about the same length of time as smoking a cigarette. SmokeLong Quarterly does not condone smoking, but we do enthusiastically condone reading flash when you have a few minutes.”

Potential writers can submit one previously unpublished narrative at a time via SmokeLong Quarterly’s Submittable page. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but the editors try to respond within a couple weeks.

The editors say, “The SLQ aesthetic remains an ever-changing, ever-elusive set of principles, but it most likely has to do with these kinds of things: language that surprises and excites; narratives that strive toward something other than a final punch line or twist; pieces that add up to something, often (but not necessarily always) something profound or emotionally resonant; and honest work that feels as if it has far more purpose than a writer wanting to write a story.”