Update 2/23/2026: We are CLOSED to general submissions
As of Feb 23rd, we have received our max allowed submissions of 1,000. Therefore, our general submission portal is now closed.
Our first themed call is for speculative fiction written on the theme "Tiny Gods." This will open March 1st. You can find the write-up for this call on our Patreon page >> HERE <<
Our reading schedule for the first half of 2026 is available on our Patreon page >> HERE <<
Guidelines
We are looking for complete 500- to 1000-word stories with crisp prose, well-developed characters, compelling plots, and satisfying resolutions. We want stories that engage our minds and emotions.
We publish across many genres, including speculative (science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and horror) and literary fiction. For more information on the type of stories we enjoy, please read a few issues and check out our "What We're Looking For" page.
SUBMISSION CAP: We are limited to 1,000 free submissions. We do expect to reach that number before the end of the month.
FORMATTING: Please format your submission in a double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman or similar font (we prefer not to read in Courier), with standard 1" margins and black font on an unadorned, white background. No PDF submissions. No Images and no graphics.
ANONYMOUS SUBMISSIONS: Do not include your name, address, email, or other identifying information on your manuscript (header, byline, file name, etc).
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, we accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us and withdraw the story as soon as you learn that it has been accepted somewhere else.
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: No. One story per author per call.
RESUBMISSIONS: If you have a story that has been rejected by Flash Fiction Online, please do not resubmit unless an edited version has been requested by the editorial team.
REPRINTS: Not for this call. We will be open for reprints in May 2026.
AI-GENERATED SUBMISSIONS: We are committed to publishing stories written and edited by humans. We reserve the right to reject any submission that we suspect to be primarily generated or created by language modeling software, Chat GPT, chat bots, or any other AI apps, bots, or software. We reserve the right to ban submissions from accounts, emails, or users who we believe or suspect have submitted AI-generated content.
QUERIES: You can check on the status of your submission at any time via your Submittable account. If, after 10 weeks, your submission is still marked as "in-progress," you may email editor@flashfictiononline.com with QUERY in the subject line for an update on its status. (Submissions sent to this address will be deleted unread.)
COMPENSATION: Our 2026 rate is $100 for each original story. Our current contract language: MOU for original stories
We are unable to provide personal feedback or critiques.
We will NOT consider stories that promote or affirm hatred, prejudice, or violence toward any group of people based on age, race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, political affiliation, disability, neurodiversity, or other social identity.
FFO Special Call: “Tiny Gods”
Speculative fiction about small, personal rituals and moments of worship to the tiny gods in the protagonist’s life.
Flash Fiction Online is seeking speculative fiction submissions for our September 2026 issues, themed Tiny Gods. The guest editor for this issue is author and award-winning editor, Jennifer Brozek.
What We’re Looking For
For this special call, we are asking you to break from world-spanning, giant acts of heroism and sacrifice to focus in on small daily rituals and tiny acts of worship to personal gods—named and unnamed. Think about all of the small moments of belief, worship, gratitude, and entreaty that come about organically or are passed down from parent to child, from mentor to apprentice, or from friend to friend.
These can be anything as long as they are consistent and repetitive. Be it tapping the roof of your car to thank Joe, the parking lot god, to holding your breath as you pass that one cemetery as an act of protection against the tiny malicious god of rot, to ringing a silver bell when you enter your home to honor the hearth god who protects you, to smiling at the good omen of a perched bird of prey and thanking it for its message from on high, or the prayer you automatically say if you see an accident, roadkill, or hear an ambulance.
Extrapolate those moments into fantastic or science fiction settings or to the hidden world within our world. Let those moments mean something and have responses, consequences, and reactions from the tiny gods who listen—or don’t.
Stories that we feel are close to, or can be inspired by, what we’re looking for include:
- The Small Gods series (Instagram link) by Seanan McGuire and Lee Moyer.
- Reflective moments portrayed in Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi.
- Small Gods: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett
- Stories involving yokai and kami
There are some things we’re just not interested for this issue:
- Revenge stories
- Vignettes (it has to be a complete story)
- Callous “-cides”
- Violence for violence’s sake
All stories submitted through this page must fit the theme! If you have a story that doesn’t fit this theme, please submit during one of our regular submission calls.
WORD COUNT: 500-1,000 words. Because we are focused on flash fiction, this word count is firm.
GENRE: All speculative fiction genres - fantasy, sci-fi, horror with speculative elements - these are all good. Slipstream and magical realism are totally fine.
SCHEDULE:
This call will be open from March 1-31, 2026
FFO reviews stories in two stages – a slush stage and a winnowing stage. In the slush round, first readers vote on stories to be passed forward. These top-tier stories are reviewed once a month in our Winnowing round. Final decisions on these second-round stories are generally made within 12 weeks from the date of submission.
Ebook release date: September 1, 2026
Each story then has its own release day on our website within the month of November.
ANONYMOUS SUBMISSIONS: YES. Do not include your name, address, email, or other identifying information on your manuscript (header, byline, file name, etc). This allows our First Readers to evaluate your story based on the work alone.
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS – YES
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS – NO, one story per author for this call
REPRINTS – NO, we have a separate call for that
FFO's AI POLICY: NO. We are committed to publishing stories written and edited by humans. We reserve the right to reject any submission that we suspect to be primarily generated or created by language modeling software, Chat GPT, chat bots, or any other AI apps, bots, or software. We reserve the right to ban submissions from accounts, emails, or users who we believe or suspect have submitted AI-generated content.
PAYMENT & RIGHTS FOR ORIGINAL FICTION: For original (previously unpublished) fiction, Flash Fiction Online pays $100 per story for first electronic rights, with six months exclusivity, as well as a non-exclusive one-time right to publish the stories in an anthology. The author retains all other rights. Original stories must not have been previously published anywhere, including a blog or on Patreon. Payment is made via PayPal (preferred) or mailed as a check.