Update 9/17/2025: We are CLOSED to submissions.

Our next submission period will start on October 1, 2025. Our Fall reading will be unthemed. All genres, all topics. Sub cap will be 800.

We know October's open call is un-themed, but we want to be realistic and honest about what is likely to have better chances in our queue.

What might not be a good fit for us this time:

• Families – we spent a lot of 2025 exploring family dynamics
• Memory / mind-alteration – seen a lot
• Tooth fairies & other teeth things – seen enough
• Magical markets and stores – seen enough
• Violent scenes, especially guns – just can't right now

What we'd love to see more of right now:

• Colleagues, friendships, mentorships, situationships
• Human vs nature in unique settings
• Stories dealing with land use, food security, agrarian-adjacent, solarpunk that isn't corporatized or pro-capitalist
• Adventures & questing
• Historical fiction with immersive details
• Horror – just don't get a ton of these stories in general
• Literary stories that are more than a scene with a complete character arc (i.e., the character is changed or moved by the action of the story)
• Unexpected narrators and experimentation with POV
• Voice stories that don't rely on an accent
• Stories that end with hope and optimism

The information on this page is accurate: What We're Looking For, and Not

ANONYMOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes. 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, thank you. One story per author per call.

RESUBMISSIONS: If you're story has been rejected by Flash Fiction Online, please do not resubmit unless it's been requested by the editorial team. If it was last seen by us 3 or more years ago (i.e., before the current EIC's tenure), and/or it's been heavily reworked, Rebecca Halsey will consider queries about whether we would consider a resubmission. You can query by contacting editor@flashfictiononline.com with QUERY in the subject line.

We have now responded to all stories sent to us for the July 2025 open call as well as our special call for Regret stories (either with a final resolution or a "still interested" submission update). If you believe your story fell through the cracks, please double-check your Submittable account. Then, email editor@flashfictiononline.com with QUERY in the subject line.

*** We do not reply to submissions sent via email. Those are deleted unread. ***