Submit to Fantasy Shorts

Summary

Fantasy Shorts is a publication seeking concise fantasy stories of 1,000 words or less for a print anthology, with specific guidelines on content, style, and submission format.

Abstract

Fantasy Shorts invites authors to submit short fantasy stories for publication in both an online format and a print anthology. Submissions must be within the fantasy genre, featuring elements of magic, and be 1,000 words or fewer. The publication emphasizes the need for stories to be standalone narratives, not serialized, and to adhere to a clean and classy style, avoiding erotica, graphic violence, and harsh profanity. Each accepted story will undergo a style edit and receive a custom drop cap. Authors are encouraged to follow Medium's curation guidelines, use editing tools, and tag their stories appropriately. While membership in Medium's Partner Program is not mandatory, it is recommended for those wishing to monetize their work.

Opinions

The editors at Fantasy Shorts value a specific aesthetic, preferring stories with twist endings and a clear, entertaining narrative.
They prioritize well-crafted stories and will not accept work that requires extensive editing to improve poor writing.
The publication supports new and established writers by providing public domain artwork for accepted stories and editorial guidance.
Fantasy Shorts encourages authors to engage with the Medium platform, including joining the Partner Program and considering a paid membership for full access to content.
The editors are clear that they will not consider stories that are not fantasy, are inappropriately tagged, or do not meet the word count and format requirements.
They express a preference for stories that open with strong first words, avoiding common words and dialogue for the best visual presentation with a custom drop cap.
The guidelines suggest that the editors are looking for high-quality, polished work that aligns with the publication's style and content expectations.

1,000 words isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to craft a 5-minute descent into the dungeon, and that’s our goal.

Read a few stories on Fantasy Shorts. If you enjoy any, let the author know and follow the publication. Help spread the word. Make sure your submission is FANTASY. If you are new to writing fantasy or flash fiction, here are some tips. By fantasy, we mean there needs to be some magic. If your story is scientifically explainable, you’re writing for the wrong pub. Make sure your story is actually a story: We won’t accept any rants, politics, or personal essays disguised as fantasy.

We have a style we like to maintain here at Fantasy Shorts. We will not publish any erotica, graphic, or obscene material. Leave the harsh profanity for the other pubs. Keep it clean. Keep it classy. We are fans of ‘O. Henry’ type stories with twist endings.

Your story must be 1,000 words or fewer (not including the title and subtitle). Your story must stand alone. Using your same characters in multiple stories is fine, but a linear series is not allowed. You can find out how many words your story contains by highlighting the text. The word count will appear next to the Medium logo in the upper-left corner. Submissions over 1,000 words, serialized stories, and stories broken into multiple “parts” will be rejected.

Every accepted submission will receive a style edit before publishing. For every published story, the first word will get a custom drop cap to fit the publication, so it is best practice to avoid opening with 2 or 3-letter first words (the, as, he, she, etc.). If you open with dialogue, your opening quotation marks will get cut to fit the drop cap. No kickers allowed. This is a good time to mention if you are nit-picky about an editor tweaking your work, this is probably not the pub for you.

A short bio and link is allowed. Keep it short, simple, and clean. Please put this info in italics under a Medium section separator * * * at the end of your story.

Fantasy shorts provides public domain artwork for every story we accept. If you have an idea for artwork you think would be a good fit for your story, you may include one image below the subtitle to give us ideas. Fantasy Shorts selects all artwork.

Poor writing will be rejected. It’s easier to reject a story than waste time trying to improve poor work. Make your story clear, with an entertaining takeaway for the reader. Please adhere to Medium’s curation guidelines. Before you submit, please run your story through a free editor like Hemingway, Grammarly, or ProWritingAid. Once we’ve had a chance to review, we’ll communicate with a private note on your piece regarding publication. If you haven’t heard from us in a week or so, it means we’ve passed. If you need to sharpen your fiction writing skills, here’s some advice.

If you want to earn money from your story, sign up for Medium’s partner program (it’s free) and put your story is behind the paywall.

Tag your story appropriately. Inappropriately tagged stories will be removed. Be sure to take advantage of all 5 tags in your story. Here are some tags we often use: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction. It’s also good to include a tag about the theme (love, deception, fear, faith, sacrifice, etc.), and the plot of your story (siblings, monsters, pirates, etc.). You get the idea, right?

You must have a Medium account to submit (it’s free to join). Use the submission form below to submit your draft link. Once you’ve been added as a writer, please submit directly through Medium.

You don’t have to be a paid Medium member to submit or be published in Fantasy Shorts, but we encourage authors to have a paid membership so they can enjoy all the stories published here, as well as some other amazing fiction across Medium. It’s your choice whether you want to profit from your work, but we encourage writers to put their pieces behind the paywall. You can always share your story’s friend link with non-members, and links accessed through Twitter are available to non-members.

Guidelines updated 3/27/22

Submit to Fantasy Shorts

Give us your fantasy stories 1,000 words or less

1,000 words isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to craft a 5-minute descent into the dungeon, and that’s our goal.