CRAFT Fast Response
Black lives matter. Black voices matter.
While our submissions for short and flash fiction are always free and always open, this summer we are offering a fast response option for free to Black writers.
We will respond to your piece within three weeks of submission. If we decline your work, we’ll offer a few lines of actionable feedback.
We pay $200 for accepted short stories and $100 for flash fiction. To serve our aim of exploring the art of fiction, each published story includes an editor’s introduction as well as a craft essay (author’s note) by the writer. This essay will be requested upon acceptance.
Two choices for Black writers:
- Free fast response for flash fiction (fewer than 1,000 words)—please use this form.
- Free fast response for short fiction (short stories and standalone excerpts between 1,000 and 6,000 words)—please use this form.
Other Opportunities:
If you are not a Black writer and wish to send flash fiction (fewer than 1,000 words) for a fast response, please use this form for fast response in exchange for proof of donation ($12 minimum) to an organization in support of Black lives.
If you are not a Black writer and wish to send short fiction for a fast response, please use this form for fast response in exchange for proof of donation ($12 minimum) to an organization in support of Black lives.
We also offer full editorial feedback at rates based on guidelines from the Editorial Freelancers Association. Please follow us on Twitter for news of monthly free opportunities for Black writers.
General Guidelines:
- International submissions are allowed
- Previously unpublished fiction only
- Fiction only
- Please submit work in English only
- 6,000 words maximum for short fiction; 1,000 words maximum for flash
- We review literary fiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is picked up elsewhere
- We no longer allow multiple submissions—please submit only one piece until you’ve heard back from us
- Please, please, double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font
- Please send your story as a Word doc
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable)
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason