The Fiction Desk publishes a quarterly anthology of new short fiction. Each issue takes the form of a 192 page paperback book, containing around a dozen short stories from new and upcoming writers.
HOW TO SUBMIT: At the moment, we're only accepting submissions through our online submission form. This helps us keep track of all of the submissions as efficiently as possible. Please don't post us anything, as it won't reach the right people. We may try to accept postal submissions in the future if there's a demand for it, but try the form: it's quick and simple to use, and you don't have to pay for postage. (You could always put the saving towards a subscription...)
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR: The best way to get a really good answer to this question is to read us. If you have a Kindle or other ebook reader, you can download our first anthology at a special price of just £1.99. The paperback costs £9.99 including shipping. One other thing to note is that we're looking for stories about people and places, rather than about writing itself. If the most important thing about your story is its narrative technique, or if the character is a writer who's writing about the challenges of writing a short story about the challenges of being a writer, then it may not be for us. Please note that we do not consider novel excerpts, or anything under 2,000 words.
RIGHTS: We ask for first serial rights on any story we publish. This means that the story should not have appeared anywhere else, either in print or online. (This includes publication on an author's own website.)
WORD COUNT: We prefer to see stories that are between 2000 and about 7000 words in length, give or take. Our absolute minimum is 2,000 words; we prefer stories a little longer than that.
PAYMENT: We pay around £20 to £30 for stories we publish, with the amount varying slightly according to length. Contributors get two complimentary copies. There's also a cash prize for the best story in each issue. More information on this will be announced on this website in the coming weeks. (Or sign up to the newsletter for updates.)
MULTIPLE AND SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: It's fine to send us more than one story at a time. In fact, we prefer to see two. Please don't send more than three, though, and please send them through the form separately, not together in one document. Submitting stories for publication can take a long time, so we do understand if you want to submit to more than one magazine at a time. However, please let us know if a story you've submitted to us has been accepted elsewhere!
OUR RESPONSE TIMES: We aim to reply to all submissions within three months. If you submitted less than three months ago, please just sit tight and wait. Chances are that we just haven't got to your submission yet. If it was more than three months ago, first check your junk mail folder, in case our reply wound up there. If you still haven't heard from us after three months, email us: submissions@thefictiondesk.com. It would be very helpful if you could include your submission code (the number you received when you fired off the submission).
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries: submissions@thefictiondesk.com
For submissions: via the online submission form
Website: http://www.thefictiondesk.com
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