fractured lit chapbook prize
February 15 to April 14, 2024
Because we know writers are inspired by stories of many lengths, entered chapbooks should be around 70% flash and microfiction, but we’d love to allow space for longer stories for the final 30% of each submitted chapbook. Collections should consist of fiction only. No poetry or creative nonfiction at this time, please.
One chapbook will be selected as our winner by our guest judge, W. Todd Kaneko! The winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize, along with manuscript publication and fifty contributor copies. Our chapbooks are distributed internationally via drop-shipping through Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and other outlets, with 50% royalties. A digital version of the chapbook will be made available to our newsletter subscribers six months to a year after the print publication.
Submissions will be accepted between February 15 and April 14, 2024. Fractured Lit staff will select a shortlist of five to ten chapbooks to pass along to Guest Judge W. Todd Kaneko, who will pick the winner and write the introduction for the manuscript. The winning chapbook will be published in 2025.
flash & micro
always open
Fractured Lit publishes Micro and Flash Fiction from writers of any background or experience. Both Micro and Flash categories are open year round and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Editorial Letter – If you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about what we thought of your flash or micro, utilize this option. When we’ve reviewed your piece we will include 1-2 pages of feedback on your story including suggestions for revision, where it might be a good fit for publication, and other comments about ways it can be improved. Our editors are paid a significant portion of the fee, to meet the rates the Editorial Freelance Association recommends for developmental editing.
guidelines
- We pay our authors $50 for original Micro Fiction and $75 for original Flash Fiction.
- Micro Fiction for Fractured Lit is 400 words or less.
- Flash Fiction is 401-1,000 words.
- We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.
- Writers may submit up to two stories in the same document. You may submit again as soon as you have heard back about your current submission.
- Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself.
- Including the title and word count of each story is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. An optional content warning in the cover letter will better protect our readers and provide them a safe reading experience of your submission. This will provide us a chance to make sure the right reader receives your submission.
- Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner.
- We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions. For mail submissions, please see our faq.
- Fractured Lit holds first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Fractured Lit’s first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Fractured Lit first.