The journal
About 100 Word Fiction
Brief by design. Memorable by intention.
100 Word Fiction is an independent literary journal devoted to stories told in exactly one hundred words. We believe constraint is a form of craft, and that a single page can hold a whole world.
What we publish
We look for fiction of exactly one hundred words — not ninety-nine, not one hundred and one. The constraint is the point. Inside it, we want stories with real weight: a voice, a turn, a moment that lingers. We lean toward precise language, surprising verbs, and endings that feel earned.
For the count, hyphenated words, contractions, and numerals each count as one word. Titles are not counted.
How we read
Every submission is read by a human editor — not triaged, not filtered by algorithm. 100 Word Fiction was founded in 2022 and is edited by Glenn Lyvers. Response times vary with the size of the queue, but we try to reply to everyone. If your piece is chosen, we'll let you know; if it isn't, please send another.
Submissions
Submissions are always free and open year-round. Authors must be at least eighteen years old. You may send up to three stories per issue (six if you are an active patron). Please read the guidelines before sending. Simultaneous submissions are fine; please withdraw a piece promptly if it is placed elsewhere.
Payment
When we accept a story, we send a small token payment: $1.50 for a standard acceptance and $10.00 for work flagged as an Editor's Choice — one payment per issue per author. Tokens are paid via PayPal to the email address on file in the author's profile.
Support
Authors can become Patrons or Donors at submission time. Patrons receive priority reading and an elevated per-issue cap for a full year; Donors bump a single submission to the front of the queue. Either way, they're thanked on our Supporters page for the year.
Rights
Once a story is accepted, 100 Word Fiction and the author share equal rights to the work in perpetuity. Either party may reprint, anthologise, or otherwise exploit the work without asking the other first. Accepted pieces appear online as soon as they are accepted; the journal is free to read in full, with no paywall.
In print
A selection of accepted work will be gathered into periodic paperback anthologies. Volume I is forthcoming — see the paperbacks page for details as they're announced.