Submit today, submit tomorrow – but whatever you do, just submit! Since launching ‘Flash in the Pan’ over six months ago, we have received a wealth of flash fiction stories from Berlin and across the world. And although we have hosted many of these new voices, we are incredibly hungry for more!
The Fiction Kitchen Berlin chefs are standing by to add your story to the menu. We want stories that allow us to peek inside your soul. The ones that make you tick, that haunt your imagination. The ones that keep you awake at night. Simply put – we want your stories!
WHAT WE ACCEPT
- Flash fiction stories that are more than 100 words, but less than 1,000 (try to aim for the magic “sweet spot” of about 600 words)
- We want to read complete stories that are weird, strange, surreal, gripping, speculative, and imaginative. Stories with a dystopian feel or a sci-fi edge will get special attention! Whatever you send, just make sure it’s your best work. We want to be blown away!
- We are looking for new, previously unpublished work
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please inform us if it gets picked up elsewhere
- Submissions from expats living in Berlin preferred – but open to all authors, everywhere! (We don’t want geography to get in the way of a great story)
WHAT WE DON’T ACCEPT
- Bad writing, or writing riddled with typos, errors, etc. Please triple check your work before submitting – especially formatting! We know it’s a pain but a nice layout helps a lot.
- Here are a few things to avoid:
– Not fond of: Dark subject matter, such as violence, loss, trauma, grief, etc. Chances of us publishing something along these lines are really low
– Don’t want to see: No poetry, no cheesy romance, no balls-to-the-wall erotica (but sexual content is fine), and no biography-type stories
HOW TO SUBMIT
Send an email to: Submissions (@) Fictionkitchen.Berlin and include the following information:
- Subject line: Submission_Name of work_Your surname
- Body of the mail: Please include a brief cover letter and your bio (third person/max. 50 words). Please also include your social media handles (if possible), and any links you would like to share e.g. link to your own blog, etc.
- The story: If you haven’t already, please start using Shunn’s short story format for your submissions. This has quickly become the de-facto template these days for submissions via email
- Please attach .doc or .docx files only
We will either get back to you within a day (if you catch us at a good moment) or at least within three weeks. If a good few weeks pass and you still don’t hear anything, please do reach out.
Due to the amount of subs we are getting these days, should we accept (or reject) your story for the Kitchen, please wait at least one month before submitting again.
ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS
If you submit your story to Fiction Kitchen Berlin, and are accepted, you agree to the following: We ask for rights that are first, world, serial, online/electronic, and non-exclusive. We also ask for archival and anthology rights. What does this mean? Basically: we want to be first to publish your story, make it available anywhere in the world, have the right to print it in our literary magazine, to make it available on our website (including the right to archive it there), and to have it part of an anthology if required. Non-exclusive means that you are free to publish your story on other sites/magazines if you like. Additionally, you agree that we can pick a nice image for your work that matches both the aesthetic feel of the site, and the theme of your story. Please note that if we accept your story, we may apply minor edits to it without notification – but we will do our best to inform you.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
As dedicated volunteers, we are unfortunately unable to provide payment to authors. However, here is what you can expect if your work is accepted:
- No submission fees (duh!) – unless of course we are running a special competition with prizes
- Your own author section on Fiction Kitchen Berlin – all your published stories will be gathered there. Think of it as your mini-website! The more you submit to us (and the more stories we post from you), the better your page will look.
- Promotion of your piece on social media. Not only via our own site and social media channels, but we will also promote via other Facebook flash fiction groups too!
- Inclusion of your story in our new bi-annual literary magazine! If your story appears in an issue, we will send you a free digital copy. This also includes our anthologies
- Support and editing advice…but limited – we are just volunteers at the end of the day 🙂
Hey, what are you doing still reading? Get your story to us!
Have something to say? Leave a comment below or contact us directly via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or email. Or, you could just buy us a coffee if you like? (A.K.A a pint)
[kofi]