General Guidelines

SmokeLong publishes flash fiction up to 1000 words. The SLQ aesthetic remains an ever-changing, ever-elusive set of principles, but it most likely has to do with these kinds of things:

* language that surprises
* narratives that strive toward something other than a final punch line or twist
* pieces that add up to something, oftentimes (but not necessarily always) meaning or emotional resonance
* honest work that feels as if it has far more purpose than a writer wanting to write a story

We publish one story each week as SmokeLong Weekly, chosen by guest editors. We also publish a quarterly issue each mid-March, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-December. The quarterly issue includes the weekly stories as well as bonus stories and interviews.

Please do not send more than two (2) pieces per quarter. Even though our weekly stories are chosen by different editors, you may NOT submit the same story with each new week. Our staff does manage the submission process, and we will -- unfortunately -- have to disqualify stories that are submitted more than once in any given quarter.

Our intent is to respond as quickly as possible. Please allow us up to four weeks to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner.

Include a print-ready, third-person bio with your cover letter.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please inform us immediately if your work has been accepted somewhere else for publication.


Online Rights: If we publish your work, we require exclusive electronic rights to it for 3 months and non-exclusive rights indefinitely so we can include it in our online archives.
Print Rights: We require non-exclusive print rights, for potential annual anthologies and promotional materials. All other rights remain yours.