Coolest American Stories Anthology

This project is on indefinite hiatus. Check their site to find out whether this is a submission and/or publication hiatus. (June 2026)

About

Remember that twisty-turny story you once read that removed you from this world completely, that actually caused you to think Wow, or maybe even led you to say out loud, "That was a cool story"? We do. And we miss stories like that. And we want to encourage people of all ages (yes, we think teenagers and octogenarians can write cool stories) and social classes (yes, we think privilege and education can cause storytelling to become stilted) to write the kinds of stories they want to read. We want America to be cool again. And we believe that the most earnest, unafraid, engaging storytelling--if it could be published and read and therefore given a chance--could make empathy and kindness fashionable again and thereby bring American coolness about. Hence our annual anthology.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions. (Note: About 10% of anthologies always charge fees.)
The fee is USD $1.50 (below average for anthologies that charge).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2021

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication: Published 1 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Fiction On Hiatus

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Open to all/most Genres, including:
General

Lengths:

Short Story: 3,500 - 7,500 words.
Novelette: 7,500 - 10,000 words.
Novel Excerpt: 3,500 - 10,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) to Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) Pay ranges from Token payment to Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $100.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

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Coolest American Stories Anthology Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

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Accuracy

We have received 7 reports from 6 different members within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

17 min | 59.8 mean avg | 67.0 median | 84 max days (28.8 std dev)

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 23 Sep 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 06 Sep 2025.
Date compiled: 20 Sep 2026 05:04 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Before Submitting

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Dates

Last Updated: 02 Jun 2026