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ShortStory Substack

About

Mission = Revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 2021

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication
Published 12 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed
ShortStory Substack's overall average response time is within a normal range for magazines.
More Challenging
ShortStory Substack's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
Less Responsive
ShortStory Substack's overall rate of non-response is higher than most magazines.

Fiction Open

Rolling Submissions:

Next cutoff date is 30 September 2026* (approx. 21 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 6 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette: 7,500 - 10,000 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Royalties Pay ranges from Semi-pro payment to Professional payment. Royalties. Details: USD $100, plus 50% of subscription revenue.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

ShortStory Substack 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.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 94 reports from 62 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
9 min | 77.9 mean avg | 79.0 median | 276 max days (47.5 std dev)
Responses
81.92 %
Acceptances:
2.13 % of submissions accepted (30.5 avg. days per acceptance) | 3.23 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections:
79.79 % (78.4 avg. days per rejection) | 1.3 % personal, 78.7 % form, 20.0 % unspecified
Non-Responses
8.51 %
Lost/Returned:
1.06 % (25.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as lost or returned)
Never Responded:
7.45 % (176.7 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals
9.57 % (43.0 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
21 responses are pending (4 min | 51.4 mean avg | 24.0 median | 147 max days waiting | 167.2 std dev) from 19 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 25 Aug 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 31 Jul 2026.
Date compiled: 09 Sep 2026 20:26 UTC (4 hours, 16 minutes ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Your Submissions

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 19 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.

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