Saturday, March 21, 2009

Flash Markets

I've put up the links for some of the flash fiction markets that are out there. Most of these I'm familiar with, some I've been published in and others, well, I'm just not literary enough to crack. While I was looking around for links, I stumbled across two new markets. Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers, I found at The Rap Sheet. Flash Fire 500, I found at Duotrope. Both of these are new, having just started up in January. Flash Fire also is for adults only and has a blogger block that you have to click on to get into the site. And speaking of Duotrope, I did a search for flash markets and got 763 hits, so there are a lot of choices out there if you're willing to go looking.

Many of the zines in the top section, like MystericalE, Crime and Suspense, and Bad Things, also take flash fiction. Others, like The Flash Fiction Offensive, Literary Bitch and Powder Burn Flash are straight flash markets. Even some of the print venues that are listed take flash. Check the guidelines, folks. That's especially important with the flash markets. Many of those listed cut off at 500 words, others at 1000, and there are several that are 200 or 250. Word counts matter in the flash arena. There's even names for the different categories, a 55er is self-explanatory and a drabble is 100 words exactly.

In the resources column you'll find several listings that you should sign up for if you're really looking for flash markets. The Flash Fiction Flash newsletter comes once a month and is filled with every type of flash market out there.

Like, I said, the markets are out there, you just have to be willing to put in the time and work to find the ones that fit your stories.

7 comments:

sandra seamans said...

You're very welcome, Paul.

Shirley said...

Sandra, you've put in a lot of work on this. I really appreciate it. Now I can just check your site whenever I need a new market.

Thanks
Shirley
http://cleverchronicles.blogspot.com

sandra seamans said...

Welcome to The Corner, Shirley. What I have listed is mostly crime fiction sites, there's so many more zines in different genres out there you'd go crazy trying to find them all.

Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...

I just can't do flash - It's too short for me to work anything out. I've got to get the hang of it, though as I've read a fair bit lately that I've enjoyed.

sandra seamans said...

Flash is just a matter of finding the guts of a story and slapping your hand everytime you try to add a splash of purple prose. The other part is trying to use only one word when you'd really love to use a dozen to move the story along.

Conda Douglas said...

Great resources, Sandra. And I sometimes adore the huge challenge of writing small flashes--it's akin to writing poetry. An excellent way to create more impact in all my writing, for me.

sandra seamans said...

There's nothing like the discipline of flash fiction to help you learn to write tight.