Submission Guidelines

Drabble submissions are currently OPEN. To be notified of all future openings, subscribe to our newsletter.

Here are the planned submission openings for 2026:

All submissions must be submitted by our Google forms, which will appear here during open submissions.

What do we want?

Speculative fiction (science fiction or fantasy)
- Note: We accept horror, but it must have a speculative element, whether science fiction or fantasy.
Drabbles (100-word stories EXACTLY)
- Note: We calculate word count using Microsoft Word. If using Google Docs, note that it counts numbers with commas (e.g., 1,000) as two two words, whereas we count it as one. We realize Word counts ellipses (. . .) as a word and are flexible on this.
Actual, complete stories
- Even though they’re only 100-words, drabbles still need all the essential elements of a story: character, setting, conflict, theme, and plot.

Like 100-word stories?

Simultaneous submissions: Yes! Go crazy. Submit everywhere! But if it is accepted elsewhere, please let us know.

Response time: Responses will be within 60 days. Please query after this time.

Multiple submissions: You may submit two stories per submissions period.

Note: Only one story will be accepted per author per period.

Reprints: Nope. Stories many not be previously published in any format (including on your blog, Patreon, etc.).

Formatting: Please format italics with surrounding _underscores_. You do not need to add indents or manual line breaks.

AI use: No. All work must be original and yours. Using AI or plagiarizing will get you banned forever. No redemption arc will be possible.

(100-Foot Crow will also not use AI to edit submissions or create any website or social media content, including images.)

Contract terms: We require first worldwide English electronic rights with a 90-day exclusivity period.

Compensation: $8.00 ($0.08 per word) via PayPal.

Acceptance rate: We accept about 4% of submissions. Because of the high volume of submissions, we are unable to provide personal feedback.

How to submit: All submissions must be sent through our Google form. This form will only be available when we’re open to submissions.

Hard sells: The following are hard sells for our magazine:

Myth and fairy tale retellings
Stories where the characters are real historical figures or from classic literature
Holiday stories
Stories where aliens destroy Earth (especially if the motive is that humans are deemed too violent)
Stories where the resolution is an unexpected murder in the last line
Screenplay format
Stories where the speculative element could be removed without changing the story

But if you have a unique take on any of these that you think would knock our socks off, don’t be afraid to send it along!

“The shorter and the plainer the better.”
— Beatrix Potter