Fiction - SAND 30 - Free submissions for those who need them

If our €3 reading fee creates a financial barrier for you, you can submit your work for free here. It's important to us that our submissions remain accessible to everyone.

Our general, non-genre-specific guidelines are listed on the previous page.

Fiction & Flash Fiction:

• Send us risk-taking, subversive, experimental fiction . We are especially interested in literary fiction that crosses genres, that takes risks with structure/form/voice, that subverts expectations, and that includes multi-dimensional characters who represent the full range of identities in the world. To ensure your submission is right for SAND, check out the resources linked in the general guidelines above.
• We accept previously unpublished short stories, flash fiction, and translations. We do not read full novels, full novellas, or plays. We will read stand-alone excerpts from novels, but only if they truly stand alone.
• We only accept work that is the creative effort of humans with lived experience. While we are open to work that has experimented with and incorporated technology in creative ways, we do not accept work that has been fully or mostly written by AI (artificial intelligence). All submitters will be required to confirm and fully disclose the role that AI and other non-standard technologies have played in the creation of their submitted work.
• Submit EITHER one short story OR a single file with up to three flash fiction pieces. We will automatically reject multiple fiction submissions from the same author.
• Short stories should not exceed 3,000 words. While there is some flexibility here, we will not publish pieces that are over 3,500 words.
• Flash fiction should not exceed 1,000 words per piece of flash, and 3,000 words in total.
• Do not include your name or any other identifying information on your submission. Submittable records your name and other information, which will be hidden during our first round of reading. We will automatically reject any submissions that include identifying information on the submission document.
• Please include a third-person biography with the cover letter that you send through Submittable. If you are submitting a translation, please also include a third-person biography of the author with the submission. This information will remain confidential during the first round of reading.

Translations:

• We would like to publish more translations of fiction into English, and we encourage the submission of suitable pieces.
• When submitting a translation, you must confirm that English-language rights are available.
• The original work may be previously published, as long as it has not been published in English translation before.

Note:

• If your submission contains any images, please ensure that they are available in print resolution (300dpi) and, if they are not your own work, they are copyright free, or you have express written permission from the owner for them to be published in SAND.