Postcard Fiction | Submissions Open

The shortest of shorts, postcard fiction is written for the flitting mind, a remedy of prose in an infestation of social media updates. Tight enough to be written on a postcard, but deep enough to stay with you long past your coffee break, these micro stories are tough to write and a joy to read.

This summer, we’re seeking postcard fiction submissions for the inaugural issue of The Lit, a quarterly journal exploring the possibilities of publishing and storytelling in all its forms.

The rules are simple. Stories can be on any theme and in any style. They can be true life, fantasy or anything in between. We want your flashes of inspiration and we want them postcard-sized. Literally.

Send us your postcard fiction, on a postcard, by 20 September 2019. Novelist, founder and host of popular Oxford literary night, Short Stories Aloud, judge for the Costa Short Story Award and senior lecturer at the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, Sarah Franklin will be our judge. Successful submissions will be longlisted, promoted through The Lit’s social channels, with the final selection announced and published in The Lit in October 2019.

Keep an eye out on @TheLitPlatform social for updates on the magazine and deadline reminders. We’ll also be sharing some of our favourite microfiction stories over the coming months to get your juices flowing.

Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

1. Submissions must be written on a postcard and sent to: Stranger Collective, Ground Floor, 46 Killigrew Street, Falmouth, TR11 3PP.
2. Your submission must fit on the reverse of a postcard, leaving room for the address. Once written you must also take a photograph of your postcard and email it to with your name and contact details so we can get in touch to confirm receipt and if your submission has been successful.
3. Your submissions must be written in English and must be clearly legible. Your best handwriting please.
4. Do not include your name or any personal information on your postcard. All entries are judged anonymously and we will use your corresponding submission email to [email protected] confirm the authors of each postcard submission.
5. The deadline for the competition is 20 September 2019. All entries need to have been received by this date to be considered.
6. You will receive an email to confirm we have received your submission, but unfortunately we cannot provide feedback on submissions at this time.
7. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
8. Stories submitted must not have been published previously or broadcast in any other medium.
9. Multiple submissions are permitted but must be submitted on postcards individually.
10. The Lit cannot undertake to make corrections or additions to submissions.