Micro Markets open in July!
• we're halfway through the year — how are your submissions going? •
I’m on the Substack struggle bus today — my insomnia is back and I’m a bit of a zombie… Regardless, here are a few microfiction markets that are open in July — are you excited? That ant sure is!
Story Street Writers ✍️
Word Count: 100 max
Genre: any
Theme: Unpacked
Open: 7/1-15
Prize: $100 for 1st, $25 for three runners-up
Sim Subs Allowed / No Reprints
What they want:
Summer is almost here. Travel, vacation, family gatherings. It’s time to pack your baggage–and unpack it. Here on Story Street, we want to see what comes spilling out in our 100-word fiction contest.
The theme is Unpacked, whatever that means to you, in 100 of your best words to make your best story. Of course, as stated, there is a 100-word limit. The contest is limited to the first 1000 entries, so it pays to be early.
Story Street Writers have micro contests several times a year: Nightmare on Story Street is in October, and they’ve also had a Springtime and a Summertime contest, and a Holidays one…
My take: My drabble, “Teeth,” won first place last October — check it out! Also, last summer’s contest theme was Summertime Sadness — here are the winners, so you can see what the editors tend to like.
Quotidian Bagatelle:
Word Count: 50-250
Genre: (see below)
Open: 7/1-31
Rate: $1
Sim Subs Allowed / Reprints Allowed (but no pay)
What they want:
Quotidian Bagatelle is an experimental micro imprint from Foofaraw Press looking to publish 365 micro stories, poems, creative non-fiction, or art pieces in 2026 (and maybe beyond...). Art pieces should be small; poems should be short, under 20 lines; prose should be under 250 words.
We are looking for short stories under 250 words in the following genres:
Speculative
Magical Realism
Slipstream
Horror
Humor
SciFi
Fantasy
Surreal
Absurdist
Experimental
and anything else that fits the vibe
My take: None yet.
Strange Pilgrims Micro Contest (short window!)
Word Count: 300 words max
Genre: literary
Theme: announced monthly
Open: 7/1-3 only
Rate: $30
What they want:
For the first three days of every month, we’ll open for a free, themed writing challenge. One winner — who we feel has written the Micro of the Month — will be selected and published on the last Sunday of the month alongside an editor’s note and a contributor’s note. The winner will receive $30.
We want to explore what makes a piece of writing stand out when the room is small. What happens when you strip a story or a fragment or a moment down to 300 words or fewer? What survives? What can’t help but be there?
The rules are simple: the piece must be 300 words or under, it must respond to the month’s theme (however loosely, however strangely), and it must be submitted within the 3-day window. We’ll reply to everyone within 2-3 weeks (before we announce and publish the winner, of course).
We’ll announce each month’s theme when the window opens — or just before — so you’re not planning weeks in advance. We don’t want you to overthink this! Just let the writing flow.
My take: I love a prompt and a deadline! Fair warning, though: they received 473 submissions in the three days they were open for April’s (inaugural) contest! Those are some steep odds — but you can’t win if you don’t play!
Unfortunately, with such a short window and my self-imposed restriction of sending newsletters once a week, I will miss the theme announcement more often than not. So set yourself a reminder to check back on the first of every month!
I have one sub and one rejection so far — challenge accepted!
And here’s one last call that I tacked on to the end of the last craft essay post that is still open: a speculative poetry call!
Eye to the Telescope
Word Count: not specified
Genre: speculative
Theme: Aliens
Due: 7/15
Rate: $.07/wd up to $30
No Reprints
What they want:
From close encounters to first contact to space operas to UFO Earth visits, stories about aliens or extraterrestrials proliferate in our diverse cultures and communities. Aliens can take on many forms: humanoid, animal-like, plant-like, virus-like or completely divergent from species on Earth. They can be hive-minded or individualistic, coming from other worlds or dimensions. Their presence can be metaphors for migrations, conflict, cooperation, friendship, anxieties, the unknown, the familiar or obstacles. They can live in egalitarian societies or hierarchies of power. They can be serious and scary, as well as whimsical, expressive, cute, cordial or funny. What do they look like? What do they do for fun, for work? What do they eat? What do they wear? What do they want? Why are they here? Why are we there—in their homeworlds or at some mutual location? Looking to weave a vibrant issue on ETs and their interactions with humans or species of various experiences and backgrounds! Open to free verse, scifaiku, humor, rhyme, concrete poetry and more!
My take: I’ve rejiggered four micros into poems for this market, garnering three rejections and one short list. I’m pretty sure I have something about aliens lying around that could use some sprucing up…
Yes, it’s a bit of a sparse July in Microfiction Land, but check back next week when I update the themed prompt calls.
And a Reminder:
I’m looking for some more reprint microfiction from YOU to feature here! Don’t be shy — if you’ve had a micro published, send me a link to it (either message me here, or email me at klmillwriting@gmail.com). I’ll feature it (and you) and say some really nice things about it…
What you can look forward to from Micro Markets: themed and unthemed calls, monthly micro contests, micro-lit mags that are always open, micro-focused anthologies... maybe even some craft essays about writing microfiction and a place to feature YOUR published micros.
So dust off some of your tiny treasures, and let’s send them out into the world!