Genres & Theme
Literary Mainstream Open to all / most themes American Short Fiction has published, and continues to seek short fiction by some of the finest writers working in contemporary literature, whether they are established, or new or lesser-known authors. There are no set guidelines as to content or length, but anyone wishing to send a story to American Short Fiction should first become familiar with the work previously published by the magazine. Our standards for acceptance are extremely high. The editors aim to respond to manuscripts in a timely fashion, and ask that you wait a minimum of four months to send follow-up inquiries.	Go To: Website Support this Publisher: Subscribe Report: Submission/Response Correction/Update New Cover
Lengths
Short Story (1,000 - 7,500 words; may vary)
Media
Print Publication
Payscale
Professional Rates for Short Fiction
Other Info
Accepts postal submissions only
Allows simultaneous submissions (always follow proper simultaneous submission etiquette)
No reprints accepted
No multiple submissions allowed
Published 4 x per year
USA
Response Times
Show Overall   Note: These statistics are compiled from response reports sent to us anonymously and through our submissions tracker for registered users. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's staff. This market ranks among the Top 25 Most Slothful Short Fiction Markets Accuracy We have received 87 reports within the past 12 months, not including 55 pending responses (with an avg. wait of 117 days). The more responses reported, the more accurate the info. Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most markets have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here. Days Reported 7 | 158.2* | 654 (min | avg | max) *This data has been normalized to reduce the effect of reported long waits before withdrawals or assumed rejections. Responses (81.6%) Acceptances: 1.1% (7 days avg. per acceptance) Rejections: 80.5% (163.6 days avg. per rejection) | 24.3% personal, 71.4% form, 4.3% unspecified Rewrite Requests: - Non-Responses (18.4%) Assumed Rejections: 4.6% (386.8 days avg. per assumed rejection without response) Author Withdrawals: 13.8% (97.1 days avg. per withdrawal by author) Other Information Most recent response reported was received on: 09 May 2008 Responses have been received for submissions sent as late as: 01 Mar 2008 Do not query before 120 days have passed. (73.6% of the responses reported to us for this market have taken longer than 120 days.)
Market Added: 11 Feb 2006 Last Updated: 22 Feb 2007 Last Checked: 10 May 2008

Before Submitting
We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close overnight. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Just remember ...

• Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
• Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
• Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
• For novel/collection publishers, it is standard to submit a cover letter, synopsis, and sample instead of the full manuscript.  Do this unless otherwise instructed.
• Include a SASE with all mailed submissions, queries, and requests for guidelines.
• Be professional, patient and persistent.