One Story is seeking literary fiction. Because of our format, we can only accept stories between 3,000 and 8,000 words. They can be any style and on any subject as long as they are good. We are looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone.

Yes. One Story pays $500 and 25 contributors copies for First Serial North American rights. All rights will revert to the author following publication.

No. One Story is looking for previously unpublished material. However, if a story has been published in print outside of North America, it will be considered. Stories previously published online—on blogs, personal websites, online literary magazines, or forums—will not be accepted.

Yes, but please withdraw your submission immediately if your submission is accepted for publication elsewhere.

We accept DOC, DOCX, PDF, and RTF files. Please include the story title and all writer contact info on the first page of the submitted file.

No. One Story receives close to 200 submissions each week. Please understand that we do not have time to comment on individual stories.

We strongly prefer that you only send us final drafts, but if you must upload a new version, please withdraw your submission through Submittable and resubmit.

No. Please send us new work. Revisions of previously rejected stories will not be considered and will be automatically declined.

Yes. Please include the name of the original author and language, as well as the name of the translator on the first page of your submission.

As of Fall 2021, all submissions should be submitted via Submittable.

Emailed submissions will be deleted unread. We only consider paper submissions from incarcerated individuals. All other submitters must use Submittable to send us their work. Paper submissions will not be considered and will not be returned to the author.

We accept submissions from January 15th to May 31st and from October 4th to November 14th.

We do our very best to respond to submissions within 3 months after they are received. If you don’t hear back from us within that time, please be patient! It is our goal to make sure that each submission gets a good read.

Yes. To check the status of your submission, please log in to your Submittable account.

No. One Story and One Teen Story are looking for different kinds of stories. For more information on submitting to One Teen Story, go here.

Yes. You can access your Submission Manager submissions at any time.