What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for stories that exude honesty and earnestness from the writer. We love creative, fresh ideas and unique spins on old tropes, but most of all, we care about the passion and voice of the storyteller. Even tales as old as time can feel new when told with sincerity and truth. To commemorate the debut of Pocket Stories and its celebration of convenience and accessibility, we’re especially seeking short, concise, and impactful narratives. The beauty of the short story lies in its ability to weave compelling narratives and build characters within a small package. A great short story is self-contained with a beginning, middle, and end, yet it also offers a snapshot—a tiny window into a life, an emotion, or a world. These pieces are avenues of experimentation, where one idea or single scene can stand as a complete entity. Our focus is on literary and contemporary fiction, though we also welcome genre stories—fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and suspense—if they fit the mood of the magazine.

Content & Restrictions

While we do not believe in censorship, we will not accept work involving excessive gore, extreme violence, sexual violence, animal cruelty, or explicit erotica. (If you are unsure whether your work raises these flags, please reach out and ask directly.) Ratings and content warnings may be applied to stories containing adult situations or language. Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction will only be considered for our “Teen Reader” issue, published at the end of every summer.

Submission Guidelines

We’re asking for stories with a soft cap of 2,500 words. Keeping submissions brief allows us to feature more voices and publish more stories. There are no restrictions on genre or theme, though our final selections will aim to create a cohesive flow across the issue.