Welcome to Weird Fiction Quarterly

Welcome to Weird Fiction Quarterly, a community writing project from authors around the world publishing weird flash fiction four times a year.

What is flash fiction?

Flash fiction (or simply "flash") is the literary genre of very short stories. Our general format consists of stories that are exactly 500 words long, based around a theme for each issue, written in the weird fiction genre.

What is weird fiction?

Weird fiction is an older genre that emerged in the late 19th century related to (and incorporating elements from) horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Edgar Alan Poe is often regarded as the first weird fiction author, with his departure from the traditional Gothic writing of his time. H.P. Lovecraft is another prominent author in the weird tradition, where he expanded the traditional horror and science fiction genre boundaries to introduce the world to cosmic horror.

We strive to push those same genre boundaries in each of our stories today.

Where did this come from?

The original mastermind behind Weird Fiction Quarterly was Russell Smeaton, an illustrator and writer from the UK. He published the initial edition of the series in the winter of 2022, with the theme of Winter. He published an additional Spring '23 issue, and handed over the series to Sarah Walker, Nora B. Peevy, and Chris J. Karr, who continue to publish the series. Scott Courtier and Shayne Keene joined the team with the Fall / Halloween '23 issue and remain an integral part of our editorial and production staff.

How is this published?

We use an entirely electronic workflow to produce our book manuscripts, which we upload to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing program. From there, we distribute paperback editions four times a year, and an annual hardcover omnibus collecting the past year's issues into a single volume. We also distribute issues as Kindle and ePub electronic editions, suitable for reading on tablets, phones, and dedicated reading devices.

Who do you publish?

The original circle of contributors consisted of writers Russell knew and collaborated with online. It has since expanded to additional authors through referrals from contributors and from writers who have discovered the publication and reached out to us. Weird Fiction Quarterly is not generally an open-call publication, but if you have an idea or example of work that would fit within our pages, feel free to reach out to us at inquiries@weirdfictionquarterly.com.

Where can I grab the books?

Click the Get Weird Fiction Quarterly! link in the header above for a page with the latest updates where to purchase the books.

Thank you in advance for your purchase (and review if you enjoyed it)!