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Lost Balloon publishes flash fiction, flash nonfiction, and prose poetry (all 1,000 words or less). We publish one new piece every Wednesday. There are no theme or genre restrictions, but we want your best. Give us work that entertains and challenges, that pushes boundaries and breaks hearts.

SUBMISSIONS OPEN FROM APRIL 1ST-7TH, 2024

**During 2024, we will be open for submissions the first week (first seven days) of the following months: February, April, June, August, and October.***

To Submit to Lost Balloon when we reopen:

We handle submissions through Submittable. Please do not email us submissions. Subs are free, and you will also have an opportunity to donate to the magazine by choosing the “tip jar” category. All pieces will receive the same consideration regardless of category. Money received through the tip jar will go directly toward paying for our submittable subscription and to the maintenance fees for our website.

Please send only one piece at a time and wait to hear back before sending another submission. We do not accept reprints, so your piece must be original and unpublished. Do not submit in more than one genre at a time. If your submission is rejected, please wait at least 1-2 month(s) after hearing back before you submit again. We will specifically ask for more work if we would like to see something else from you right away. If we accept and publish your piece, please wait one year from your publication date before submitting again.

We love simultaneous submissions! Please withdraw your piece right away if it’s accepted elsewhere. We usually take from 60-90 days to read and respond, so if Lost Balloon is your first choice for your story, please consider that when submitting to multiple journals.

We cannot currently pay our authors. We do promise to promote your piece on social media. We also nominate work for anthologies.

Response time: you can usually expect to hear back in about 60-90 days. If it has been at least 120 days, and you have not received a response, feel free to send a query about your submission status to lostballoonmag at gmail dot com. If you query before 120 days, your email will not be answered.

Free submissions: During our open submission windows, we often hit the Submittable limit for free submissions within a day or two. If you miss the free submissions and are unable to pay for a tip jar submission, please contact us at lostballoonmag at gmail.com. We will figure out a way for you to submit! (Please do not just forward your submission to this address without checking first. We will not accept it. Do not ask to submit outside of your open periods. We won’t take those either. )

Lost Balloon acquires First Electronic Rights and Non-exclusive Archival Rights. All other rights remain with the author. If you reprint your piece, please mention us.

We are a small organization with a commitment to fostering a productive and welcoming creative space. We will not tolerate abuse language, bigotry, or harassment in the stories we publish, or in our authors. We therefore reserve the right to reject submissions or remove previously published material from the site at our discretion.