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Fantasy Flash Fiction Directory

Our Selection of free Fantasy Flash Fiction

Fantasy flash fiction is one of the four genres that Lore dedicates itself to publishing for our free short fiction range available on our site. No matter if it is a story set in the modern day with supernatural twists or a high fantasy set in a distant age of bygone history, this is the place to be. If you read or write fantasy stories, then this directory will be ideal for you!

When Lore makes the decision to publish a fantasy flash fiction, you’ll find it here on our main directory for works that fit into our descriptors for flash fiction and fantasy. For a flash fiction we are looking for stories that have a word count between 251 – 999 words. Any less or more and it’ll fall into the micro fiction and short story categories respectively.

While other publications, magazines, and websites may have a different length in mind when they reference flash fiction – that is how we define it. Differences in this definition are fine, and you may think we are wrong, and that is okay! This word count range just helps us decide where to categorise it on Lore, that’s all.

Stewart, Lore’s Chief Editor, always does his utmost to review every piece of work that is submitted to Lore fairly and give every story the attention it deserves. He wants to feature as many authors and writers on the platform as possible as his aim is to give writers a place to showcase their work as well as readers a place to find insightful, new fiction. Always remember to check out the original authors and writers for more of their work and releases! Support them in any way that you can, they’ll appreciate it.

Are you wanting to get your flash fiction published on Lore? We have all of our guidelines on submissions detailed on our submissions page – so be sure to check that out. It’ll greatly improve your chances of having your story featured on Lore.

demon from a fantasy flash fiction

‘Audience Participation’ by Mark Huntley-James

a fantasy flash fiction being written on a desk

‘Best Laid Plans’ by Mark Huntley-James


Check back soon for more!

More About Flash Fantasy Fiction

Fantasy fiction encompasses a lot of different styles of story, with everything from contemporary fantasy novels such as supernatural thrillers, superhero stories, and modern magic stories. But Fantasy fiction also incorporates high fantasy, such as the likes of Lord Of The Rings and Game of Thrones. These are only some of the types of stories people consider to be fantasy. There are an abundance of fantasy sub-genres that include subtle, nuanced differences – but we won’t go into detail about that here.

What we will go into detail about is what fantasy means to us at Lore, how we define it, and what this means for getting your story featured on Lore’s site (and fantasy fiction directory). We are by no means saying definitively what fantasy is or isn’t, rather, how we define it here is very general and for easy organisation of our directories.

When it comes to defining fantasy, it is usually easier to think of pre-existing stories that help to shape and define the genre in the modern day. What constitutes fantasy can be as varied, and is usually grounded in an element of magic, the supernatural, or scientifically impossible or improbable feats with our current understanding of the world. Fantasy can have a lot of cross-overs with other genres, particularly Science Fiction.

To leave no room for doubt, we will answer:

What defines Fantasy Fiction?

Fantasy fiction has a few varied definitions with writers and genre lovers alike forever debating what to consider fantasy – we don’t profess to have a definitive answer to the query but we will define it for what we consider fantasy here on Lore. To keep how we define fantasy simple, we’ll cite from:

fantasy noun, fan-tuh-see, -zee

1. imagination, especially when extravagant and unrestrained.

2. the forming of mental images, especially wondrous or strange fancies; imaginative conceptualising.

3. a mental image, especially when unreal or fantastic; vision: a nightmare fantasy

Dictionary.com, 2022

fantasy uncountable or singular noun /ˌfæn.tə.si/

a type of story or literature that is set in an imaginary world, often involving traditional myths and magical creatures and sometimes ideas or events from the real world, especially from the medieval period of history

Cambridge Dictionary, 2022

We’ll focus on some key points that both these definitions touch on when we define fantasy here at Lore:

  • the involvement of imagination and the imaginary
  • the involvement of extravagant or unrestrained creative imagination
  • emphasis on ideas grounded in the unreal or impossible
  • fiction that involves themes within any time period featuring myths, magical or extraordinarily powered creatures and people, or fantastical ideas or events that defy current scientific theory or understanding.

What Type of Fantasy is lore interested in?

When it comes to fantasy fiction, specifically flash fiction, it can be hard to tell a story within the bound of the flash – due to the world building usually associated with the fantasy genre.

However, if you have an idea for a fantasy flash, be sure to send it in. We love to consider all kinds of fantasy from high fantasy similar to Lord Of The Rings, Game of Thrones to contemporary fantasy such as the likes of Supernatural.

We don’t want to limit the kind of fantasy we offer here on Lore and are open to considering fantasy of all shapes and sizes.

Do You consider cross-genre submissions for fantasy flashes?

Absolutely! The joy about works of fantasy is their ability to remain creative and explore the wildest and weirdest aspects of the human (or non-human) condition.

A great example of what we’d consider a cross-genre submission would be a story set in a world such as Star Wars – where fantasy and SciFi collide in all the best ways. However, fantasy with overarching horror themes and tropes would also be considered cross-genre. For instance, a fantasy horror story about a demon stalking the streets of modern day Osaka.

Get creative and never think you’re story isn’t good enough. You’ll never know until your submit.

Got a submission For Lore?

If you have a submission for us, then do be sure to check out our submissions page for more information.