ONE STORY publishes one great short story at a time. We bring people together through reading, writing, and learning about short fiction.
In Dami Abiodun’s “Monarch,” eleven-year-old Abu spends his winter break in Lagos with his aunt Fauza, a child bride only three years his senior, and her wealthy husband Umani. Tension brews within and outside the home as Fauza proves herself both passionate and headstrong, and unrest over government corruption grows.
In Jack Moore’s “Mothers and Daughters in This Day and Age,” a dying woman’s thoughts reach back in time to a pivotal afternoon in her childhood.
A nine-month intensive to help you complete, refine, & prepare your manuscript for publication.
September 15, 2026–June 1, 2027
Every other Tuesday, 6:30–9pm ET
Write a short story five sentences at a time in one of our most popular class offerings.
August 13–19
Asynchronous Class
Give One Story at our 2002 rate to the readers in your life.
They’ll get a new story each month. You’ll get year-round gratitude.
Includes a gift card or
a custom ecard
In this six-week course, each participant will workshop a short story or novel excerpt.
Workshop
Tuesdays, September 29–November 3
6:30-8:45pm ET
A year of lectures on the craft of fiction from eight One Story authors.
The next lecture in our 2026 Lecture Series takes place Saturday, June 13, from 4-5:15pm ET. Puloma Ghosh will discuss what makes prose beautiful.
Lecture Series
February–November 2026
One Story arrives in your mailbox in an envelope like a letter from a friend. Each chapbook-sized story introduces you to a new author. No ads, no images—just a great read.
One great short story
in the mail every month
This self-guided class will help you hone and refine a cohesive collection of your own work. You’ll learn how to assess each story you’ve written, discover thematic connections, order your stories, and more.
Read Lauren Groff’s speech at the 2026 Debutante Ball, now live on Lit Hub. Reflecting on the creative slump following a book’s publication, Lauren gives advice to our debut authors on the importance of slowing down.
What do you do when your best friend is about to leave for college and it feels like the world is ending? Take a road trip together to a place called The End of the World, of course!
Donations allow One Story to keep our print subscriptions affordable. This means more readers for our writers, and more short stories in the world.
Be the first to get news and updates, to know when our submission period reopens, and to learn about new classes and opportunities.
Join today and get 10% off your first purchase.
One Story has been publishing since 2002. We never publish an author twice. Browse our back issues to see who we published when.
One Story provides a free, open-source submission management system to other publishers at no cost.
We have reached our submission cap for spring 2026. Submissions will reopen in the fall. Please read our guidelines before sending us your work.
This self-guided class will answer your questions about how to present your work and yourself to the editors, agents, and selection committees on the other side of the submit button.
Self-Guided Class