This idea for this site came via my own submissions to short fiction and flash/micro fiction sites; there seemed to be a gap in the market for short/flash fiction in the up-to-500 words category, and so strippedlit500 was born.

I shamelessly acknowledge that the basic, stripped down format of strippedlit500 (see what I did there?!) was inspired by John Xero’s 101fiction.com.Thanks John!

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to pay for publication, at least initially, but all selected stories will be published in a free PDF quarterly edition. I succeeded in my plan to sweet talk a very talented artist relative of mine to provide cover artwork!

Please refer to the submissions page for more information relating to our submission rules.

About Margaret

I’m the editor of StrippedLit500, which sounds fancy but it just means that I facilitate stuff; I manage this blog and mess about with PDF files, but best of all I get to read and share some great short fiction with the world. There can never be enough platforms for a good story.

My love of short fiction is an old affair; when I should have been working at school, university, or in a meeting at work, tiny tidbits of stories would rise unbidden, demanding to be written or typed on whatever medium was to hand.

As a writer, I follow a broad church; I’ve published (Feb-2017) my first fictional work, a historical/Sci-Fi novella, The Battle of Watling Street, and I’m working on two novels, one a recent historical story based in 1970s Northern Ireland, the other a Sci-Fi/Low Fantasy novella, which involves learning lots of new words and scientific theories.

To find out more, head over to margaretmcgoverne.com for news on my writing, works in progress and my blog.

This endeavour is a journey of discovery for me, so if you have any comments, suggestions or advice, please get in touch, and of course, don’t forget to submit your own short story up to 500 words .

Margaret