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How Many Words Is a Short Story?

A short story is conventionally 1,500 to 7,500 words. The Hugo Awards and Science Fiction Writers Association use this range as the eligibility definition; literary magazines vary somewhat, but most fall inside it. Below 1,500 words is generally classified as flash fiction; above 7,500 is a novelette.

How we calculated it

Award-eligibility definitions are the most precise reference point. The Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards classify by word count: short story up to 7,500 words; novelette 7,500 to 17,500; novella 17,500 to 40,000; novel 40,000 and up. These boundaries exist primarily to keep awards categories meaningful, but they have shaped how editors and writers talk about story length across genres.

Literary magazines generally accept short stories from about 1,500 to 8,000 words, with most falling in the 3,000 to 6,000 range. Many top-tier markets (The New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper's) publish stories closer to 4,000 to 7,000 words. Flash-focused markets specialize in stories under 1,000 words, sometimes under 500 (microfiction).

For workshop and MFA-application purposes, a "submittable" short story is usually 4,000 to 6,000 words. This is the length where you have room to develop a character and a real plot turn, but stay short enough that editors and workshop participants can read multiple submissions in one sitting.

A worked example: a workshop-submittable short story

You are preparing a story for MFA workshop submission. The program guidelines say "literary short fiction, 2,000-8,000 words." Most of your classmates submit around 5,000 because that is the length that lets you build a character and earn a real turn, but is not so long that the other workshop members run out of attention by the third re-read.

A 5,000-word workshop story typically allocates 500 words to the opening — establishing the protagonist, the world, and the immediate tension. 3,500 words to the body — two or three scenes that develop the character through pressure. 700 words to the turn or climax — the moment where the story's central claim becomes visible. 300 words to the close — short, restrained, and resonant rather than explanatory.

The workshop test is not whether the story reads well alone; it is whether 12 fellow writers can each find one specific thing to revise. Stories that are too tight invite no comment; stories that are too loose invite generic comment. The sweet spot is a draft that has clear intentions and visible imperfections — the kind of submission that produces real notes rather than polite encouragement.

Why award definitions matter even to non-genre writers

Award-eligibility definitions (Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy) set the de facto vocabulary the publishing world uses for length: short story up to 7,500 words; novelette 7,500 to 17,500; novella 17,500 to 40,000; novel above 40,000. These categories were invented for science fiction awards but have spread to literary discussions, MFA workshops, and journal submission guidelines.

Knowing the categories matters because submissions outside them get re-categorized. A "short story" of 9,500 words is a novelette by the award definitions and many journals will reject it as too long for their short-fiction slot. The 7,500-word ceiling is the practical upper bound for "short story" in most contexts; the 1,500-word floor distinguishes it from flash fiction.

Common pitfalls to avoid

  • Treating a short story as a compressed novel. The two forms are not on the same continuum. A novel develops character over hundreds of pages; a short story shows character in a single moment of pressure. Writers who try to fit a novel's arc into 5,000 words almost always produce a story that reads like a synopsis.
  • No specific present moment. Many MFA-application short stories drift into summary — telling the reader about the protagonist's life rather than putting them inside a specific scene. The most reliably successful workshop submissions open inside a single concrete moment in a single concrete place, even if the rest of the story spans years.

Count your own words

Paste your draft into the free word counter to see exactly how many words you have written, plus character count, reading time, and speaking time. The tool runs entirely in your browser — your text is never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

What length do top literary magazines actually publish?
Top-tier markets (The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's) publish stories ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 words, with most falling 4,500 to 6,500. Print magazines have hard space constraints; online journals have more flexibility but often follow similar conventions.
How many short stories make up a collection?
Standard collections run 60,000 to 90,000 words — typically 8 to 15 stories. Some collections are tighter (5 long stories, each near the novella line); some are looser (20+ short pieces, often with flash mixed in). The shape signals the kind of book.
What is the difference between a short story and flash fiction?
Flash fiction is generally under 1,000 words; short story is 1,500 to 7,500. The gap between 1,000 and 1,500 is loosely defined — some markets call it "short-short" or "sudden fiction."
How long is a typical New Yorker short story?
Most New Yorker fiction runs 5,000 to 8,000 words, with some shorter pieces at 3,000 to 4,000. Length is driven more by narrative needs than by any fixed rule.
How many short stories make a collection?
Standard short story collections are 60,000 to 90,000 words total, which usually means 8 to 15 stories of varying lengths. Some collections are tighter (5 long stories) or looser (20 short pieces).

Related word counts

More in Written Formats

Conventional word-count ranges for novels, short fiction, essays, and longform articles.

Last reviewed: May 2026. Word-count guidelines are based on the standard 130 wpm speaking pace, 150 wpm narration pace, and 250 wpm silent reading pace; adjust to your own delivery for best accuracy.