Q&As

If you have any questions which are not answered here, please contact us at 256stories@mail.co.uk

Who started 256 Stories?
The late dear Bruce Aiken (1947-2026) – polymath, author, poet, painter, graphic artist, book cover designer, amongst many other talents.

Why did Bruce start this?
He won a small prize in a short story competition and thought he’d do something useful with it – rather than just buy more wine.

As a writer, he entered numerous competitions – with some modicum of success. But he also had a lot of ‘Thank you, but no luck this time’ responses. He sympathised with all the other people who have been disappointed by such news, and came up with the idea of 256 Stories. Sadly, ill health meant he needed to pass the project over, just as it was getting going.

Who runs the project now?
The project crew currently includes Julian Fuller and Stephen Taylor, both of whom are writers based in Devon, UK. More foolhardy enthusiasts may join the team as things progress…

Why 256 stories? Why 256 words?
Bruce gave several reasons:
256 words fits neatly on a B-Format paperback page
256 one-page stories makes a nice length book.
256 is two to the power eight, or 2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2.
£2.56 is an affordable fee for most.
(Bruce said he was “mildly touched by autism” and fascinated by mathematics)

Are all stories accepted?
Yes, with a couple of small caveats described in the rules. But, even then, you get a chance to re-submit at no extra cost.

How many stories can I enter?
As a rule of thumb we suggest up to 3 stories per volume, to ensure a balanced anthology. However if you insist on being prolific, you could always work around that limit by submitting under pen names!

Do my stories have to have exactly 256 words?
No, that’s the maximum word count, not including the title. But we have set a minimum of 200 words, otherwise the story would look a bit ‘thin’ on a page.

Will my stories be edited?
No. Flash fiction is very difficult to edit. If we spot a misplaced commas or obvious typos, we will correct them. But that’s not a promise, so take care to edit well yourself.

Is there an age limit?
No. If you can write, you can enter. However if you are under 16, please seek parental permission before submitting your story and making online payment.

Are international entries permitted?
Absolutely!

Is there a deadline?
No, submit whenever you’re ready. Our plan is to publish the first anthology once 256 stories have been submitted. Hopefully, if popular, it will become a rolling event with volumes 2, 3… following on.

How will I know what’s happening?
Go to the ‘News’ page on the website which will be updated regularly.

What happens to the money if 256 stories are not received?
Should that happen (and we hope it doesn’t) whatever money has been received will go to charity as planned. And if there are sufficient entries to make a sensibly sized anthology, we will still publish it on Amazon, but all stories will be then deleted from the administrative file system.

Who’s done the design and formatting?
Bruce did it, for free. He spent his adult life as a freelance designer, illustrator and writer and designed more books than he cared to remember, mostly for traditional publishers.

Do contributors get a free copy of the published anthology?
Sadly not. If we did that the whole project would run at a massive loss. But any profits from book sales will be added in entirety to the charity pot.

Why doesn’t the whole £2.56 go to charity?
Because we have to use an intermediary, like PayPal or Stripe, and they take a small cut of each entry fee to process the payment. In the case of Stripe, who we are using, this is typically 1.5% plus 20p; an extra 1% if the payment comes from overseas.

What do Bruce and crew get out of this?
Tragically, Bruce has recently left us and gone forward on his journey. We are left with the warm fuzzy feeling that hopefully we’re helping Bruce get writers get their micro fictions into print, while benefiting nominated charities at the same time.

Bruce – some kind of literary saint?
Absolutely not. His friends will testify to that. But he did voluntary work for several charities, and spent some years as a Samaritan listener. Always a big believer in giving back. We hope you are too. RIP Bruce.