• A Little Time by Lavinia Liang

    A Little Time by Lavinia Liang

  • Litro Readers’ Choice 2026: Read the Ten Shortlisted Stories

    Litro Readers’ Choice 2026: Read the Ten Shortlisted Stories

  • The End of the World

    The End of the World

  • Changing Tides- Heike Rentel

    Changing Tides- Heike Rentel

Featured Edition · Spring 2026
World Series 2026 · City Edition One

London

Future Archives

Edition

London

Future Archives

A city of overlapping lives and contested ground where belonging is negotiated, resisted, and rewritten. Fiction, poetry and archive — restored and newly commissioned. Rooted in London, but not contained by it.

“The city beneath the city — private lives under pressure, the machinery of belonging, and the places that hold us.”


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Litro - London: Future Archives


Part of Litro’s World Series 2026 — international editions publishing quarterly


Browse the full series →

What Litro Does

Writing, culture and the life around books.

Litro is an international literary publishing platform for readers, writers and cultural partners: publishing distinctive writing, supporting writers’ development, and building credible partnerships around literature, culture and ideas.

01 · Readers

Fiction, essays and living archives.

New writing, interviews, audio, print memory and Future Archives editions for readers drawn to literature across cities, cultures and ideas.

Read Litro →

02 · Writers

Editorial support for serious work.

FastTrack feedback and live masterclasses for writers developing stories, essays and submission-ready work.

Autumn masterclasses →

03 · Partners

Partnerships with cultural fit.

Print, digital, live and archive-led partnerships for publishers, arts organisations, universities and brands with a credible literary connection.

Partner with Litro →

Litro publishes from London, with Litro USA extending the magazine’s literary and cultural work in the United States. FastTrack is editorial feedback only and does not affect publication decisions.

Flash Friday New stories every Friday
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Litro Readers’ Choice 2026: Read the Ten Shortlisted Stories
Latest Flash Friday

Litro Readers’ Choice 2026: Read the Ten Shortlisted Stories

Flash Friday · Readers’ Choice 2026 We have brought together ten short pieces from Litro’s recent Flash Friday publications. Read the selection and vote for the...

Read story ->
Hands cut and wrap fish at a market stall, suggesting labour, survival and the afterlife of political power.
Flash Friday

Changing Tides- Heike Rentel

Once the wife of Comrade Commissaire, she now sells fish in the market — and learns that scales...

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A dim bedroom with window shadows and scattered paper, suggesting intimacy, regret and moral unease.
Flash Friday

“The Wicked Ways of Our World” by Michael Tyler

A brief, intimate flash about desire, faith, performance and regret, as a bedroom conversation turns into a reckoning...

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A blurred stage-lit figure surrounded by the suggestion of wings, evoking transformation, performance and unease.
Flash Friday

“How to Love a Millipede” by Linda Ann Strang

Milicent’s head is covered with live butterflies. Once mocked in acting class, she has become impossible to look...

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Autumn writing programme now open

Masterclasses

Litro Submission Sprint — October 2026

Litro Masterclasses

Submission Sprint

An editorial sprint for writers with one short piece almost ready to send.

Three live sessions. Maximum six writers. One piece, up to 4,000 words.

£325

US writers: $445

Book your place

8–22 October 2026 · Live online

“Ready to send does not mean perfect. It means nothing obvious is still blocking the piece.”

You bring

  • One existing short piece
  • Maximum 4,000 words
  • A willingness to revise between sessions
  • One clear question about the draft

You leave with

  • A more controlled draft
  • Clear revision priorities
  • A stronger opening and ending
  • Line-level rules for the piece
  • A short cover note
  • An individual submission target tracker
  • A send order
  • A pre-send checklist
  • Clear remaining blockers, if any

The programme

Three weeks. One editorial spine.

Each live session works on the same manuscript from a different editorial angle. You revise between sessions; the piece moves toward ready to send.

  1. Opening & Reader

    What the piece asks the reader to understand, trust and follow.

  2. Structure & Ending

    Where the piece gains or loses momentum, what needs moving or cutting, and where it should stop.

  3. Polish & Submission

    Final language decisions, remaining blockers and the practical work of getting the piece ready to send.

Individual editorial attention

Six writers. One piece each.

The cohort is deliberately capped because the Sprint includes individual editorial preparation, manuscript-specific revision priorities and final submission planning. Six manuscripts is the most the format can hold without diluting the attention each piece receives.

The Sprint is structured editorial teaching, not unlimited manuscript editing or open-ended correspondence. Every document below is prepared for your specific piece.

Each writer receives

  • A 5-point priority list
  • A cut list
  • An opening note
  • An ending note
  • Line-level rules
  • Next revision priorities
  • A final cover note
  • An individual submission target tracker

Six places. One piece each. 8–22 October 2026.

Book your place

The final submission package

Leave with a sending plan.

The Sprint closes with an editorial dossier prepared for your piece — a set of working documents, not a certificate.

Cover note
A short professional note suitable for submission.
Bio options
Short professional versions, ready to place.
Target list
A researched shortlist of serious edited publications, ordered around the piece, its fit and realistic submission opportunities.
Send order
A practical sequence rather than a random directory of journals.
Pre-send checklist
Final technical and editorial checks.
Remaining blockers
Clear identification of anything that still prevents the piece being genuinely ready to send.

Who the Submission Sprint is for

This is for

  • Writers with a complete short piece
  • Writers prepared to revise between sessions
  • Writers wanting direct submission-focused editorial guidance
  • Writers who want clear decisions about cuts, structure and readiness

Not this time

  • Someone starting from zero
  • Novel-length manuscripts
  • More than one piece
  • Anyone looking for a publication guarantee
  • Anyone expecting unlimited editorial correspondence

October 2026

Dates and deadlines

Live sessions run 6:00–7:15pm UK, online via Zoom.

  1. Friday 2 October

    Intake deadline

  2. Thursday 8 October

    Session 1 · Opening & Reader

  3. Monday 12 October

    Week 1 revision due

  4. Thursday 15 October

    Session 2 · Structure & Ending

  5. Friday 16 October

    Week 2 revision due

  6. Sunday 18 October

    Final material + submission preferences due

  7. Thursday 22 October

    Session 3 · Polish & Submission

Deadlines are firm because editorial preparation and individual target research happen between sessions.

Taught by Litro

Twenty years of publishing writers, not theories.

The Sprint is led by Eric Akoto, editor-in-chief of Litro. Its authority comes from Litro’s publishing history: two decades of reading, editing and publishing short fiction, essays and hybrid work, and working directly with writers on what actually gets a piece accepted.

Litro’s editorial teaching and its publishing decisions remain separate. The Sprint prepares work for submission; it does not promise publication in Litro or anywhere else.

From previous Sprint writers

“A few craft points have finally clicked into place for me, so I’m feeling a surge of enthusiasm.”

Nicky Torode · June Submission Sprint student

“The sprint has been incredibly useful and a little humbling as well. I will try to get the story as clean as possible.”

Eline Tuijn · June Submission Sprint student

Litro Submission Sprint · 8–22 October 2026

£325

US writers: $445

Maximum six writers

Three live online sessions · One piece · Maximum 4,000 words

Book your place

Questions

Is publication guaranteed?

No. The Sprint is editorial teaching and submission preparation. Litro publishing decisions are separate.

Can I bring more than one piece?

No. One piece only.

What is the maximum word count?

4,000 words.

Can writers outside the UK join?

Yes. Sessions are online. US writers can check out in USD.

What happens if I submit late?

Late work may roll to the next feedback point and cannot be guaranteed full pre-session attention.

Are sessions recorded?

Recording arrangements for the October cohort will be confirmed before the Sprint begins.

£325

Book your place
Eric Akoto
Thursday October 8 - Thursday October 22

The Joy of Ekphrasis: Autumn Writing Through Art

Write from art, get unstuck, and leave with new drafts — plus a method you can reuse anytime, creative writing for artists.

Lorette C. Luzajic
Thursday 1 October – Thursday 22 October

Writing and Pitching a Children’s Book

A practical 2-hour masterclass on shaping, pitching and preparing a children’s book for publication.

A. M. Dassu
Saturday 10 October 2026
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