Meridian opens a dedicated reading period for general fiction, distinct from its Short Prose Prize and Editors' Prize in Prose. The magazine seeks precarious, volatile stories—narratives charged with electric energy, whether cast as absurdist parable or realist tragedy. The governing criterion is not subject matter but prose: ambitious sentences and an inimitable style that announces a writer's singular voice. Each submission may contain only one unpublished story. While no strict word count is imposed, the editors rarely publish work exceeding 5,000 words. Writers of flash or micro fiction may submit up to three stories of under 1,000 words each within a single submission, provided all pieces appear in the same document. Work produced using AI is not accepted. Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but writers must withdraw their work immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. The submission fee is $3.00 USD. The deadline is fixed at November 1, 2026. This is an online, remote opportunity. No prize is attached to this general pool; it is a pathway to publication in Meridian, not a contest. The editors' stated interest in volatile, zinging prose suggests a curatorial bias toward risk, compression, and stylistic distinctiveness over conventional narrative polish.