A new home for short fiction.

Start reading on iOS today.

Get the Sanctuary app

Spotify for short stories.

Join the Beta

Read on your own time.

Sanctuary Stories is a free app for original and classic short stories — hand-picked fiction that you can finish in one sitting, from writers you won't find anywhere else.

Start reading today

Curation meets community.

  • We hand-pick all Sanctuary stories. If it’s discoverable on Sanctuary, you can trust that it’s worth your time.

  • Explore personalised recommendations, sorted by genre, length, and similarity to your favourites. Find hidden gems from undiscovered writers, or stay current with your favourite series.

  • Discuss, suggest, and share your favourite stories for others to enjoy. Browse your friends’ libraries to find suggestions, and curate your own personal collection. Leave reviews to share feedback on stories.

One Edition, every day.

  • Every day at 5am GMT, a new Edition - a handpicked collection of 15 exceptional stories - is published across the app. All readers see the same stories on their Edition feed. Think of it as a literary magazine, reimagined for digital audiences.

  • When you publish on Sanctuary, your stories have the opportunity to gain significant traction. Elevate your writing career, carve your niche or simply share the joy of storytelling. Who knows - you may even be featured in one of our Editions.

  • Effortlessly transform your stories into expressive audiobooks to share to your audience. Upload your own narration, or select a voice to read it out.

No time to read? Try listening.

  • Life can be busy. Sometimes, you just don’t have time to sit down and read. Enrich your life with narrated audiobooks — whether you’re running, cleaning, lying in bed, or on the morning commute!

  • Writers can upload their own story narration, or choose to create their own audiobook instantly.

    Sanctuary uses the very latest in high-fidelity Text-to-Speech (TTS) tools to augment your listening experience, placing your stories at the forefront of advancements in voice quality and accuracy.

  • Listen to audiobooks online on Sanctuary.

    Stories told to you.

    On Sanctuary, every story is converted into an ultra-high quality audiobook.

  • Read on Sanctuary.

    Find your favourites

    Enjoy curated recommendations, browse our top picks, or find your favourite writers.

  • Become a writer and post your short stories on Sanctuary.

    Find readers

    It’s never been this easy to publish your stories. Create a portfolio or give writing a go.

  • Build a library on Sanctuary.

    Grow your library

    Save stories to your library, leave reviews and get recommendations from friends.

Who can use Sanctuary?

Reading should be fun for everyone, whether you’re an experienced reader & writer or just trying it out. Writers should visit the writer page to learn more.

Due to anticipated demand, we’re currently onboarding people from the waitlist in the order that they sign up.

Man playing a red electric guitar with a black strap, outdoors.

 FAQs

  • Sanctuary is entirely free to read. We’re passionate about making reading accessible, not extracting value.

    As a thank-you to early adopters, Beta users will have a complementary Sanctuary Premium membership to read and listen for free.

  • Yes! Stories are available to listen to as audiobooks. Writers can upload their own narration, or use the latest ultra-high quality in-app narration to create a powerful voiceover.

    We know that sometimes it’s hard to find the time to read. You can listen to your favourite stories on the go with the click of a button.

  • Sanctuary is currently available on iOS. We’re working hard to bring Sanctuary to desktop and Android very soon.

  • Absolutely! You don’t need any prior experience or accomplishments to publish on Sanctuary. Make sure you check our content guidelines and copyright policies before publishing.

    If you’re reluctant to share your writing, we would encourage you to take a chance and put it out there. You never know who your writing might connect with.

  • Beta refers to an early release version of Sanctuary, wherein our team is working hard to make continual improvements before rolling out globally.

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

— George R.R. Martin