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side hustle horror stories for late capitalism

A project of Agita Publishing (see other related projects).

Permanently Closed: This project is permanently closed to submissions (June 2026). We provide the following information as an archive.

About

A particularly insidious aspect of late capitalism is that a lot of people can’t survive without taking second jobs, gig work, seasonal employment. Depending on your source, it could be as much as a third of the world’s population. These jobs are already horrifying enough: no benefits, shitty pay, dangerous conditions. But what if they were… darker?

Side Hustle is an anthology of horror and dark science fiction stories about the extra work we do to stay afloat. Uber driver for the damned. Security guard for a room without doors. Freelance editor of unspeakable codexes. Vendor of cursed small appliances on ebay. Grave robber. Whatever extra job you have to take to pay the bills, whatever you need to sell to stay alive, we want to hear about it.

We encourage formal experimentation. A horror story told in receipts, in delivery app ratings, in an email exchange over the purchase of a defective homunculus, in an academic CV. How can you explain these gaps in your resume?

We also encourage submissions from outside the United States. What does gig work look like where you live?

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 2026

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication
One-time publication
Print Publication Print Publication
One-time publication

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

Fiction Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,000 - 5,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Dark, Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Other: See guidelines.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $0.05/word.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

No recent cover image available for side hustle

Go to project webpage

Report:
Correction/Update

side hustle Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 14 reports from 14 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
28 min | 42.2 mean avg | 40.5 median | 60 max days (12.7 std dev)
Responses
100.00 %
Acceptances:
21.43 % of submissions accepted (44.7 avg. days per acceptance) | 21.43 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections:
78.57 % (41.6 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 90.9 % form, 9.1 % unspecified
Non-Responses
0.00 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
-
Withdrawals
-
Pending
2 responses are pending (91 min | 97.5 mean avg | 97.5 median | 104 max days waiting | 9.2 std dev) from 2 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 17 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 16 Jun 2026.
Date compiled: 17 Sep 2026 23:39 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 21 Jun 2026

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