Rat Bag Lit: Short Story - Paid Submission Gold Star Program Gold Star Fee: usd $5.00

Deadline: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 11:59 PM EDT (in 27 days).

Your paid submission will include at least a sentence or two of constructive critique with your response. Your submission fees help us pay our authors and we thank you!

1000 words up to a maximum of 7500 words.

Please remember we are a weird lit publication -- please be sure to read our guidelines for your best chance of success.

Simultaneous submissions are always okay. Just let us know if the status of your submission changes.

We pay via PayPal only.

Digital publication as a standalone e-book available for sale on our website / substack.

Pays a penny a word, up to $20 + royalties*.

We will do our best to respond to your submission within 60 days, but pieces that are held for further consideration will take longer.

(*Royalties are never guaranteed to payout. This is a new thing we're trying.)

[We offer a limited number of free submissions for short stories each month. If free submissions are closed and paying a submission fee presents a hardship to you, you may email us for a no questions asked fee waiver.]

Category: Fiction
File type: .docx
Number of Pieces: 1 piece

Anonymous submissions are required (no identifying information in files).
Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Reprints are not allowed.
Multiple entries are allowed.
AI-assisted works are not allowed.

Quota: A quota has been set for this project. Submissions will close when it has been reached.

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