Rat Bag Lit

About

My mother recently told me that when I was a wee little thing, my nursery school teacher asked me what was my mummy’s real name. I was a confident child, and knowing the answer, I announced to the entire classroom that my mummy’s name was Rat Bag.
After I recovered from the fit of laughter that overtook me upon hearing this, I asked my mother why I had given that answer. It turns out that my father, a good humored Scotsman, had given my mother the affectionate nickname as a joke. Little pitchers have big ears and all that.
After hearing this story, I couldn’t help but think that Rat Bag sounded like a fantastic name for a literary magazine. In fact, I was certain I’d find one already in existence. When I didn’t, I took it as a sign that I should start my own. And, thus, Rat Bag Lit was born.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for some submissions. They charge fees for short stories, feedback, and "tip jar" submissions.
The fee range is USD $5 to $25 (above average for magazines that charge).

Submission Caps: They may close to free submissions if they reach their quota.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2025

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published 260 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication: Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

92 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Rat Bag Lit's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Approachable: Rat Bag Lit's overall acceptance rate is higher than most magazines.
More Responsive: Rat Bag Lit's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to fee-based fiction submissions through 30 September 2026 11:59 PM EDT (in 18 days).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre
Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 300 words.
Flash Fiction: Exactly 100 words.
Flash Fiction: 301 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 3,500 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Other: May vary.

Theme:

Haunted Technology (100 word drabble) (01 Oct 2026 03:59 UTC)

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) to Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) Pay ranges from Token payment to Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $1-$20 depending on length; reprints paid at half rate.

Submissions:

Method: Duosuma submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to fee-based nonfiction submissions through 30 September 2026 11:59 PM EDT (in 18 days).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: 500 - 1,000 words.
Narrative Nonfiction: 500 - 1,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Other: May vary.

Theme:

Haunted Technology (100 word drabble) (01 Oct 2026 03:59 UTC)

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $0.01/word, up to $10; reprints paid at half rate.

Submissions:

Method: Duosuma submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to fee-based poetry submissions through 30 September 2026 11:59 PM EDT (in 18 days).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre
Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Other: May vary.

Theme:

Haunted Technology (100 word drabble) (01 Oct 2026 03:59 UTC)

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (US$5-49 per poem) Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $0.01/word, up to $3.

Submissions:

Method: Duosuma submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

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

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Social:
Bluesky @ratbaglit.bsky.social

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For the Editor(s):
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Link to Duotrope

Rat Bag Lit 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.

This project ranks among the 25 Most Approachable Poetry Publishers in our database.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 1,307 reports from 823 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

0 min | 9.5 mean avg | 8.0 median | 76 max days (12.4 std dev)

Responses

97.62 %

Acceptances:

20.50 % of submissions accepted (14.8 avg. days per acceptance) | 23.33 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

77.12 % (8.3 avg. days per rejection) | 30.5 % personal, 69.5 % form, 0.0 % unspecified | 0.1 % rewrite requests | 0.1 % shortlisted

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

2.37 % (10.6 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

30 responses are pending (2 min | 11.7 mean avg | 10.0 median | 36 max days waiting | 9.0 std dev) from 30 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 60 days. (0.6 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 60 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 60 days have passed.
The most common submission fee paid: USD $5.00. (99.9 % of reports specified whether they paid a fee; of those, 30.8 % paid fees.)
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 12 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 10 Sep 2026.
Date compiled: 13 Sep 2026 02:29 UTC (27 minutes ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Your Submissions

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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: 02 Sep 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.