Welcome to our latest newsletter. We have anthology latest, submission stuffs, a wealth of Trash Family publications, and a genre twisting writing prompt.

What Comes to Light

Our gorgeous book – with 27 short fictions inside – has been available to purchase for a month now and we plan to make our first donation to The Wildlife Trusts in January 2026. ALL royalties go to the charity, so please consider grabbing a copy or gifting some for Christmas.

Use this link to get find What Comes to Light at the Amazon you use.

We will also have story teases and author bios on this page.

Submission Stuffs

Just one month until our final 2025 submission call. Open 1st to 14th December, this flash call has a theme of CATS – yes, the non-trash variety.

Here are some other submission opportunities in fellow lit mags if you have treasures to send out into the world.

• Emerald City Ghosts are a new online lit mag based in the Pacific Northwest and looking for spooky stories. They say “Your stories absolutely don’t have to be set in the Pacific Northwest! That being said, we do tend to favor our grungy, rainy, coastal vibes, and we appreciate it if you work those elements into your story“
  They have a list of all their themes for the rest of 2025 and 2026 – with OCEANS being the next in November. Get the info HERE
• The fabulous Strange Quark Press, a mag blending science and story, are open until the end of November for stories up to 2500 for their Gremlin Grimoire. They say “A forgotten doorway. A forbidden library. Secrets buried for centuries beneath the shifting sands. The journal of a forgotten philosopher whose words were banned. A sleep-deprived scholar, who begins to see some very strange visions. Your ideas may be spooky, but we want to read them.” Get all the relevant deets HERE
• Ink in Thirds magazine are open for their Spring 2026 Issue until January 31st. They accept prose up to 600 words – this could be one flash or three micros. They say “…our only absolute requirement is to make us feel something! Sad, fine. Tormented, better. Angst, gah. Happy, meh—we’ll take it. Most importantly, move us with your words.” Find all the sub info HERE

As with all literary publications, including Trash Cat Lit, you should always read a number of the published works before submitting yourself. Get to know what they like and decide if it’s the right home for your treasured words.

Trash Family

We love to celebrate our contributors beyond Trash Cat Lit by sharing the cool stuffs our Trash Family members have going on:

Pushcart Nominees

We nominated these six remarkable stories and writers for the Pushcart Prize and wish them every luck.

• Frances Gapper, into stones, into water, into clouds
• Adele Evershed, Singapura – September 1952
• Gill O’Halloran, What Comes to Light (currently print only)
• Mairead Fagan, When I Was Born, My Mother Ate My Placenta
• Stephanie Carty, Waking Beauty
• Emily Rinkema, Grace

Publication and other Stuffs

It has been a crazy month for spotting TF successes on social media – and we reckon we haven’t got them all – but we’re listing as many as we can. SO MUCH amazing stuff to celebrate and read.

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Coleman Bigelow has a new collection published by Alien Buddha Press called Man’s Best Friends. This “flash fiction collection that digs into the strange, tender, and sometimes absurd ways people and animals collide” sounds amazing – here’s a link to purchase. Coleman was also nominated for a Pushcart by The Welkin Writing Prize.

Madeleine Armstrong, Ian Johnson, Laura Cooney, Jupiter Jones AND Scott Macleod all have stuff in Underbelly Press‘ upcoming Issue 5. We love our fellow Cumbrian magazine and are thrilled to see so many TF making their way their. We know cracking stories in t’North!

In Bunker Squirrel‘s Vol 3, Issue 3 you will also find fab stories from Madeleine and Scott, alongside Andrew Monge. Madeleine’s was named Best in Issue. Read them all HERE and support a fellow critter-named mag.

Proving that writers are often multi-creatives, Heather Haigh has published an art piece in Feral; a journal of poetry and art. Check it out HERE

John Weagly has released a Kindle version of his book ‘Alligator Autopsy’ featuring pro wrestler, Buster Bash. Grab a looksee HERE. John also published in another mag we love – Punk Noir Press – his short, Pushing in at the Circle K is part of the ‘Mother’ themed series and can be read HERE

Leigh Loveday‘s story has found a second home with reprint-loving magazine, Bulb Culture Collective. You can read the stunning short – Under Aegis – HERE

One of our Genrepunk Award nominees, Cole Beauchamp has a fantastic flash published with Does It Have Pockets magazine. Go read 1989: Every day is the same in East Berlin, until it’s not HERE. Cole has also shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Prize and we cross our trashy paws she goes all the way.

Placing on the longlist for the above prize is Gill O’Halloran who also got 3 pieces in the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize top 10%. Amazing!

In South85 Journal, we find both Angela Joynes and Beth Sherman with amazing work. Click the titles to read these beautiful pieces.
Surviving by Angela Joynes
Low Pressure Area by Beth Sherman
Angela’s piece is longlisted for the Editor’s Choice Award.

Beth also has a cracking micro in Fictive Dream – read Sylvia, Before and After the Sun Collapsed HERE

M.E Proctor has a story in the superbly-named ‘The World of Vile Wonder’ published by The Scythian Wolf and edited by Coy Hall. He says “This World of Vile Wonder gathers nine horror tales that explore the grim darkness awaiting inquiring minds of the 16th & 17th centuries. Discover a hidden side of the Scientific Revolution.“
Find out more and purchase this one HERE

and finally for this month…

Adele Evershed has been nominated for the Touchstone Awards by Haiku Girl Summer for this tiny delight:

Writing Prompt

We’ll end this newsletter with a prompt to help you get writing.

Given it’s the season of spook and ghoul, how about a monster challenge? Only, do it different – twist the trope – derail the expected – make classic monsters less…monstrous.

SOME IDEAS

• A vampire doing a spot of late shopping helps stop an armed robbery – but not violently: he uses his words and his compassion and some delicious cheese.
• A werewolf signs up for online dating, looking to meet someone who loves pet rabbits as much as he does.
• A lake monster joins a group of misfit teenagers one summer – finding an unrestrained freedom on the back of a speeding bicycle.
• A zombie couple open a shelter to care for homeless people and help find a missing veteran.
• A bigfoot teaches small children wilderness skills in his overgrown back garden and discovers a love for insects.

Thank you for reading our newsletter.
We hope we have inspired you with the amazing writing and readings.
We’ll see you next month.
Happy writing and reading.