Trash Cat Lit is an online literary magazine publishing flash and short fiction that tells a great story, has fabulous characterisation and a compelling voice.

It is the bin-child of Cumbrian writer, JP Relph and the lid was first flung open in May 2024.

Trash Cat Lit welcomes new and established writers from the UK and across the world to the Trash Family.
As a family, we are as happy to see our contributors return to the bin as we are to welcome fresh scribblers.

Just like all trashcan dwelling critters, we’re looking for treasure in unexpected places.

Like the tenacious fungi and beetles that thrive in dark, abandoned spaces.
The plant that discovers a sliver of soil in an
ocean of paving slabs,
then blooms.

Original image credit: Dusan Vevercolog (Unsplash)

At Trash Cat Lit, we hanker for stories that make us feel something.
Stories with voices that linger long after we shut the bin lid.
Like the fungi and the beetles and the plant.

Feed the Garbage Bandit,
the Skip Panda, the Bin Puppy.
Feed us all your treasured words.

Original Image credit: Joshua J. Cotten (Unsplash)

Trash Cat publishes three general issues per year – in March, July and December – featuring at least six Flash Fictions and three Short Stories per issue. We also publish themed pop-up issues and a Halloween Horror special.
We feature audio versions of many of the published pieces on the story-pages.

Please ensure you read our Submission Guidelines before sending your work. General and Pop-Up Submissions are always FREE and while we cannot pay our contributors at this time, we do nominate stories for The Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions and Best of the Net. We’ll also shout about your work far and wide and welcome you as a valued member of the Trash Family.

Trash Family Story Share & Bookfinder

As members of the Trash Family, our contributors get to share more of their words through their Trash Cat Lit story pages.
We celebrate them here and beyond.

We share links to stories written by our contributors and published online in other literary publications as well as linking to any other work in Trash Cat Lit

We share details of published print anthologies, novellas and NIFs in the Trash Family Bookfinder

We also offer contributors an opportunity to provide an audio version of their work and to have a bespoke image in our Trash Family Portrait Gallery.