Porkbelly Press maintains a reading period that operates outside its regular submission windows, described by the press as a jar left open while its editors work at the proofing table. This is not a contest and carries no prize; it is an opportunity for chapbook and micro manuscripts to be considered for publication by a small press with an established catalogue. The press is explicit that the fee does not influence selection: submissions are evaluated on the same terms as those received during regular reading periods. The press distinguishes between two formats. A chapbook is 12 to 26 pages; a micro is 8 to 11 pages. Page counts exclude front and end matter such as dedication, epigraph, and bio. Submitters must indicate which category their manuscript falls into. The fee is $15 USD, and the deadline is January 1, 2027. Because the press frames the tip jar as a supplement to its regular reading rather than a separate competition, the curatorial posture is one of ongoing editorial attention rather than thematic prescription. Writers working in the chapbook and micro forms should treat this as a straightforward submission route to a press that reads year-round, with the understanding that the fee supports the press's operations and does not alter the criteria by which work is judged.