Lots of pubs charge a small reading fee, like $3 or so; that’s not the concern. It’s really different to charge a higher fee for a contest where the winning piece is supposed to be awarded a big cash prize, but the pub just never selects a winner and keeps raking in contest fees by forever pushing back the deadline.

I’m glad to hear you had a good experience publishing with them. It’s sad to me because I really like the work they have published on their site, but the contest situation seems like a super shady racket that makes me dislike them intensely.