One last reminder for The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) Spring Residency at Firefly Farms. Rules and Information to apply Here. It does cost money, but there are fellowships for trans writers, Black/Indigenous writers, and LQBTQIA+ writers. As a member of SmokeLong’s fitness community, I wanted to highlight that they are one of the scholarship sponsors.

A reminder that I give line-based, detailed feedback. Click below.

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My Brilliant Friend

I’ve taken inspiration from the fabulous Elena Ferrante and added a new section to the monthly roundup emails. In this section, I’ll celebrate my brilliant friends’ acheivements—publications and more!

Here’s what I have this month!

• Sandra Beth Levy has a poem “Dear Goddess of the Graveyard” published in issue 7 of The Orange Rose Lit Mag, (after Chris Kads, who you might remember from last month and her An Apple a Day Anthology!). She has two poems “Magic Infusion” & “Sculpture Park” in Hollow and Sky Magazine issue 2.

• Rachel Turney also has a poem “Goodbye” in issue 7 of The Orange Rose Lit Mag. (A lit mag with amazing taste!)

• Michael DuBon’s poem "Ambient Hesperides,” is in the An Apple a Day Anthology with Chris Kads, available to purchase!

• Christie Chapman has “A Covenant for the Creature of the Lake” in Silly Goose Press’s special Sturgeon Moon issue—envious of this whole issue, really. And she’s one to watch, she has acceptances with other super cool lit mags forthcoming!

• Kathryn Kulpa won the flash prize at Peatsmoke Journal for her piece “The Last Book of Weirdos.” They will publish it soon!

• Laurie Ember’s story “Another Face” is read to you in Hotch Potch’s Read Me a Story. Her flash piece “Five Seconds” also appears in Half and One.

• Cynthia Atkins’s poem “Loneliness” is in Dodo Eraser.

• David Ryan’s on a roll. His short story “Trust,” as well as a conversation with David, is in Terrazzo Editions mag.

• Elissa Field’s story, “At the Gun Show You Say to me, You Look Good,” is in trampset.

• Dawn Tasaka Steffler has a micro piece, "Therapy," in 100 Word Story.

• Melissa Llanes Brownlee has a flash piece “The Guys in the Parked Cars” in Ghost Parachute.

• Ella B. Winters’s poem “Shiva in Jerusalem” is published in Radical Catalyst Journal Vol 2, issue 2.

Are you a brilliant friend of mine? Let me know! Are you brilliant but we’re not friends yet? Let’s be friends!

Book Reviews

• Exhalation by Ted Chiang: A collection of speculative fiction short stories with a focus on morality. The stories feature different elements of speculative fiction, from portals to digital humaniod animal pet things to fossils being proof of god. If you like philisophical discussions on right vs wrong (and I do), you’ll like the book. It also comes with author’s notes after each story. The audiobook has good actors reading it.

• The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell, illustrated by Ned Asta: A beautiful collection of poetry and microfiction and art. Originally published in 1977 and reprinted in 2019 with an introduction. It’s filled with history and culture and love. Highly recommend. The drawings are begging to be colored in.

  

Movie Reviews

• The End of Oak Street (2026): Science fiction fans and Jurassic Park fans rejoice! You get historically accurate dinos with all the terror and hyjinks of inaccurate dinos. The only spoilers I’ll ever give—the dog lives! ( a random cat isn’t as lucky but it is off screen—a dino’s gotta eat)

• My Best Friend's Exorcism (2022): All the delightful tropes and campy vibes of an 80s horror movie but made in the 2020s. Friendship is thicker than possession and love conquers all—bestie love, that is.

• Normal (2025): The film couldn’t figure out the tone it wanted to hit. As a fan of the Nobody films, also with Bob Odenkirk, I thought it would be similar, and some parts were. But beyond a few good scene—Bazzoka 1, Henry Winkler 0—it wasn’t fun nor was it tense like a drama.

• Insidious: Out of the Further (2026): True to sequels, give us the same, only different. Travelers who don’t know they are travelers, spooky ghosts, casual ghosts in the background mixed with jump scares and smash cuts. Loved the use of liminal space in this one, particularly the pillow fort scene from the preview. I haven’t seen films 4+5 yet and I still enjoyed it. The dog lives. Don’t see if you’re afraid of the dentist—the film uses grounded and supernatural horror around dentists.

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026): Sum it up in two sentences: Men will do anything but go to therapy; the world will do anything to convince a woman not to get revenge on her attacker. Good acting? Yes. Some cool shots? Yes. Were those two things enough to ruin it for me? Yes. Went on for too long? Yes—could have cut at least 30 min.

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CURRENTLY READING: The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (loving)

My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

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Starting off this post with a shout-out for The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) Spring Residency at Firefly Farms. Rules and Information Here. It does cost money, but there are scholarships specifically for trans writers, Black and/or Indigenous writers, and LGBTQIA+ writers. As a member of SmokeLong’s Fitness community, I wanted to highlight that they are one of the scholarship sponsors. Deadline to apply is September 1, 2026. Please share that information with fellow writers!

Onto Our Show

This week I’m covering the first pages of two different stories from One Story, a print literary magazine that publishes one story each month. What I’ve selected is free to read in their excerpts online, and I’ve linked to each issue, so you can purchase it. Back issues are only $2.50! Or, you can check out their subscriptions and their series of workshops and classes. I’m definitely going to take one!

I chose One Story because I enjoy what they publish, but also because I wanted to highlight how the first page of a short story is vital. These two short stories have different styles, different voices, and are captivating in different ways. There are many ways to be a great writer! It is a competitive market—12 stories a year. That’s it. I purchased a few back issues and a subscription at AWP this year, and I’ve enjoyed them all so much.

The Dissection Question

By Emma Cairns Watson; Edited By Will Allison

Emma Cairns Watson crafts a crazy opening, and the whole story has an odd, uncanny vibes.

The opening drops us into the world where something crazy is presented as normal: There is an age gap match-making service that pairs older men to younger woman based on the question “If you had the opportunity to dissect another person, who would it be, and which part of their insides would you be most interested in looking at?” Somehow, this matchmaking service finds compatibility through this odd question. This opening is definitely using shock to its advantage. But it gives us several things. 1. It’s a small bit of information, but it garners huge curiosity! And 2. It also serves as world-building, a form of setting, in green.

I’ve used blue to elaborate on Nadine’s character. We initially see her pick this service for its anonymity. This could just be plain smart on her end. She doesn’t have to divulge her name or her picture. She can engage in this age-gap “relationship” service with fewer reservations. Then, we learn she is only 13, not the required 18-21. Now her choice of this service is deliberate. She knew they wouldn’t check, which means she can break the rules without getting caught. It also says something about Nadine that she wants to know this man’s answer. She’s daring, she’s a rule breaker, she’s curious, and if I had to venture, perhaps lonely.

The man is deliberately looking for a very young woman, which gives us creepy vibes. The age cut off is 21. She has to be a legal adult, but legal drinking age is the oldest she can be. Creepy. This is also something Watson uses to her advantage. We are curious how this will play out for Nadine, and we want Nadine to be safe, so we will keep reading. The way his voice is described as “tired” and likened to a chore, “calling her on the drive home from a long day,” really added to his character.

The dissection question is likened to a sexual fantasy, not just because this is a “dating” service of sorts, but because it’s considered private. The man says “I would only feel comfortable with a corporation knowing something so private.” There’s something humorous, of course, that he is willing to divulge personal information to a hoard of people as long as they are behind a screen and have that personal information fed into an algorithm for this service to work, but that is quite reflective of human behavior. And it sets up the idea of keeping one’s desires to one’s self as a theme. Watson’s writing is straight-forward and loaded with character development.

Order the issue here.

Colors from Elsewhere

By Rachel Khong; Edited By Will Allison (content warning: Miscarriage)

Rachel Khong’s story works so beautifully with minimalism and has a poetic quality to it.

We get so much information in the first paragraph. Let’s start with character, in yellow. This woman is counting the days she’s been pregnant, which tells us that it is very important to her. If it were just this line alone, we wouldn’t know for sure if it was counting for positive reasons or for negative ones. As we read on, we see it is a very wanted pregnancy, and that she’s nervous: “the baby—though they weren’t calling it a baby yet…” This line hints at trouble in the past, perhaps trouble conceiving or struggles with miscarriages. Either way, we see this couple hesitate to call the embryo a baby, most likely for fear of losing it. Then we get a little nod to the woman’s childhood and her familiarity with Casper the Friendly Ghost. Khong has beautifully tied this tidbit of the character’s past into the action at hand—looking at sonogram. It makes the information feel relevant.

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Setting, in green, is done in passive information. Khong trusts her reader to understand the setting and doesn’t describe every little detail of the room. We get “the wand was in her vagina” and “The image of her uterus appeared on the screen…” Those two sentences tell us where she is and what’s happening. We aren’t slowed down by details that aren’t needed. The author doesn’t need to describe the room because instead we understand the claustrophobia of the room through the woman’s actions and thoughts: 1. They aren’t calling it a baby, and 2. The image reminds her of a “spectral reverse silhouette,” which is one of the best descriptions I’ve ever read. Khong is really masterful with the language. The image is described as “black, white, and grainy, like footage from the moon.” It’s compared to something far away, something other people have experienced but not her, something that isn’t clear and could, potentially, not be real.

Then Khong uses repetition beautifully to create a poetic rhythm and create tension. In blue, you’ll notice the interchanging weaving of silent/silently and wrong. The doctor says, “If I’m silent, it doesn’t mean anything’s wrong.” This connects the two ideas together in our head. Even though the doctor said not to, all we can thing of now is silence. Then, the woman repeats the doctor’s words in an attempt to sooth her nerves, which is already clever. But this Khong takes this a step further: “but she thought to herself, silently, that something did seem wrong.” Everything is being done in silence. It dilates the moment of the doctor moving the wand inside her, drawing out the tension. Khong ends this by escalation, saying the “most wrong thing had happened.” And the first page ends with the inciting incident.

We can tell by the language and the way Khong frames information, that it is going to be a great read. And, lastly, I’ll note some things in magenta that feel a little off, and therefore, drive our curiosity. There are statements made about her having “hands, legs, lungs, a face with features…” and a comment about how “she had been a child.” These statements seem obvious. Of course she had been a child. That is how biology works. Why state the fact? It’s a choice that makes us ask questions we want to know the answers to, even if we aren’t sure exactly what that question is yet.

Order the issue here.

My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Ah, the literary competition. Seems every month there is a magazine holding a competition, dangling the first prize in front of your face. It’s the literary Hunger Games. This is normally part of craft talk for paid subscribers, but it’s such a hot topic, and it’s my birthday week, so here’s a gift. Please share it!

1. The Odds are Not in Your Favor

Getting published is hard enough. If you have a DuoTrope account, you can see what percentage of submissions your favorite lit mags accept. It ranges from less than one percent to 40 percent. As with all things math, this is for a few reasons. The first is competitiveness. Seasoned lit mags have exceedingly high standards and look for high-quality writing in their submissions. But it’s important to take into consideration the number of submissions. Well-known lit mags also get a high number of submissions. Two magazines may both publish 10 stories per issue. But if Magazine 1 receives 100 submissions and Magazine 2 receives 500 submissions, Magazine 2 will automatically have a lower acceptance rate.

Something else to consider—Have you submitted to their general queue and been rejected? Odds are if you’ve subbed to their general queue a few times and not made it through that you won’t make it through the contest ranks. The readers are the same. The guest judge reads only the top 15-30, whatever it is. And if you haven’t subbed to the general queue, you should start there. It’s a lot cheaper—maybe even free.

When you’re looking at a contest, there is only one winner. Some contests only select one winner out of thousands of entries. Other contests feature a 2^nd, 3^rd place and perhaps a few Honorable Mentions or what’s called a Short List. Each contest varies with how they dole out prizes to the other winners.

But only ONE person wins. Out of thousands. This makes the acceptance rate exceedingly slim. It’s a terrible gamble. Rejection is part of the game of being a creative. It always stings a little to get a rejection, but ultimately, we keep tweaking, we keep submitting, and our piece finds a home.

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I bring this up because contests often have a steep entry fee*. The average I see is $20. I’ve seen less and more. And I know it is enticing because the thought of winning is magical, ineffable. There is often a cash prize in the hundreds or thousands, sometimes you win notes from an agent or author, etc.

But it’s a gambler’s logic. You believe you’ll make your $20 back and then some. Think of a friend telling you to invest in something volatile. They scream you CAN double or triple your money BUT they only whisper that you could also lose your entire investment.

To be clear, I’m not saying contests are a scam. I’m saying you need to understand the risk that comes with submitting. Are you in a financially stable enough place to give away $20?

*I have seen magazines offer fee wavers, both for contests and general submissions. I have also seen magazines tie the entry fee to a subscription, so you are getting something of value with your entry fee be it a digital or physical subscription. Again, it’s up to you to decide if you’re okay with spending that money.

2. You Don’t Have a Creative Writing Background

A contest is not the place to dip your toe in the water. You wouldn’t jump off the pier into the ocean if you’ve never swam before. Even a very polished submission doesn’t mean it’s well-written. It doesn’t matter if you submission is grammatically correct if it isn’t interesting to read.

I’m not saying you need an MFA. You don’t. Plenty of talented and successful writers didn’t have a formal writing education. But they also didn’t roll out of bed a fully assembled talented writer. You need to have studied creative writing in some way. It starts with you being an avid reader and writing a lot of crap. There are no shortcuts. You will write crap before you improve. Look into online classes you can sign up for or even at your local community college. I’ve had amazing community college professors in creative writing. And if you ever do decide to get an MFA, now you have people you can ask for a letter of recommendation.

There are free resources to get you started. And if you have friends interested in creative writing, you can write together and give each other feedback. Creative writing is a skill you need to hone, a skill you never stop improving. If you don’t understand what makes a good story, you won’t understand why your submission is getting rejected.

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3. You Don’t Understand Your Competition

Unless you’re submitting to a contest that specifies it only wants new or unpublished authors, you are competing against authors who are already established. The professors in you MFA program? They are writers sending out their work to the same lit magazines they suggested you read. That author with a few books? Yup, they are also sending out their short stories and flash fiction. The EIC or genre editors of one lit magazine are sending their work to other lit magazines—and being rejected. People who have been writing, giving feedback, and reading the submissions queue for years are your competition, and even they get rejections.

Look back at the previous year’s winners. Read the winning entries, and see what makes them stand out. Read the author bios and see what else they did first. If the judge comments on the winning entries, read what the judge thought stood out and then find that in the piece.

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4. You Think Winning Will Launch Your Career

Winning a contest comes with notoriety, and more on that below, but the hard truth is there is no contest you can win that will launch your writing career. There is no one interview you give, one podcast appearance where afterwards, you “make it big.” Maybe you’ve even had a few submissions be accepted! Congratulations, but it’s like the old adage about plucking gray hairs. For each acceptance, there are at least three rejections in its wake.

How many author names do you know off the top of your head? How many of those aren’t major bestsellers? I know some author names that I’ve never read.

There are authors with multiple published books you’ve never heard of, authors part of anthologies you’ve never read. This contest, while impressive to win, isn’t a career launcher. It isn’t the one hurdle to you need to clear before your “career as a writer” can get started. There are always hurdles. You aren’t going from no name to best seller in multiple contests, let alone one. (Did that phrasing make sense? Good).

Also, you don’t need to submit to a contest to win a prize. Many lit mags nominate for Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, Best Small Fiction, and Pushcart Prize (and genre magazines nominate for genre-specific awards related to science fiction and fantasy.) These nominations come from their general submissions!

5. You Didn’t Read the Rules

Look, I mean, this happens so frequently. Read the guidelines and take note as you write your piece or look at your pieces for submission. Read the guidelines again before you submit. Pay attention to word count and format. It’s up to the journal how relaxed they are on the guidelines. But if it says 3000 words max, don’t go over. If it says double space your submission, do it. Again, these readers are volunteers. They aren’t paid. And you not following the guidelines is wasting their time. It comes off as rude and disrespectful, even if you don’t mean it that way.

This goes hand in hand with the genre you’re submitting. Are you sending YA fiction to a place that doesn’t publish YA? Are you sending literary fiction to a genre magazine? Don’t blindly send out your stuff! Before you submit to a contest, you should be aware of the vibes they publish, and you should read the work they publish.

A Few Reasons to Submit to a Contest

1. You Want a Subscription

Some subscriptions come with a free entry, or similarly, your entry comes with a year’s subscription. If the magazine is one you enjoy reading, and you’d be paying for the subscription anyway, might as well go for it.

2. You Have Something Great (not good)

You’ve been writing for a while, you have a writing group who have read and given you feedback on your piece, and—based on your experience—you feel confident it has a shot. Winning/placing won’t launch your career, but it does look good in your bio, and if you eventually want to publish a novel or collection of flash or short stories, even short listing looks impressive. Placing is also a great emotional boost. It feels good to be rewarded with acknowledgement for your hard work. (Downside is getting a ton of rejections feels like crap, so again, don’t send out willy nilly!)

Other Thoughts

Have you looked at paid feedback from these literary magazines? My same advice applies before making this purchase—is this somewhere you want feedback from and can you afford it? But if you read the magazine, like the work they put out, etc. then you might benefit from feedback from their editors. Read the editor bios on the website or reach out with questions before purchasing. They read hundreds of submissions and will have detailed, actionable feedback on your submission.

Are you in a writing group? Have you considered taking creative writing classes at your community college? Have you looked at your local library to see if they offer free or cheap classes? Before you decide to take a chance on a competition, invest time in improving your skills. Xoxo.

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Note: I normally cover the first chapter, but this novel is in two parts rather than chapters. I’ve gone over the first 10 digital “pages” available to read for free in previews. Thus any page numbers are superficial. Clips on pages are below, and the 9 pages with underlining are at the end of the post, if you’re curious.

Let’s Dive In

That Time of Year is a work of literary horror, so we are getting creeped out by seemingly normal situations where everything is just a tad off. It uses the uncanny to create uncomfortable situations where danger’s presence is felt, even though there isn’t a threat of physical violence. Using the theme of Otherness, N’Diaye examines how easy it is for someone to simply go missing while also exploring isolation and identity.

Marie NDiaye was born in 1967 in Pithiviers, France. Another example of an author to admire because she doesn’t stick to one genre! She is the author of around twenty novels, plays, collections of stories, and nonfiction books. She published her first novel, Quant au riche avenir, when she was just 17. She won the Prix Goncourt in 2009 for her novel Trois femmes puissantes (Three Strong Women)—France’s highest literary honor. Most recently, the English translation of her novel The Witch (La Sorcière, 1996, also translated by Jordan Stump), was published in 2026 and was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Whichever book you pick up, you are guaranteed to find incredible skill.

Jordan Stump is a Professor of French at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; he has translated some thirty works of (mostly) contemporary French fiction, by such writers as Marie Redonnet, Eric Chevillard, and Scholastique Mukasonga, as well as seven works by Marie NDiaye, including the forthcoming Vengeance Is Mine. His translation of her The Cheffe was awarded the annual translation prize for fiction by the American Literary Translators’ Association. (bio taken from Two Lines Press’s website.)

As a reading note, the language in this novel flows so smoothly. There are great instances of alliteration and hard consonants in the right spot to create a rhythm, which shows great skill on the translator’s part. As Stump has translated many of N’Diaye’s books, I can see he is quite familiar with her intent.

What Happens?

The premise of the plot is mystery based—the main character’s wife and son are missing. We learn that Herman and his family live in Paris, but they are currently at their summer home in the country. They delayed their return by one day. Rose, Herman’s wife, and their son left a few hours ago to go to the farmhouse down the road and buy eggs, but they haven’t returned. Their disappearance would be concerning on its own, but it is also pouring rain and freezing. Herman goes to the farmhouse to get them, but they aren’t there, and the woman says they never were. At first Herman doesn’t believe her, but he has no other choice to leave. He goes into town, but the shops are deserted except for the store owners—women who are dressed in the same outfit as the woman at the farmhouse. He goes to the gendarme (similar to the police station in the US) to report them missing, but the gendarme—though he listens to Herman—refuses to write a report or take notes since the office is closed.

Why It Works

On the surface, we read because we want to solve the mystery of the missing wife and child. Or, if we can’t solve it, we want to at least try. It’s a good catalyst. As we read, each encounter sparks questions. And it not only becomes about solving the mystery of missing people, but of what in the hell is wrong with this seemingly quaint little town? The opening sets the eerie scene—it’s night, “The lights of the nearby farm were half blotted out by the fog,” and there is “unending rain and mist” (N’Diaye 1). It’s a great spooky atmosphere.

If you look at the individual pages, you’ll see how N’Diaye weaves together character, atmosphere and setting, and mystery with compelling language. N’Diaye is a master at making every interaction feel slightly off; therefore, Herman, and thus the reader, begin to feel uneasy, feel as though something isn’t right. This makes us doubt all information we receive from the characters in town.

If you like literary horror, check out my post on The Need by Helen Phillips.

Smiles

One way she does is through the way these townsfolk smile at Herman. The interaction with the woman at the farmhouse is straightforward yet a tad off-putting. She does nothing wrong, but the encounter feels wrong because of how nonchalant she is and because she has a smile on her face the entire time.

It’s pouring rain; “She opened the door wide, cordial and smiling but evidently not about to ask him in” (N’Diaye 2). He then tells her about Rose and requests she go and get Rose. She’s oddly robotic: “[she] offer[ed] no answer, ma[de] no move…went on staring at him with a strangely obliging gaze” (3). Even after yelling at her, “she was still smiling, surprised, silent” (3).

We get a lot of Herman’s character through his interiority. On page 4, not only does Herman not believe the woman that Rose was never there, he intends to force himself inside her house and explain to her “point by point, as he did with his thick-headed students” that it was impossible she hasn’t seen Rose. He goes on to reflect on how “he’d made it a point of pride to behave with the slightly superior civility he thought the only suitable stance for citizens of the capital, always intent on revealing their sophistication but too fine to make a show of it.”

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Herman has a similar experience with the gendarme. Though the gendarme isn’t smiling initially, “his face radiated a deep, gentle courtesy” (N’Diaye 9). When the gendarme learns Herman is from the city, “the corners of his mouth mechanically pulled back into a respectful, formal smile” (10). Both interactions imply Herman is simply overreacting. Both people gaslight Herman by implying that it is simply impossible his wife and child have gone missing, and that even if Herman can’t find them right now, it isn’t a big deal.

Herman doesn’t speak with any of the shop owners—all female and all dressed the same—but they each stare at him as he runs around looking for his wife. Herman “sensed that the owners, idle at this late hour, were also watching him as he passed, their expressions inexplicably disapproving” (N’Diaye 7). They watched “Herman with their stern, severe eyes. They smile when Herman looked back, but only with their lips, an almost urbane smile, excessively revealing their teeth” (8).

This forced, faux kindness also reinforces the outsider issues Herman faces. He’s not from there. He’s not like them. He is Other. But he also Others them. His interiority tells us he sees himself as superior. And while he presents their customs as odd and strange, we must remember that he is not from there, thus it seems odd and strange only because it is different.

Darkness

Another way N’Diaye amps up the tension and the uncanny is through darkness. The dark is a great horror trope. Anything can lurk in a dark corner among the shadows. It’s something where film has a visual advantage because it allows for the director to put a barely visible monster in the corner in one scene and have it gone the next. But this novel is not about physical monsters, at least not in the traditional sense. The general atmosphere in these opening pages is dark and rainy. After his talk with the farm woman, she closes the door “and immediately the house’s ground floor was dark” (N’Diaye 5). It’s odd. One does not turn out all the lights unless one is asleep or not home. We know the woman isn’t asleep. On its own, it could be written off, but this moment has been built toward. It’s also paralleled as Herman looks back at his own house and doesn’t see light, so he knows his wife isn’t home. Darkness is a lack of life.

When Herman reaches the gendarmerie, it’s dark inside. However, upon entering the building, “light filled the office…blinding him” and Herman realizes the gendarme, who was sitting at this desk, had “turned on the lamp as soon as the door opened” (N’Diaye 8). Generally speaking, people don’t silently sit in the dark. It’s creepy.

Liminal Space

The little town also acts as a liminal space. It seems to exist in its own bubble. For example, “all married women in this region [wear] a blouse printed with apple blossoms” with colored laces that explain what year she got married (N’Diaye 2-3). The people seemingly sit in the dark doing nothing at night. In the opening, it’s as if they don’t sleep. All the women wear the same outfit, creating a cultish vibe, sort of like Midsommar (another horror movie that was super popular and didn’t land for me, but I’m not usually a fan of Ari Aster’s art style). Of course, it doesn’t need to be read as cultish. Plenty of communities or religions have specific attire to wear. However, we are seeing them through Herman’s eyes. And N’Diaye is, of course, deliberate in her presentation of this town and their occupants.

Side Tangent

As a side tangent, the smiling reminds me of the horror movie series Smile. If you are unfamiliar, it is a horror movie with an invisible monster. The monster acts similarly to a possession where the person looks the same on the outside except for they are always smiling. Once the monster kills the host, it can jump into another host, as long as that person witnessed the death of the previous host. It’s supposed to be a metaphor for trauma. I watched half of the first film, but I didn’t think they hit their theme well, so I DNFed it. As usual, plenty of people loved it, and it has a sequel as well as a comic series and a 3rd film rumored.

That Time of Year uses smiles in a different way than the Smile films. In both cases, the smile is forced, so it is unsettling. However, in That Time of Year, the faux polite behavior is meant to highlight Otherness. In N’Diaye’s work, the smiler is a purveyor (of both goods and tension) and a surveyor of the protagonist. Herman doesn’t belong. He is the odd man out. As for his wife and child, alas, you will have to read the book to see how this uncanny little town affects them.

My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

I went to AWP in Baltimore a few months ago where I went to panels featuring literary magazine editors, I went to a few readings hosted by literary magazines, and I chatted with a few EICs at their booth. It’s a tough game, made harder with the defunding of the arts.

I met Jeff Bogle of Stanchion at an AWP reading, bought a few issues, and later submitted to and was accepted in Issue 23. He announced the end of Stanchion after over 6 years. A few more issues are coming out, but then that’s it. Past issues, as well as novels and chapbooks, are still available for sale and the last two issues will soon be available.

I met Maxwell Bauman of Door is a Jar at the NYC Poetry Festival a few years back, bought 4 issues (they had a special), and later had a poem published in Issue 35, Summer 2025. Door is a Jar was one of the few places that published stage plays in addtion to fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. He announced he’s ending the magazine after 11 years and 40 issues. The last issue is forthcoming; past issues are available for sale in print or digital.

Only recently did I personally learn about Terri Pinyerd of The Hyacinth Review, but she also announced that she is ending the magazine after 5 years of hard work. The work is available to read on the website, and the EIC mentioned she wants to archive the site so people can still access what was published. Again, this was a one-woman show, and she announced that she was let go of her job and can no longer afford to run a website, etc. She’s accepting donations to help fund the hosting costs.

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This reminds me of Popshot Quarterly, a print literary magazine that needed to end their print run in 2023. It had such wonderful, colorful artwork to accompany the submissions. It was primarily across the pond, so I only have a few print issues. It maintained a digital life for a few more years, but now has permanently closed.

These are just a few of the places on my radar. I know there are many more, especially since everyone struggles to find readership and funding. Read lit mags like there is no tomorrow because, for some of them, there won’t be.

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

July came and went. I got to teach creative writing to teens at a virtual day “camp” for a week—covering poetry, fiction, speculative fiction, creative nonfiction, and SAT (they asked for this!) in just 5 days!

I’m still a reader for Craft Literary magazine and reading for their First Chapters contest, which reminds me, I’m open for feedback! Click the pretty colored button below for more information and to purchase feedback—and/or tell your friends!

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Book Reviews

• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. In this world, you can buy an Artificial Friend, or AF, for your kid. It’s something we aren’t far off from. The novel uses Klara’s point of view well and shows how a machine can practice empathy—among other human emotions. The worldbuilding is in the background, making it seamless. Overall, a great read, and I’m excited for the movie. It’s sad at times, but I promise it has a happy ending.

• Hum by Helen Philips. It takes such great skill to write about mundane daily routines while making them compelling. It’s the fastest I’ve finished a book in a while. I’m a slow reader. It’s set in a future not unlike ours—self-driving cars, drone delivery, poor air quality due to pollution, facial recognition—but with more LLMs. But the story is about how a mom wants to take her kids away from their screens and to the botanical gardens. It’s brilliant on all levels.

• The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King (part 2). The second part of the collection didn’t have as many stories to keep my interest. I also felt like while there were some stand out stories and craft, there were stories that were very similar to one another and reading them all back to back in one collection highlighted that. I’d recommend individual stories from the collection, but not the collection as a whole. That being said, I’m glad I finished it.

My Brilliant Friend

I’ve taken inspiration from the fabulous Elena Ferrante and added a new section to the monthly roundup emails. In this section, I’ll celebrate my brilliant friends’ acheivements—publications and more!

Here’s what I have this month!

• Wigleaf released their Top 50, and here are a few shout-outs. AIMEE BENDER, "Encounters", MELISSA LLANES BROWNLEE, "When Aerosmith and Run DMC Decide to Co-Parent", GWEN E. KIRBY, "Chili Night",

  • and from the long list: Elissa Field, "Saddleback," Peatsmoke (January, 2025; Beth Sherman, "My Mother is the Everglades," South Florida Poetry Journal (Nov. 2025)

• Christina Tudor “No Human Body Required” in Bulb Region. I’ve interviewed Christina about her debut flash collection CALL MY BODY A CAUTIONARY TALE, out in October. Interview and link to purchase to come!

• Christie Chapman has a lyric essay-in-a-playlist, “Miscarriage Mixtape,” in Does it Have Pockets.

• Ella B. Winters has work in Abyss Lit Mag issue 4 (preorders closed) and “Tomato vines hold all my memories” in Hyacinth Review.

• Beth Sherman’s newest book HOW TO GET THERE FROM HERE is out and ready for you to buy! If you like flash fiction and great prose, get it.

• Michael Dubon has poems in The Meadow & “Purr Therapy” in The Cat Poetry Book: An anthology of Cat poetry. He’s one to watch! Don’t forget about his chapbook Fragilidad y Free Dissociation, out next year.

• Kaylee Baucom has a poem Miscreant Anthology vol. 1 along with maybe a hundred other cool people publishing fiction and comics, etc. And I somehow missed her poem in June “Another Monumental Solar Eclipse” published in Issue IV of A Curious Moon Magazine! She also frequently posts her poems on her Instagram, linked in her name.

• Maya Chien, who I had the pleasure of studying with at SLC, has a story “The Whale of You” in Qu—A contemporary literary magazine from Queens University of Charlotte.

• David Ryan, an amazing professor at SLC, has a flash piece “The Finch” in The Missouri Review. You might recall his short story collection Alligator in this post.

• Jeza Belle, fabulous author of 5 books and drag queen extraordinaire, has a micro CNF “Between Jericho, Ararat, and Arkansas” in Unbound. If you like this, she has an award winning non-fiction book Jeza’s Jesus Juice:

  A Drag Queen’s Christian Devotional.

• Chris Kads, a talented writer and editor herself, is launching An Apple A Day anthology. Pre-orders open! Description: “ ‘An Apple a Day,’ a collection of poems and short stories, dives into the fresh and the rotten sides of life. Each piece contains a central image of apples, and themes include class division, body image, sexuality, female empowerment, and more. With juicy imagery and commentary, this anthology is one you can’t help but sink your teeth into.” (And yet another shout out to Michael Dubon for this one)

• A bittersweet shoutout to Stanchion Zine, as they are ending their print magazine run. Don’t Fear! You can still find books and their magazines for sale, and their online zine Elegant Variations is alive.
  

Are you a brilliant friend of mine? Let me know! Are you brilliant but we’re not friends yet? Let’s be friends!

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Currently Reading: Exhalation (short story collection) by Ted Chiang.

COMING SOON: That Time of Year by Marie NDiaye and traslated by Jordan Stump. First read this during COVID and if you like liminal spaces and recursion, you’ll enjoy the breakdown of this first chapter.

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Here are the top 3 favorites of books I’ve posted on my blog. Books I loved but have yet to post about also include the novel Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, and nonfiction Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism, 1968-1980 by Eleanor Johnson.

And if you’re looking for feedback, you can check out the details for how to submit below. xoxo.

For fans of vampires, family values, queer romance, and fuck the patriarchy.

For fans of the afterlife, queer romance, morality stories, and witty dialogue.

For fans of sassy older women, messy family drama, unlikely friendships, and light historical fiction.

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These are my top 3 so far! Anything you keep recommening to people? Let me know in the comments! I’m taking a few weeks off. Laters!

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Who’s Feeling Patriotic?

Remember last week’s book rant, particularly the story “Ur”? Well, now you don’t have to feel like your education was stunted! I present, your America 250 Reading Lists.

As a note, these lists are mostly focused on authors who write for adults. There are wonderful authors creating amazing books for teens and children, particularly in the 21st Century, that would be right at home here, such as Nicholas Stuart Gray.

These writers lived and wrote through several world wars, protested against war (like the Vietnam war), fought for women’s rights, gay rights, (and the Equal Rights Act introduced in the 1970s, or ERA, still hasn’t been passed), and fought against slavery and apartheid, among many other issues. There is no shortage of what to read without it being impacted by the world around them.

These writers also write across genres, producing horror, historical fiction, romance, and contemporary fiction. They also write across styles, many writing fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, speculative fiction, stage and screenplays, comics and graphic novels, and music. They contain the most multitudes and should be on more lists.

21 Women Writers in the 20th century¹

These women have won major literary awards, but most of them are oddly left off “best of” lists. I tried to limit it to 20, but it was Sophie’s Choice here.

1. Edith Wharton—she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence (1921)

2. Shirley Jackson—We Have Always Lived in the Castle

3. Toni Morrison—She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987).

4. Isabel Allende—Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award, The House of the Spirits (1982) La casa de los espíritus

5. Sylvia Plath—She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1982 (posthumously), The Colossus and Other Poems.

6. Amy Tan—1989, Finalist National Book Award for The Joy Luck Club,

7. Willa Cather—In 1923, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a novel set during World War I.

8. Ursula K. Le Guin—Le Guin won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel, becoming the first woman to do so, in 1969 for The Left Hand of Darkness.

9. Louise Erdrich—In 2021, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Night Watchman.

10. L.M. Montgomery—Anne of Green Gables series.

11. Joan Didion—A writer at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. In 2005, she won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for The Year of Magical Thinking, a memoir.

12. Eudora Welty—The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.

13. Flannery O’Connor—Her posthumously compiled Complete Stories won the 1972 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction

14. Angela Carter (one of my favs)—In 2012, Nights at the Circus was selected as the best ever winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

15. Sandra Cisneros—National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991)

16. Ayn Rand—Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead.

17. Jhumpa Lahiri—Interpreter of Maladies (1999) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award.

18. Maya Angelou—I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2000

19. Joyce Carol Oates—Won the National Book Award for her novel Them (1969) and two O. Henry Awards.

20. Alice Walker—The first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Color Purple (1982).

21. Dorothy Parker—Laments for the Living (thirteen short stories), 1937: A Star is Born (with William A. Wellman, Robert Carson and Alan Campbell)

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20 LGBTQ Writers of the 20th Century²

So many of these authors are credited with aiding in the language we use today to talk about gender and sexuality.

1. Sylvia Townsend Warner—Lolly Willowes, The Corner That Held Them

2. Mary Renault—The Persian Boy, Suzanne Collins said that The Hunger Games was partly inspired by The King Must Die

3. Langston Hughes—Hughes was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, Short Stories of Langston Hughes

4. James Baldwin—Baldwin was awarded Guggenheim Fellowship, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovanni’s Room

5. Lorraine Hansberry—Hansberry was the youngest American playwright and the fifth woman to receive the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, A Raisin in the Sun (1959) was the first play by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway.

6. Angela Davis—The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues, Abolition Democracy: Beyond Prisons, Torture, and Empire

7. Jackie Curtis—Worked in film and on stage, wrote stage plays Amerika Cleopatra, Femme Fatale

8. E.M. Forester—Maurice, A Room with a View, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 22 separate years

9. Truman Capote—Other Voices, Other Rooms; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; he won the O. Henry Award in 1948

10. Armistead Maupin—Tales of the City series, won the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Book Award

11. Virginia Woolf—Orlando, Mrs Dalloway,

12. Alain Locke—The first African-American Rhodes Scholar (1907), Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro.

13. Jan Morris—Morris was a member of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition, which made the first ever confirmed ascent of the mountain (mind blown), In 1972, Morris travelled to Morocco to undergo gender-affirming surgery, Conundrum (memoir)

14. Pat Parker—poetery collections Child of Myself, Pit Stop, author of “Women’s Murder”

15. Lou Sullivan—Female to Male Cross Dresser and Transsexual (1980), Sullivan was one of the honorees inducted in the Rainbow Honor Walk.

16. Leslie Feinberg—Stone Butch Blues, Transgender Warriors, Feinberg was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument.

17. Patricia Highsmith—The Price of Salt; O. Henry Award, Best First Story, for The Heroine

18. Carson McCullers—Reflections in a Golden Eye, The Ballad of the Sad Café: The Novels and Stories of Carson McCullers.

19. Rachel Pollack—1997 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel winner for Godmother Night, Salvador Dali's Tarot, and comic books,

    1. One reviewer said, “ there are too many dead lesbians in [Godmother Night] for me to truly enjoy or recommend it.” So it’s moving to the top of my list just to piss off this ash-hole.

20. Eileen Myles—Chelsea Girls, They won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction in 2011 for their Inferno (a poet's novel), and Myles received a Guggenheim Fellowship.

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Footnotes

1. By no means an exhaustive list, obviously. I haven’t read all of these books or authors, and some were new to me, which, again, points to a hole in the education system that comes from systemic patriarchal and racial issues. In additiona to Wikipedia, here are the websites I used.

   1. Blog post with a list of 13 books. I haven’t heard of most of them, so I know what I’m going to read coming up.

   2. GoodReads List. Books you’ve probably heard of even if you haven’t read them. Not a bad list, but certainly the “popular” list.

   3. Smithsoian Magazine. Good history included in the article about how these women contributed to history as well as the literary horizon.

2. Again, just throwing the list here, in addition to Wikipedia.

   1. Electric Lit.

   2. Bookstr list. Each author had a picture and a bio.

   3. 20 Most Famous Gay Authors…

   4. Ten Gay Novels. Blog post. Includes international authors!

   5. Trans Fiction Writers in the 20th Century. A great list from a PhD.

June went by in a blur. One of the highlights is my interview with Ani King. I learned a lot about using Audacity—but I am still very new. That being said, I’m proud of the hard work I’ve put into learning it all. I’m still learning how to use Substack and WordPress, too. I should have gone with SquareSpace because it is more user friendly, but I overestimated my ability to learn things quickly. Yes, I could transfer my domain, but that feels like too much of a hassel and gives me anxiety. I’d rather fuss with RSS and learn about open API and be angry about closed API. I only understood enough of what I just said to make a list of my latest posts on my website. But not a pretty list…sigh.

Do the heart-shaped like button thingy and the share button please xoxo.

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Unfortuneatly, Stanchion has just announced they (or rather Jeff Bogle since it is a labor of love with a sort-of one man team [sort-of since I’m sure his family is supportive] but we say ‘they’ like the royal we) are going to cease print issues of the zine. It’s very difficult to do print, which is why so many lit mags are online—and also why so many lit mags don’t pay contributors. They honestly cannot afford to do so. Some have the financial support of the university they are published out of (which still isn’t a lot of support), and others are estabilished enough from years gone by to have enough readers.

The moral of the story is, I don’t know man, none of us have money and funing is nonexistent because something about defunding the arts /sarcasm. But tell everyone to read more, to look for small presses, to buy their books from independent sellers instead of Amazon or even Barnes and Noble (and that would be a whole other post), and to start reading lit mags. So many lit mags are free to read online and they are sustained by tip jars and overworked/underpaid EICs. (And for some crazy reason, me and Ziggy want to join in on this).

Speaking of supporting small presses and the dystopian capitalist society we all inhabit…Read of listen to the interview with Ani King! They give so many book and lit mag recs, your summer reading list is covered!

Book Reviews (Rants?)

• The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King. The audio book is read by several people, all wonderful, and King gives his introductions. A collection of stories for every mood. Of course King writes horror, and the collection begins with a killer car a la Christine, but there is always more. This collection also has introductions to each story where King talks about the inspiration behind the piece or how the piece took shape over a long period. As with any collection, I didn’t like all of them, or I had an issue with parts of them. “Ur” for example was a fun story about alternate universes having more books published than our own. But it lacked female authors. A 20th century lit professor couldn’t think of any women authors? Imagine that class. It is a sausage fest, but worse, it it speaks to a deficite in education. (I’m not 100% done yet).

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. I tried to get into this. As I said in my post (linked below), Cameron is a shithead. Unredeamable in my eyes. He has zero empathy for anyone (except his aunt) but expects it all. But there seems to be a trend where males can be shits but it’s okay because they have suffered minor inconviences—and not just in books. Tova was a good character, and brings out some good in him. I think the film adaptation made Cameron likeable by cutting out his shittiness. But the book needed more Marcellus. He was only there for the twist that had Cameron taken more than one minute to think about would have figured out. Moments come up that aren’t returned to, like Tova’s special beach. And chapters with Marcellus felt like they were there only for filler. The book also needed more Knit Wits. They show up occasionally, but their relationship with Tova should have been more of a back bone. DNF.

  

• The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim. I wanted to like this because I’m a fan of body horror. It’s heavily implied the protagonist will eventually eat human eyes, but it takes her longer than half the book to get there. The plot is so slow in part because the protagonist keeps explaining away creepy behavior. The mom’s new bf George is a perverted creep who shouldn’t be around teen girls. Somehow mom doesn’t see this, and neither daughter speaks to her about it. Her friend Geoffrey is also a predator, but every time he does something possessive, she writes it off. Style wise, the author will go into a flashback for context for a scene that is only a few paragraphs and felt like it had little consequence. Her friends were mad at her and…they are still mad. No weight to the story. I guessed a lot of what happened and eventually DNF.

• We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune. I usually love a Klune novel. This one is different than what he usually writes, and I knew that going in. There were moments I did enjoy, but I thought the most interesting parts were summarized and I would have preferred a longer novel to flesh out the relationships. However, if you’re looking for an end-of-the-world novel where the main characters are on one last quest before the world ends, and you want to read a story where the main characters meet someone new every chapter, you might enjoy it. It’s about family and love and how people are coping with the inevitable end (some not well, understandably).

That all being said, I just started Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and I’m loving it. I saw a trailor for the film, and it looked adorable. I wanted to read it before the film came out. It’s only 10 hours long, and the Libby loan came faster than expected, so King is on hold for Ishiguro. Bet.

My Brilliant Friend

I’ve taken inspiration from the fabulous Elena Ferrante and added a new section to the monthly roundup emails. In this section, I’ll celebrate my brilliant friends’ acheivements—publications and more!

Here’s what I have this month! Strangely, or not, all poetry wins.

• Ella B. Winters has several wins this month (and shared several rejections with her hilarious blackout rejection poetry on her Instagram @elle.b.winters). Smitten with the Written anthology from Arcana Poetry Press —also includes work from Rachel Beachy, who published poems pretty much nonstop and is another poetical force (is poetical correct? sure why not). Ella also has a poem in Grasshopper Poetry. If you like shaped poem, read it. AND in Hyacinth Review. That’s available here.

• Michael DuBon is also crushing it with poetry. His bilingual love poem, “Mañanas Ambientes,” is published in SHINE Poetry Quarterly’s Summer Issue, available to order. And in Poetry in Brief (and a few others forthcoming, but let’s save that for July). Link to his other published work here. Mostly excited to share that he’s publishing a chapbook next year! Fragilidad y Free Dissociation with Girl Noise Press.

• Kailah Figueroa has two poems in Vol. 44 no.2 of Callaloo Journal!

• KT Amrine & Darby Power have coauthored a chapbook Anything but Hermit Crabs through Fifth Wheel Press. It’s available on a sliding scale, techinically for free, but any payment goes directly to the authors.

Are you a brilliant friend of mine? Let me know! Are you brilliant but we’re not friends yet? Let’s be friends!

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NEXT WEEK: Your America 250 Reading List. XOXO I spent a lot of time prepping this list, and you’re going to forking love it. (I’m rewatching The Good Place.)

My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Preorder Family Night

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Links

• Preorder Family Night by Ani King (out in Oct. through Mason Jar Press)

• Follow Ani King on bluesky & Instagram

• Head to their website to read their pubs or listen to the playlist they created for a few of their stories

• Stories mentioned in the interview: It’s Not Called a Miscarriage if You’re a Horse, Nervous Thing, and Feels Like Rain

• Ani Recommends: Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Øyehaug, Open Throat by Henry Hoke, Bitter Over Sweet by Melissa Llanes Brownlee, Claudine, Literary Namjooning, Pithead Chapel, SmokeLong, OkayDonkey, and Virgo Venus Press

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The Interview

Hayley Shucker (she/her): Alright, hello, everyone! This is Hayley from First Chapters. I’m here with Ani King to discuss their writing, and also their upcoming debut flash fiction collection. Hi, Ani!

Ani King (they/them): Hi, Hayley, good to be here, thanks for having me.

HS: Ani King, They/Them, is a queer, gender non-compliant writer and artist from Michigan. They are the first place winner of the 2024 Blue Frog Annual Flash Fiction Contest, a SmokeLong Grand Micro Competition 2023 finalist, and have additional work featured in SmokeLong Quarterly Review, Split Lip Magazine, Fractured Lit, Exposition Review, WigLeaf, and other terrific publications. Most recently, Ani is a Monarch Queer Literary Award recipient, with work on the Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist, and coming soon in Best Small Fictions 2025 and Best Micro Fiction 2026. Ani’s first full-length Flash Collection Family Night is available for pre-order from Mason Jar Press and will be released in October this year.

[Note: Best Small FIctions 2025 is now available to purchase. If you like flash and micro fiction, check out the best of the best of the best, sir (MIB reference I had to make.) Back to the interview]

Best Small Fictions

HS: Alright, so we are going to get into Family Night in just a few moments, but I do want to chat about your writing first, and I just want to start with, Ani, can you just tell us a little bit about yourself as a writer? Were you always writing, or did you have a different career first?

AK: I mean, I think I’ve always been writing as a person. I used to write little stories when I was a kid, I wrote poetry. I’ve always really liked doing creative things in general. My first longer work was New Kids on the Block, fanfiction when I was probably about 11, so it’s always been there, but I’ve never really done it as a career in terms of writing fiction and so on.

I worked in tech for about 20 years until last Friday, when I decided to take a break and, at least for the short term, put some focus on writing and writing-related things. I have done some contract writing and editing and so on for some non-fiction stuff. But I really started writing for publication around 2014, wrote some short fiction, and found flash fiction, and kind of fell in love then. And then sort of shifted from writing to, starting a very small magical realism flash publication that ran from 2016 to 2020 called Syntax and Salt.

And so, it’s kind of been an interesting view on both sides of things. So now I’m a submissions editor for SmokeLong, so I read a ton of stuff in the queue, but with a lot less responsibility than keeping the site running, managing all of the social media, making sure that the promotion is going well, working with our writers, that kind of thing. And so it was a fun experience, but I think it always had a time limit, because I also found it really hard to write while I was in constant editor mode. It was very hard to get into that brain space that’s purely creative and just let ideas come out, versus, okay, I’m trying to tweak this as I go, and then by the time you get the first paragraph down, it’s like you’ve exhausted all of the energy you had.

So yeah, I think, it’ll be interesting to see what writing looks like with it as a primary, but still not monetary focus.

HS: That is the downside. We always need to make a living, right?

AK: true.

HS: Yes. So then, you started writing as a child. I think a lot of writers do, right? I think we’re all having the, “oh, when I was a kid, I would write these little stories,” and I think I love that for us, because it was always there for us, right? And we just had to come back and find it as an adult.

So this contract work that you do, is this something that you a service you offer, that we can plug for you, where people can find you?

AK: Not at the moment, so a lot of what I was working on was University of California’s yearly annual security report kind of stuff. The very dry, but let me pay my bills stuff. I will, at some point later in the year, start offering editorial and, like, contracted services. But I kind of want to sit down and plan it out what can I offer for folks.

And what does that look like now in 2026? Also, keeping in mind that most folks who are looking for editorial assistance or mentorship or that kind of thing are also living under the crushing weight of late-stage capitalism, and so how to make that something that’s affordable and accessible for people, but also at least pays a couple of bills.

HS: Right, it’s always the balance of you’re offering this service and you are a professional, but then you also recognize that people need to be able to afford your service.

AK: Yeah, the community I largely aim for is the LGBTQIA plus community, right? And so, that’s a much longer conversation, when you talk about socioeconomic issues and so on, but it’s very important to me to be able to connect with my community and make sure they can connect with me.

I don’t want to devalue my work, but also I want to make it available to people who are maybe most going to want or benefit from it.

HS: Right. So whenever you get that set up, you can just let me know, and then I will throw that on the blog. So I think that’s a good transition to what do you write about? What are some common themes in your work for people who maybe haven’t read you yet? Because they will.

AK: I think there’s a lot of identity, as it comes to gender, obviously. For folks who have read me, that’s probably a big one up front, but also family, which makes sense given the collection. I’m not sure I realized how prominent of a theme that was, and so I’ve started putting the collection together. Also, class, I think there’s a whole lot in my work around who are we in relation to our situations and what we can do and what we can afford, hopefully in an interesting way. But it’s that larger theme of connecting and disconnecting from each other as people.

HS: Yeah, I think the class stuff is there from the writing that you have available online to read, because I know you have some stuff in print as well. But, I think it’s even there, perhaps not at the forefront, but your latest piece, “It’s Not Called A Miscarriage If You’re a Horse.” There’s some underlying class stuff in there as well.

AK: I would agree, and I think coming from that set of stories, the Horse Girl stories, for folks who might not be aware, there’s a lot of class conversation in those pieces, because it’s about Horse Girl who has horses, right? And her family is fairly wealthy, and it certainly comes with its own problems, and then her girlfriend, who comes from a much different background, much different family, and how they interact, and the things that they each as characters see themselves as capable or not capable of, or, deserving or not deserving of, I think really shows up in there.

HS: Yeah, I do have it on my list to ask you about horses and about Queen Anne, since those recur in your works, so, why don’t we just actually transition into that? So, for folks who don’t know, tell us about horses.

AK: So I am not a Horse Girl, actually, but my mom is.

HS: Okay. [shocked]

AK: And so I’ve ridden a couple of times. It was not something that was an option when I was growing up. I am the oldest of seven kids, my mom was a single parent the vast majority of the time that I was growing up. She had had, I believe, ponies when she was younger, and then she didn’t actually start getting horses again until after I had already moved out of the house.

You know, horses are super expensive to take care of, just across the board between boarding and feeding and vets and so on. But I’m really interested in them because they are such a sensitive animal. They’re huge, and they’re very strong and very powerful, and they’re literally emotionally ruled by the moon, and could have a breakdown any minute. And I think that’s probably some of the same reason that I’m obsessed with, like, deer and things like that, because these are animals that are sort of contradictions, you know, if you look at them in comparison to humans, right?

Like, we always think of, like, bigger and stronger and so on, and then you have a horse where if you’re, like, have the wrong vibe when you’re walking up, you know, they can have a very significant reaction to that. And sort of over time in writing about Horse Girl and her girlfriend, who I’m calling Tattletail, and we’ll see if that sticks.

I liked the idea that the horse and Queen Anne particular can kind of represent a whole lot of things. You know, for Horse Girl, initially, Queen Anne is a lot of escape and safety and movement and all of these things, and maybe even also a lens to understand Tattletale through. Tattletale is a neurodivergent, you know, teenage girl in the 90s, when girls were not being diagnosed with ADHD, you were really just compliant or not compliant, you know?

I think that it gives, like, a fun literary way to kind of travel through their relationship, either as a sort of misdirection, right? How is Horse Girl relating to Queen Anne? And is that in some way similar to how she does or doesn’t relate to Tattletale?

There’s a piece I can’t believe I’m forgetting the name of my own story. But it’s the one about the harness, geez, this is terrible, right? “Nervous Thing.”

HS: I did have “Nervous Thing” written down, because I really loved the flow of that one, and the repetition of “the girl I love” coming up over and over again.

Okay, so for those of you listening or reading along, “Nervous Thing” was published in Pithead Chapel. It’s available to read online, and we can link that so people can go read it.

[I’m skimming the story again] Yeah, yeah, that one… That one was really sweet. I mean, they’re all really sweet and then, for those of you looking on Ani King’s website, and you’re curious what ones are part of this Horse Girl collection, they have graciously put little horse icons next to their publications, both online and in print.

And I see you’re also gonna be in Stanchion in the future.

AK: Yep, and that one’s not Horse Girl, but it definitely pulls some feminine rage in there.

HS: I love it.

AK: I’m looking forward to seeing what people think about that. As I grew up with a very religious background in the early days, my dad was a charismatic Christian minister, until I was, I think, 8 or 9, when my parents split up. So—

HS: And you said you’re the oldest, right? Okay, so you got all of that growing up.

AK: All of it, yeah. And certainly some mixed feelings about some of it, but it makes for a very rich amount of material to pull from.

HS: Yes, you know, I will say, reading your stories there is no clue that you did not grow up with horses, around horses all the time. It feels like you very much did.

AK: My mom loves her horse. And I have friends who are horse girls, and so I also asked questions. I was like, is this realistic? Like, I’ve ridden a horse, I’ve gone with my mom out to feed her horse, I’ve talked to her when you know, her horse is ill, or she’s been worried about, you know, various things that just come with having a horse, or the expenses, and so on.

That’s the thing about research. Like, when you’re writing asking questions and, you know, who has experience with this, and I would love for you to tell me all the super boring details about this, because everything comes down to the details, and do I have this right? Does this feel, you know, like, if you’re somebody who knows horses and loves horses does this translate?

HS: Yeah, I think that that’s one thing I see early authors making mistakes in is they don’t do the research, and I’m like, people are gonna call you on your bullshit. You’re gonna write something that is not correct, and when I was getting my MFA, for example, we had people there who used to be lawyers, or are still practicing while getting their MFA. Used to be in some sort of medical industry, so when you bring these pieces to class and they tell you, hey, just FYI, it’s not like that. You need to be like, oh, okay, I’ll go research that. And not double down. I have zero grudges. I say sarcastically.

AK: I know how that…I think sometimes the research, the rabbit hole of it is the fun part of some process. I know way more about roadkill removal than anyone needs to know if you’re not doing it, and it’s because I looked into it for a story that’s not even done yet that will probably be less than 500 words long. And…

HS: And that’s the job.

AK: But I think it gives you that opportunity to really sink into the whole write small to write big, I think, also comes down to, even when you’re just setting a character, it’s not about, oh, he shifted his hair, or he did this, or he grimaced, or this. It’s what is the tool that they pick up to do the job? What are the mannerisms that come with doing this specific thing? You know, do you wash your hands afterwards? And the stuff that someone who knows the job is going to pick up on, right?

Yeah. Law, very much so. Like, if you have somebody who just, like, gets bailed out, like they were in a 1930s gangster movie, you’re missing the opportunity for the tedium of okay, you have to wait for your turn to use the phone, and you’re probably in the drunk tank, so good luck if the phone works, and even if it does, it’s a collect call, and will somebody answer, and will they get a bondsman? And it’s the tension, I think, for a lot of things comes from how you represent the tedium of a moment that somebody has to deal with, depending on what you’re writing, of course.

HS: Sure, yeah, but there are these steps that you’re missing that enrich the story.

AK: Where’s the stress?

HS: Yes, where is the stress? So, since we’re talking about research, why don’t you tell us a little bit about your writing practice? Research is obviously a big part of that, but coming from someone who worked in tech for 20 years, you probably wrote in the background, so what does your writing look like now?

AK: Oh, man. Right now I’m in kind of a weird limbo spot, but I think realistically, a huge chunk of my writing process has always been daydreaming. I have an idea, and I wander around with it, and I go for walks, and I drive about it, and I’m in the grocery store, and I’m thinking about it, and I’m making my weird little phone notes in too many different places.

And that’s probably a ton of it. Some of it is, you know, when you’re talking the generative stuff, I think that that’s it. It’s just the “Oh, that’s an interesting idea.’ My partner is awesome at going through these insane Wikipedia holes, and so he’ll come up and be like, ‘did you know’ and just start telling me about some of the strangest stuff, and like, sometimes, like, hey, okay, so hold on a minute, I just need to write this thing down.

I think some of it is just being open to the idea that anything can be a starting point. Like, anything can be interesting depending on who you apply it to and what they’re doing.

If I’m doing structured writer time, I try to do it in the morning. I am an autistic person with ADHD, which means that my morning routines are incredibly sacred to me, and if I mess with them too much, it kind of throws everything off. And if I can do structured stuff in the morning, it works best before—I know that doesn’t really work like this, but it’s, like, before the ADHD, like, really, like, peaks. Like, I can’t actually focus that much or sit still, and I have a very finite amount of time before my body is like, ‘We are not sitting here doing the same thing anymore.’

And then otherwise, you know, while working, I always just snatched time while I could. Sometimes it’s between meetings, or it was on lunch, or it was, this is a training that I don’t care about, so I’m over here, like…

HS: I’m gonna go make notes over here, yeah.

AK: Right? I think the thing that I probably am a little bit more process-y about is the editing process. And that’s just because you kind of have to be or at least I do, I don’t want to lose my thread, so if I sit down to edit something, I try very much to stick with it. Also, often a morning process for me. And then at night, I get the weirdest ideas, and I kind of have to balance between I’m not a very good sleeper, which is related to being an autistic person with ADHD. Like, you know, is the temperature right? Is there enough white noise?

HS: Not too much white noise. Is the pillow right?

AK: And a lot of it is my brain will just spin out, right? And so, sometimes I have to choose between, okay, I want to really get that idea down, and the fact that it’s going to probably disrupt any movement into sleep, or I just really need sleep right now, so it’s kind of a trade-off there, but I feel like the writing process is kind of an all-day, everyday thing when you’re a writer. It is just taking notice of things. Oh, that’s weird, oh, that’s interesting. Or wouldn’t it be fun if, you know, while you’re sitting at stoplights or standing in lines?

HS: And then, like you said, have your notes app ready to go to, like, jot it down. I have definitely tried to get myself to realize, ‘No, you are not going to remember. Write it down.’

AK: Never, never going to remember, and it doesn’t matter how many times you’re like, I’m just gonna say it to myself over and over and over again. It’s like, you are now in a near-sleep state. You’re remembering nothing that happened. You’re gonna remember you had an idea, and that’s it.

HS: Yes, and I have cats as well. And when they meow at you, constantly. You can’t get a sentence out. I’m like, well, I had a thought, even if it’s just, why did I walk into the next room? And it’s like, oh, just to even pick up my water bottle, I’m like, well, that’s gone. I can’t focus enough.

AK: That’s… yeah, I don’t think that cats are helpful with writing process, like I love my cats, but they’re basically glorified couch pillows who occasionally scream for food.

HS: Yes, yes, and there have definitely been times for me where I’ve been writing or editing, and one of them comes in to scream at me, and I’m like, well, that’s done, I’ll revisit this in an hour or so, thank you.

AK: Yeah, and like it’s so funny, though, because with people, I’ll be like, hold on a minute, I gotta write this down, I can’t figure out this. And my family is very forgiving of the times, and I’m like, I promise I was listening to you, but I hold on. I just have to do this.

HS: Yeah, good. Well, let’s talk about Family Night. We’re talking about editing. Earlier, you mentioned, putting together a collection. Alright, this is the blurb for Family Night.

Family Night is, by turns, a lyrical celebration of queerness and an exploration of family and loss, often through a lens of magical realism. Ani King’s collected flash fiction stories explore relationships and connections. A teen girl attempting to summon her missing mother home with cigarette smoke and yacht rock songs. Two sisters disputing how to care for an unhealthy elderly unicorn. A woman accidentally raising two daughters from the bones of her long-did pet rabbits.

And I think online you said werewolf sex as well. [through some post on bsky]

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AK: Yes.

HS: Where is that in my summary, Ani?

AK: Right? I know, I was like, I need to use this is my big social media hook. It’s also, come for the werewolves.

HS: Guys, come for the werewolves. Hooked. Hooked.

AK: Right, the werewolf sex story was when I actually wrote for a Taco Bell Quarterly Call. Or edited for, I should say. And just got to the, like, deadline of, like, okay, like, if this hasn’t been accepted or rejected, I just have to pull it so it can be, like, ready to go in the printing. But it was so fun to put this collection together. I’ve had, honestly, kind of feels like rom-com dream experience so far with Mason Jar.

HS: That’s an amazing way to put that.

AK: So, last year, at the beginning of the year, I was like, I wanna maybe shop a chapbook around, and we were also going to sell a house and buy a house, and there were all of these things going on, and I was like, ‘yeah, no, totally, no big deal.’ And so then, around April, after we had bought our current house.

I was like, this is insane, there’s no universe in which I am going to shop a chapbook around. And then, Heather Rounds with Mason Jar reached out through my contact form, which I just want to plug for everybody, have a contact form on your website. If you don’t, like, just go get one now. And reached out.

HS: And have a website.

AK: Have a website. It doesn’t have to be much. It really just has to have something about who you are, what you do, and how to get ahold of you. And yeah, so Heather reached out and said that she had read my peonies story in Gone Lawn, and that they were curious if I was working on anything longer form.

And I was like, oh, man, I guess so, and my best friend, Benny, who I will shout out to, was like, you do, you always do. The answer is always yes. Yes, you do.

So I responded back and let them know, hey, you know, I’m not working on a novel or anything like that, but I do have a flash collection. I sent, I think, 80 pages over and ended up talking with the team there, and they liked it, and I like their approach and what they’re doing. And so, we started putting it together.

It was fun and interesting to figure out what the themes were, but it was more so because I had help with that. I think it can be really hard to look at your own work and say, here are all of the themes that I’m exploring. Especially, I don’t really write with that intent. I’m not usually like, ‘I would like to tell a story about heteronormativity and what it does to relationships.’ It’s more of a, like, ugh, I have an idea for a weird character.

Or whatever bizarre thing happens, and even though I think there are intentional choices there, a lot of it feels kind of invisible, or background, or you’re like, I don’t know, I was sort of in a fugue state the whole time I was doing this, and then it came out. And then putting everything in order, I think, was what really exposed everything. I printed the whole final manuscript out, the accepted, here’s what we’re doing, and started just ordering by hand. It was a lot like building a playlist at first.

Okay, here are things that are about teenage yearning, or here’s this, or here’s that, and then I finally started organizing by family relationship. Here are stories about moms, and dads, and siblings, and aunts, and apparently, I don’t have a single story about uncles, which is probably because I don’t have many that were in my life, but that’s a thing to think about.

And I had a fantastic developmental editor, Liz, who I think really saw what I was trying to do. And I think that’s something about a really great editor is they bring stuff out, the whole time that they’re looking at it, it’s about how do you make this the best possible story that the writer can also see. So, yeah, it’s been a very cool ride, honestly.

HS: Awesome. Are these mostly news stories, anything that we would be familiar with on your website?

AK: I think about 40 of the 54-ish stories have been published before. I have pulled the links down for all of those, except for “Feels like Rain,” which is with Paranoid Tree Press, that one is still up there. It’s also behind me, framed, because they do this really lovely print zine that they send out every month. And then the rest are new, or things that folks will not have read before, including the werewolf sex story, sapphic minotaur trapped in a maze of heteronormativity situation going on. See? Like, it’s there. It’s just an accident. Ish.

HS: Yes, someone reads your work, and they’re like, oh, I love how you did X, Y, and Z, and you’re like, I did.

AK: Definitely.

HS: That was absolutely my goal.

AK: I meant to do all of this.

HS: So I really love the cover of the Family Night. Yes. As someone was born in 90, and I grew up in the 90s, so I had all these VHS tapes.

AK: Yeah, oh yeah. My mom was a VHS collector, like, and she just got rid of it some years ago, but I mean, like, a whole basement wall just VHS’s top to bottom. So, I found the image when I was looking through non-AI, because fuck AI, just to say it, stock photos, because it’s my first book, and you know, budgets are real.

I found a few that I really liked, and I sent it over to Mason Jar, and that was one where I was like, I don’t know if that’s one that folks will pick, but it was so bright and so different from everything that I had seen.

And then, this is going to be probably a little bit niche, but if anyone has ever watched Adventure Time, there is an episode with a purple horse called the Poo-brained Horse, and it has these big, wide eyes, and my partner, one day had a picture on his phone of just the eyes and held it up to his face. So this is a very personal, like, family meme that’s related to the book cover that most people would never capture. But I was like, this is just layers and layers here. But I love the image even without the association.

Just because I was born in 1980, and I loved the idea of the stack of VHS tapes and the person looking at them and holding up over their face. I was thinking of family videos, right? All of these little collections of moments and so on. And also it felt era-appropriate. Most of the stories in there are I think probably, if not overtly, kind of have a theme of, or at least a feeling of, okay, this is the, like, these are 90s teens, or this is happening in a pretty specific time.

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HS: Yes, I absolutely had those knee-high rainbow socks I see on the cover, they have the rainbow socks. I had stacks of VHS tapes, and I miss them. I still have a VHS player and a few VHS tapes because a lot of that media is gone. There’s no way to get a digital version of it. So I’m like, ‘No, I can’t. I have childhood trauma. I need my VHS tapes in case I ever want to watch it again.

AK: Yes. All those, like, collections of things that people taped and put together, like cartoons and the start-stop for the commercials.

HS: Yes, you would sit there and wait to pause the recording during the commercials.

AK: It’s like making a mixtape. It’s such a similar thing.

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HS: Yes! I’m so glad that you’ve put together this collection, and I love how you described it as this dream, this romantic comedy, this experience. I think we’re all trying very, very hard to get our work out there, and so when we get it out there, and then it’s this amazing experience, that’s what we need.

AK: Absolutely, and I got so much really good advice from folks, you know, who have published, who were like, hey, just things to be aware of. Here’s been my experience, here were the things that I was okay with, here are the questions I wish I had asked. Because I do think, especially in the flash community, like, it is a fairly good community. It’s very easy to get information about, okay, how do I query? Linds McLeod, who also writes terrific work, has a thread on Blue Sky that is straight up ‘hey, here’s how I have successfully queried, and here is, you know, a formula for getting that out there, because here are the things that I read that don’t catch my interest, and here’s how you can do that.’ It’s a very generous community with information, and I love that. I think it’s made writing more fun, right?

HS: Absolutely. I think it’s a lot more fun when you don’t feel like you’re screaming into the void.

AK: Yeah.

HS: Nice. So I was gonna ask, what do you wish you would have known? But it sounds like you were able to ask a lot of people and get information before diving in.

AK: I don’t, so far, have anything where I feel like I didn’t have the information I needed, or couldn’t ask for it. I have things that I think I would tell other people, which is just ask a lot of questions. If you’re considering a press of any kind, reach out to people who have published with them. Not everyone will answer, but send a few emails, hit a few contact forms.

‘Hey, I have an opportunity here, I’m curious what your experience was like, and if you’d be willing to tell me about it.’ Or even just broadly, ‘hey, I’m considering, you know, trying to get this published. What are some things I should think about?’ Because I think that you can’t really know everything, and no two presses are the same, but there are some things you should know.

How much will I get paid and when? is an important question to ask. What comes out of royalties before they get to me? The contract stuff is really important. It’s not the fun stuff, but I would say, make sure you understand anything you are signing. And ask questions about promotion.

I’ve been really fortunate in working with Brenna, who is with Mason Jar, who is awesome, who has a massive list of places. But one thing I’ve heard from folks is that sometimes they wish that they had known a little more about how much effort they would have to put into their own promotion, and I think that that’s important to know. It might not change your decision, but at least then you can kind of plan for, here’s the effort that I’m going to need to make.

HS: Yeah, I think that’s not just with flash but with longer prose as well. How much work the author is going to need to do to promote themselves. I think I blame, not in a bad way, but I blame, like, television and film for having to cut out all the little things to make it easier for us to watch, but then we don’t see those steps, and then we’re like, ‘Oh, it’s super easy, you’re gonna go on this world tour, that your publisher’s gonna pay for.’ And agents and publishers are like, we don’t have the budget for these.

AK: I know! Well, and especially with Endowment of the Arts issues. Over the last couple of years, you know, there is less money going into the arts, and there is especially way less money going into the arts for queer people. Your own budget for time and money and capacity, I think, really play a huge part talking with Mason Jar, it’s been a, okay, like, ‘here’s what I realistically can do during these time frames, and here’s how far I can go,’ and ways to get creative.

And then I think there’s also important to know it is work. Even if you love writing, and, like, not just the I love having written, but I love doing it, and I love a lot of the process, there is a point where it is labor, it is effort, and you do need breaks from it.

And I think because everyone has to hustle so hard to get their stuff out there that we don’t necessarily think about, okay, ‘how do I build a break into this’ so that you can get some energy back and then still enjoy as much of the process of selling a book as you might writing it? Because I think that if you don’t, then you burn out really fast.

HS: Yes, yes. And you need to know what you can do realistically, like you said, to promote yourself.

Alright, so as we’re wrapping up, so the theme of my little blog is kind of openings, and I look at the first chapter, usually, of novels, and talk about how that might catch a reader’s interest. And I have done a few short stories as well, but flash is a different beast, pretty much entirely, in the best way. So, do you think about openings of flash? Do you… you’re nodding, yes. How much time do you spend thinking about the opening?

AK: So, the opening is almost always what I have first, or think I have first, and then sometimes that changes. I’ve now spent years writing flash, and reading flash, and working in a queue, and having to articulate why I don’t think something is working. And a lot of it is openings I will say with flash, a lot of it is get to the point faster. My goal when I write flash is to bring you in from the moment you read the title all the way through to the end.

There are some things I lean on a lot. I tend to use my title is my opening line and goes right into things, because when it works, it’s great. You just have this immediate flow into it, and you just kind of keep, you know, keep rolling towards the end. I don’t think flash has a lot of room for initial exposition. Every word has to count, which means that you kind of have to be learning the character as you go.

You don’t really have, unless it is so well done, because I think there are some stories that do it, and I don’t have an example offhand, but you can’t really start out with the, and this was a person, and here’s how they looked, and here’s what they were doing. Unless that is the story in some way. Because micro and flash fiction, and it’s like a hundred to a thousand words, you don’t have a lot of space for filler.

The reader’s tolerance for filler is almost non-existent because it just stands out so much. So yeah, I think about openings a lot. I think I wrestle with endings more than openings, and usually what it is, is I need to stop sooner than I did.

HS: Yes. That’s often my problem as well.

AK: It’s so much easier to see it in other people’s work when you’re giving feedback, and be like, if you just stop, like, two paragraphs sooner, like, done. Perfect story, no more notes. There’s an exercise, in SmokeLong, I’ve been doing SmokeLong Fitness for, I think, almost 3 years now, and one of my favorite exercises is take your story and cut it in half. Cool, do it again. And if you can, do it again one more time, because it kind of helps you see what matters, what’s missing, Or what you need to add, because what you have isn’t entirely conveying what you mean to.

HS: Yeah, nice, thank you. Alright, and then I want to end with, do you have any book recommendations? Maybe a couple book recs and a couple literary magazine recs?

AK: Absolutely. So, one of my favorite short story collections is… I’m gonna butcher her name, this is terrible. It’s Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Øyehaug; [Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson]. And it has a super fun, bright cover, and they are short stories, but there’s a lot of flash-level work in it. The stories are very immediate, they’re very connected to each other, and she gets really meta with a lot of it, so it’s super fun.

And then Open Throat by Henry Hoke is a novel, but it feels like you’re reading flash, and it’s about a queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion, who lives under the Hollywood sign. It’s another one that’s so immediate, but it also there’s so much, character in the voice, and it is such a masterclass in how you can break almost every rule and still tell a complete and really satisfying story.

And then my last one is just a straight-up fantastic, flash and micro collection called Bitter Over Sweet by Melissa Llanes Brownlee.

[I’m giving Ani a double thumbs up]

I know you’re familiar with, Hayley. For folks who might not be, it is a collection of stories that are linked together about are generally focused on Tita, who is a Native Hawaiian, also work that tends to talk a lot about class and gender, and what does colonization and tourism look like, in a place where it’s essentially made everyone dependent on it. Even though that’s not what should have happened.

The writing is so sharp, such a good thing to read if you’re like, oh, ‘I need some inspiration.’ I’ve been reading emails too long, because they’re all very brief, and I’m, like, such a fan of Melissa’s work, so I think some of it is just that, you want to talk about immediacy, you want to talk about movement, you want to talk about voice and character, and all of them coming together in a very perfect way, it’s definitely a good book for it.

HS: Yes, I was actually just revisiting that yesterday, because I was looking for stories. I have a contract job for a week coming up in July, and I need some flash pieces and some micro, so I was looking at that, and I’m like, yes, yes, yes.

AK: Yeah, and, like, giving book recommendations is probably one of my favorite things. Whenever someone’s like, do you have a recommendation for a book? I’ll appear from a thousand miles away and be like, hi, hello, I have so many thoughts for you.

HS: Nice. And what about some literary magazines, either in print or online?

AK: So I am a huge fan of Claudine, who is a little bit newer, I think Diane Hardy is doing such a cool job in, doing small but really impactful monthly issues, and I’m a big fan, like, I wish I could shout out to everyone I’ve ever worked with because I’ve had so many good experiences.

Literary Namjooning is great. I don’t know if you’re familiar. I am a not-secret K-pop fan, even though I never know anyone’s name or any of their histories, but Literary Namjooning is based on, essentially one of the dudes from BTS, talking about going to quiet spaces and libraries and forests and so on. It has a very, it’s hard to say, it’s got a restful vibe, but also there’s tension in it. They do some really neat stuff.

I love Pithead Chapel, I love Smoke Long, I love Okay Donkey. I think a fun new one that, it’s a little bit self-serving to plug, is Virgo Venus Press. It is very fun, very young vibe. Just very punchy is a good way to say it.

HS: Nice. Okay, that one is new to me, so that one I can go look up as well. [When I looked it up, I saw I had heard of it already.]

AK: Yeah, trying to think of the new one. I want us to be able to keep all of our lip mags around. It’s always so hard to see them close, especially, again, National Endowment of the Arts and other grant impacts have made it really hard for people to keep that stuff going.

HS: Yes, all the smaller guys are feeling it, for sure.

AK: Very much so.

HS: Alright, thank you so much for joining me today, Ani. It was so much fun. Alright, so, don’t forget, you guys, Family Night is available for pre-order from Mason Jar Press. It’s coming out in October. And you can find Ani King on their website, aniking.net.

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Coming Soon: June Roundup featuring shout-outs, book reviews, and general musings.

On Friday, you’ll be able to listen to the interview in the new Podcast section. Ani shares their writing process, their writing journey, the story behind this fun cover, book recs, and other cool stuff. It’s about a 45 minute interview, and a lively listen. Below are links to Ani’s socials, the stories we discuss in the interview, and a link to pre-order their collection.

Preorder Family Night

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TL;DR

• Preorder Family Night by Ani King (out in Oct. through Mason Jar Press)

• Follow Ani King on bluesky & Instagram

• Head to their website to read their pubs or listen to the playlist they created for a few of their stories

• Stories mentioned in the interview: It’s Not Called a Miscarriage if You’re a Horse, Nervous Thing, and Feels Like Rain

• Ani Recommends: Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Øyehaug, Open Throat by Henry Hoke, Bitter Over Sweet by Melissa Llanes Brownlee, Claudine, Literary Namjooning, Pithead Chapel, SmokeLong, OkayDonkey, and Virgo Venus Press

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HS: Ani King, They/Them, is a queer, gender non-compliant writer and artist from Michigan. They are the first place winner of the 2024 Blue Frog Annual Flash Fiction Contest, a SmokeLong Grand Micro Competition 2023 finalist, and have additional work featured in SmokeLong Quarterly Review, Split Lip Magazine, Fractured Lit, Exposition Review, WigLeaf, and other terrific publications. Most recently, Ani is a Monarch Queer Literary Award recipient, with work on the Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist, and coming soon in Best Small Fictions 2025 and Best Micro Fiction 2026. Ani’s first full-length Flash Collection Family Night is available for pre-order from Mason Jar Press and will be released in October this year.

[Note: Best Small Fictions 2025 is now available to purchase. If you like flash and micro fiction, check out the best of the best of the best, sir. (MIB reference I had to make)]

Best Small Fictions

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

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I read for both regular submissions and contests, seeing an average of 10 short story subs and 10 flash fiction subs a week (When needed, I also read essay or memoir). I’m here to make sure you don’t make rookie mistakes. While it’s true that well-written pieces may still receive a pass, you want to make sure you’re getting the best rejection possible.

That’s right! FYI a lot of literary magazines have tiered rejections. If the editors really liked the piece but didn’t think it was a good fit, they might invite you to skip the wait period before submitting again. Each submission is a chance to make an impression on the editors—but it has to get to them first!

Remember, they’ve been doing this for years and are writers themselves, so they know what they like and why (as well as what isn’t working!).

What is Flash Fiction Anyway?

There are books written on this. I’m not here to give an entire guide because it is a field of study that demands practice and attention.

Flash is not a story that simply stops at 1000ish words. One of the biggest mistakes I see with flash stories in the queue is the story ends with some sort of reveal. In longer pieces, you would refer to this as an inciting incident. The reveal is not an ending because but a beginning. Now that the protagonist has this information, what are they going to do with it? What actions will this knowledge drive the protagonist to take?

I’m not talking about a cliffhanger or a hint that the world is bigger than the characters in the story. Those are difficult to do as well. But if it feels like you could write another 500 words after the “ending,” it probably isn’t an ending.

Your protagonist is fighting for something—or they should be. Therefore, learning new information should cause a reaction of some sort.

Hey, did you read the first part of this series?

The biggest question you should ask yourself when writing is “Why is the protagonist telling this story now?” It works for nonfiction, too. We usually don’t write the essay right after something happened because we need some perspective, some time to digest. If you start by asking yourself why the story is starting at that place, it will help you tackle the revision.

As always, there are no hard/fast rules in writing, and everything I say here will have an exception. I’ve provided examples where I could.

Interested in Short Fiction? Read this post.

Preview snippets

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion Issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt exploded in popularity when it first came out. Everyone was talking about it. And recently, it’s been adapted into a Netflix movie (thoughts on that later). It was awarded the 2023 McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize by the Writer's Center.

Popping up with a reminder that I’m open for business ;) . Get feedback on your short story or opening chapter. Click the button below for info and submissions. And don’t forget to pre-order Stanchion issue 23, featuring me!

Let’s Dive In

It’s a work of upmarket fiction and switches point of view between chapters. It’s told through third person limited with the exception of Marcellus, who gets first person.

In this multiple point of view novel, we have Tova as our main character and Marcellus (the octopus) as the connective tissue of sorts that joins Tova to Cameron. Cameron is more of a dual main character than Marcellus, but we don’t meet him for a few chapters.

What Happens?

Marcellus explains that he is a giant Pacific octopus living in the aquarium, a place he calls a prison. He says he was snatched from the ocean at a young age and that he’ll probably die here because his life span is coming to an end. He speaks directly to the reader.

Tova is the night custodian at the aquarium. She is very particular about her cleaning regime. While she doesn’t need the job or the paycheck, she likes to keep busy. Her friends mean well, but Tova often feels smothered by them. On this night, Tova finds a mess in the breakroom and Marcellus tangled in electrical cords. She untangles him and he scurries back to his tank. We learn her husband has died and her son died 30 years ago.

Why It Works

Wit and Quips make for fun reads and great characters. Often, they are the ones of great one-liners in television shows. But Marcellus is different because only the reader is privy to his thoughts. In this way, he becomes our bestie, whispering mean-girl commentary and gossip into our ears every few chapters.

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That being said…not much happens in the first chapter. The only piece of information we get is that Marcellus has maybe half a year left to live. It gives us a timeline for the novel, as we can intuit his death is probably important (otherwise why mention it). Indeed, the crux of the story is revealed later: Marcellus has information he needs to convey to the humans before he dies. The time limit eventually comes into play, but for the first chapter (and the first few chapters with Marcellus), there is no ticking time bomb. We certainly don’t want Marcellus to die, just as we don’t want the dog in the movie to die.

The first chapter relies on voice to hook the reader. It works because we are endeared to Marcellus and we like his way of thinking. Who else starts their novel with the sassy POV of a giant Pacific octopus? While other novels and short stories certainly have nonhuman characters, Van Pelt gives us a highly intelligent animal with quips. Is it a gimmick? Maybe. Does it matter? Not if people are buying your novel and telling all their friends to buy your novel and getting your novel made into a movie.

The language describing Tova in her first scene is humorous. Tova is “preparing for battle” against “Chewing gum” where she needs “special weaponry” (Van Pelt 3). The analogy is fun and characterizes Tova. The way she treats her responsibilities at her job is pure character work. And her interiority is a mix of sweet and sassy. Not as sassy as Marcellus. The two shouldn’t butt heads to compete for our attention in that way.

Tova’s first chapter does a great job at weaving in bits and pieces about her son, Erik. The chewing gum reminds her of an incident where Erik stuck a piece under the table. The statue of the sea lion reminds her of a photograph she has at home of Erik playing on the statue. Then, she sits on the bench and thinks about Erik because that was the last place he was seen.

Tova gets an out, a pass. She’s going about her daily routine, which shouldn’t spark these memories. This can’t be the first time she’s needed to pry gum off the floor. Nor is it the first time she’s passed by the statue that reminds her of the picture she has on the mantle at home. But the difference here is Tova’s is always thinking about these things because something has happened to Erik. She’s haunted by the past.

We don’t know what yet. But on page 5, Tova “[quells] the urge to wonder yet again how Erik might’ve looked now” (Van Pelt). That’s enough to tell us that at best, he has no contact with her. But it’s written in such a way we understand him to be dead. And at the end of the chapter, Tova imagines Erik under the water holding candles for her, which confirms it; she’s holding vigil (Van Pelt 11).

You’ll notice, too, that the comparisons Tova makes are usually related to children. Shipping containers are “like a child’s building blocks” (11). Marcellus is likened to a child twice. First, in his tank. He’s hiding, but slightly visible “like a child’s hide-and-seek misstep: a girl’s ponytail sticking up behind the sofa, or a socked foot peeking out from under the bed (5-6). Then Marcellus wraps a tentacle around her “like a maypole ribbon” (8).

Why It Didn’t Work for Me

This novel didn’t quite land. I didn’t finish it the first time around. When the movie came out, I wanted to return to it, paying closer attention to the details, the ebb and flow of the language. I wanted to see what everyone else saw.

I found Cameron to be the shittiest little entitled shit. Not denying he’s had some hard times, but he’s the classic “nothing is ever my fault” character. A few other characters call him on this, but not nearly enough. While he loves his aunt, he’s cruel toward childhood friends and his girlfriend (who becomes his ex when we first meet him). Tova and Cameron don’t even meet until halfway through the novel. And as other critics of the novel have pointed out, the twist is obvious.

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The Movie

The movie is two hours and felt slow, even though it cut nearly all of Cameron’s backstory and montaged the ending. It cut out Cameron’s aunt, who raised him, and Tova’s estranged brother—which meant they needed to change other plot points, which ended up making things muddy.

My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Welcome to the end of May. Welcome to a few new subscribers. Here’s what you can expect from this newsletter. Many posts are free, but there are some paid/hybrid posts where some content is for my paid subscribers.

• Analysis on opening chapters of novels from various genres—free

• Short Book Reviews (and occasionally film)—free

• Shoutouts (new!) for new prose & poetry publications—free

• Writing Tips—paid/hybrid

• Links to my latest publications at the end of every post

• Shameless plugs for my writing/editing services

P.S. When I link to books, I usually do so through Bookshop.org because they support independent bookstores. Read how it works. Or, I’ll let you know if it is available on Project Guttenburg or another free archive. Don’t forget Libby, your digital library app.

Spiffy button, huh? And don’t forget I’m now open for feedback submissions.

Book Reviews

• Love That For Us by Chen Chen and Sam Herschel Wein. This is a book of poetry that celebrates all things kooky and queer. It’s fun and beautiful. One of the poems can be read to the tune of “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion.

• Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong. A collection of poetry about being, about self, and about grief. Very beautiful, as always with Vuong’s poetry.

• I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, read by Candance Thaxton. As usual, I’m a decade behind. I watched the movie adaptation on Netflix and had to read it. As is the case with adaptations, it’s quite different from the book. The general plot is the same, but the way it is portrayed is different. I enjoyed the film. It did a great job of recursion and making me feel uneasy. The book also made me feel uneasy, and there were moments in the book that felt scarier than the film—though this is not a horror novel. I’m going to have to read it again. It’s a trip. Trigger warning as there are occasionally thoughts of suicide.

• Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980) by Eleanor Johnson, read by Andi Arndt with the author. Summary from bookshop.org “Johnson reveals how classics like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Shining expose and critique issues of reproductive control, domestic violence, and patriarchal oppression.” It’s a brilliant look at how horror is and always has been deep and political. She also has a special section discussing the irony that some of these films are directed by abusive males. Even if you don’t like horror or haven’t seen these movies, learning about the historical impact these films had on women’s rights is facinating, so I highly recommend reading it.

• Several Issues of One Story, the Pop-Up Prompted issue of Trash Cat Lit (featuring me & several other authors I admire), Rattle’s daily poem right in my inbox, and many other things I have forgotten.

Film Review

• Obsession (2026) written and directed by Curry Baker. Honestly 10/10 no notes. It is an amazing horror film and it pairs perfectly with reading Scream With Me, both for the domestic horror and for the nod to The Exorcist in one scene. Too often we hear about the “nice guy” who would never hurt anyone. Well, here’s a nice guy who just wants a girl to like him. Right? It’s a billiant take on the “nice guy” trope and highlights the theme of consent. It’s unsettling and dark. Yet, there were moments everyone in the theater laughed because Baker knows how to relieve some tension to make everything all the more terrifying. And Inde Navarrette (Nikki) deserves all the acting awards for her performance.

• I Love Boosters (2026) written and directed by Boots Riley. I had not seen the previous Riley film. I had no idea what I was really walking into. The plot is simple—a group a woman steal designer clothes and sell them at a discounted price for a profit. But the plot becomes a delightfully wacky commentary on the perils of designer clothes, worker’s rights, sweat shops, and billionaires (and a few more things). Don’t ever let anyone tell you to pick a genre, to not be wacky. The cinematopgraphy in this film is brilliant, both for the color and the perspectives. And don’t discount anyone—one person knows way more about science than you’d expect. It also has a great opening scene. And let’s not forget that Demi Moore has come out in support of AI, making her villain role a bit more meta than perhaps intended.

My Brilliant Friend

I’ve taken inspiration from the fabulous Elena Ferrante and added a new section to the monthly roundup emails. In this section, I’ll celebrate my brilliant friends’ acheivements—publications and more!

Here’s what I have this month!

• Chris Bonafede’s newest short film is live on YouTube. California 330 follows a police officer as she battles her gambling addiction and tries to reconnect with family members. It packs a lot in under 10 minutes.

• Christina Tudor has multiple publications this month, such as There’s Something So Deeply Human About That. She also has a chap book coming out later this year, and I get to interview her for it!

• Ani King (they/them) has another flash piece, It’s Not Called a Miscarriage if You’re a Horse. And hold on to the reins, because I’m going to interview Ani about their upcoming collection of flash fiction Family Night, out in October 2026! Subscribe so you don’t miss it!

• Kuhu Joshi’s poem “Nat Geo says migration is a natural phenomenon, fascinating humans for centuries, and important to ecosystem health” was published in The Berlin Review. Joshi also offers virtual poetry classes for those interested. Her book of poems My Body Didn’t Come Before Me is available to purchase. And an interview with her is forthcoming.

• Wildscape Literary Journal issue 6 has published gems from several people I know and admire. While you should check out the whole, bitter-sweet issue, here are my 3 shout-outs. Ella B. Winters, Christina Tudor, and Pip McGough.

• Trash Cat Lit is so author friendly. JP Relph, the EIC, puts so much work into each author’s page. In addition to a bio and a special animal-themed author photo, she links to 2 other publications from the author and mentions if they have books published. (Prompted Stories Pop-Up Spring 2026) features fun micro fiction. For “Prompted” submitters are given a random setting, character type, and theme. Here are my shout-outs: Hayley Shucker (oh, that’s me!) & Beth Sherman.

• Issue 23 of Stanchion featuring me, plus several other authors I enjoy reading: Stephen Roberts, Cole Beauchamp, and Linda M. Bayley. (Linda M. Bayley also has a piece coming out in Stanchion’s online exclusive content)

Are you a brilliant friend of mine? Let me know! Are you brilliant but we’re not friends yet? Let’s be friends!

Leave a comment

Coming Soon!

• A First Chapter’s analysis of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Now a film on Netflix.

• “5 More Reasons Your Stories are Being Rejected.” Read the first post and Subscribe below!

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My Latest Publications

• “All the Tomorrows,” microfiction, print, Stanchion issue 23, June 2026

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

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Hello Friends! Today we’re talking about Stanchion Magazine.

For today’s special holiday post, I’m writing to let you know the summer issue of Stanchion Magazine is coming in a few weeks. Pre-orders are live! The issue is only $10, and you’ll be supporting a small lit mag, independent publishers, and authors like me! (I have a microfiction piece in this issue)

Buy Issue 23

Stanchion is a PAYING market, which isn’t a given with literary magazines. It’s all a hustle, and the best way to support everyone is to read the journal, share the news with your friends and family, and buy issues or a subscription to these small presses when you can.

Stanchion had the reading at AWP I wrote about in this post.

Contributors

“Issue 23 of Stanchion will be published in early June 2026. In addition to photographs by Stanchion editor-in-chief Jeff Bogle, Issue 23 will feature original poetry and prose writing from Scott Laudati, Abigail E. Myers, Kate Tooley, Cole Beauchamp, Anne Baldo, Joseph Lezza, Chris Dungey, Sam Aureli, Linda M. Bayley, Troy Coll, Catherine Weiss, Juliet Waller, Allison Field Bell, Kevin Grauke, Tracie Renee, Travis Shosa, Jennifer Edwards, Bri Gearhart Staton, Rosaleen Lynch, Stephen Robert Thomas, Lauren Kardos, Hayley Shucker, and Victoria Sosa.” (via stanchionzone.com)

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Special shout-out to subscriber Stephen Robert Thomas who will have a poem published in this issue.

MATHING

All 23 contributors were paid for their writing. Woo Hoo! In order for Stanchion to remain a paying market and continue offering their issues in print, they need to sell copies. 46 issues sold would break even for paying contrutors. More helps cover printing costs.

Buy issue 23

There are some older issues on their website to buy, too; and if you want something besides literary magazines, Stanchion also publishes poetry collections and novels.

Shop Stanchion

Let’s show AI slop we support human-made stories and small presses.

See you on Friday with my May 2026 Roundup, which will have book reviews and shout-outs!

My Latest Publications

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Read detailed anaylsis of the first nine pages to see how Ward weaves character, setting, and plot together in the first part of the post. A collection of pages 10-18 are at the end of the post. Yellow=character, green=setting, purple=language, blue=simile/metaphor, and magenta=curiosity.

Let’s Dive In

Before we fly into the eye of the storm with this gem of a novel, I wanted to let you all know that Jesmyn Ward’s latest book, a collection of essays, On Witness and Respair is out now!

Let’s Recap

The first section gave us a sense of urgency. The storm is iminent. It also gave us a juxtaposition between Esch’s mother, who died in childbirth, and China, who is currently birthing puppies. Lastly, it shows Esch has a lovesick crush on Manny and a love for her English class and the mythology she’s reading.

What Happens?

Esch watches her brother Randall and his friends play basketball while she cleans water jugs. Skeetah is still in the shed with China, who is still in the middle of birthing puppies. Esch cuts herself on one of the glass jugs and laments that she doesn’t want to seem weak in front of Manny. Two more puppies are born, and Esch reveals they plan on selling the puppies. China has good breeding and is a known fighter, so they will make good money. In order to avoiding fawning over Manny, Esch goes to the woods and explains how the land used to be different, better, before her great grandfather let white people dig for clay. Manny tracks down Esch and they have sex. China births a runt. Esch falls asleep thinking of Manny.

Why It Works

Ward has a captivating control of language and imagery throughout the novel.

Lack of a Mother

This lack overpowers the first chapter. Esch’s mother is ever-present in the novel even though she’s dead when it begins. She’s present in dark ways, recalling the birth that killed her, but also sweet ways. On page 11, Esch connects her hair to the blankets her mother made: “My hair laid on my neck like the blankets my mother used to crochet, the ones we still piled on in the winter to keep warm and woke up under in the morning, sweating” (Ward). The mother is likened to a blanket, something we associate with swaddling, with comfort. Her hair is also mentioned on page 7 when Esch recalls her mother referring to her curls as a throwback trait to show off. The mother’s presence lingers in what remains. Here, in blankets. Later, in a heartbreaking scene, in a simple hair pin.

When China births the all-white puppy on page 13, there is a moment of tension as they worry the puppy is stillborn. When the puppy finally takes a breath, Esch comments on how the puppy is a fighter, like its mother. This echoes the scene on page 6, when Esch’s father says to her mother “Told you she was going to be a little scrappy, scrawny thing—built just like you” (Ward). Once again, the theme of likening mother to daughter is present in the novel. Remember, Junior is about 7 years old and Esch is fifteen. She was very young when her mother died. Remember also, that sex and childbirth are referred to as fighting (Ward 8, 2). Being pregnant can be dangerous and violent.

In fact, we learn that Esch’s mother was one of eight. “Mama, the only baby still living out of the eight that Mother Lizbeth had borne, died having Junior” (Ward 14). It isn’t clear exactly when the other seven died, but Esch and her family are still living in the same house. There isn’t a mention of aunts, uncles, or cousins, so it’s likely the other children didn’t survive long. Remember, Esch’s mother had home births for four children, and it is likely her mother did as well. If anything were to go wrong, they aren’t near a hospital.

Let’s do some math and look at some history. Present day it is 2005. Mother Lizbeth died nine years prior in her 70s. This means she was born between 1917 to 1926. I did some light digging (and you can do more) but I found a CDC report for 1933. Infant mortality rate (children who didn’t survive past one year) in 1933 for Black women in New Orleans, Louisiana was 108.9 per 1000 births (for the whole state of Louisiana it was 88.9). While that number slightly declined over the years, when Esch’s grandmother was of child-bearing age, it would have still be high.

Birthstat 1933

27.6MB ∙ PDF file

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My favorite moment in the second half of these pages is right after Esch cuts her hand on page 11. At first, she laments. “I wanted Manny to see me, but not as a weak, sorry girl. Not something to be pitied because I couldn’t take pain like a boy” (Ward). She wants to be seen as strong, as someone worthy of love. We know Manny has a girlfriend, and shortly after this, we learn Manny and Esch have hooked up before. But she’s never respected by him. But more on that below.

Then Randall comes over and tells her she needs to push and keep pushing until it doesn’t hurt anymore (Ward 12). At first, it is endearing because it was what their mother told them when they’d fall and get a cut as children. While they are talking about her hand, it obviously relates to childbirth. In part one, Esch recalls the gruesome way Junior was born. How her mother pushed and pushed with Junior until it stopped hurting. How her mother screamed in agony the entire time. How she didn’t come back from the hospital. Also during this moment, Esch notes “the glimpse I saw of Mama in [Randall’s] mouth when he’d told me to push was gone” (Ward 12). Whereas Momma would always heal their cuts, their pain, she’s gone and that’s no longer an option.

Let’s Talk About Love

Esch frequently thinks of herself as having another personality—or she wishes that she did. She wants to be brave and strong. It makes sense. She lost her mother at a young age and has taken on the role (along with Randall) of parenting Junior. She envies the women in the Greek mythology she reads. On page 15, Esch looks at a sweaty Manny and think, “Another me wouldn’t lick it off, and it would’ve tasted like salt” (Ward). Esch wants to embody these women: “the trickster nymphs, the ruthless goddesses, the world-uprooting mothers” (Ward 15). Madonna/whore complex, party of Esch. Only she adds something more. She adds mothers.

Esch and Manny have sex, have had sex multiple times before, but there is no romance or endearing emotions of Manny’s part. Esch states Manny “had never kissed me except like this, with his body, never his mouth” (Ward 16). Sex is the only way Esch knows to get positive attention from Manny. He uses Esch. Unfortunately for Esch, she has romanticized his shitty behavior toward her, thinking it a positive that he picks her “again and again” (Ward 16). In her view, “He was the sun” (Ward 16).

Manny is once again likened to a dog when they have sex and at the end of the chapter. When they have sex, Esch thinks, “It will be quick…He will growl when he comes” (Ward 16). This should also be a callback to the description Esch gives when China was impregnated. In the last paragraph, Esch imagine Manny licking her face, like a dog would greet someone they love. If Manny must be a dog, Esch wishes for the good parts to surface along with the bad.

And if you’ve been tracking the cues—Esch feeling nauseous, Esch not wanting to eat, Esch’s breasts hurting—you’ll see there is yet another connection to Esch and China in the opening pages.

Whereas Manny’s dogness is a negative quality, Ward gives Big Henry a moment of dogness to juxtapose Manny, to show what it could be. Big Henry wets his head then shakes “it like a wet dog to make [Esch] laugh” (Ward 13).

Setting

Setting has already played a role in the family’s isolation. They aren’t close to neighbors or to the hospital. It is also pivital to the plot because of Hurricane Katrina. We get more on page 14. What may come across as an info dump at first glance is actually very relevant. We learn her grandparents were taken advantage of and their land was dug up for “clay that they used to lay the foundation for houses” (Ward 14). In other words, the land used to have a strong foundation and now it has been removed. It’s less stable. It wasn’t until “Papa Joseph thought the earth would give under the water, that the pond would spread and gobble up the property…” that he stopped letting them dig (Ward 14). We know a hurricane is coming. Saying that the foundation is not stable and that years ago Esch’s grandfather worried about the property turning into a swamp is one of the Chekov’s gun moments we get in the opening chapter.

Thanks for reading! Next week, I’ll have my May Roundup full of book reviews!

My Latest Publications

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

In this multi-part series (I don’t know how many parts I’ll have yet but part 2 is already underway), I’m going to explain why the stories you submit to literary magazines are getting rejected. Who am I? I’m a reader at two literary magazines and sometimes a screener for Big Apple Film Festival. This means I’m the first set of eyes on a submission, and my job is to decide if the story gets sent to a second reader or declined.

I see a lot of subs, both for flash fiction and short stories. So definetly do the subscribe and share thingies.

As with any writing “rule,” there is an exception or a reason the author is breaking the “rule.” But these are mistakes I see all the time. I think these writers are often nearer to the beginning of their journey and eager to submit.

Let’s start with the basics.

1. Your Prose Isn’t Clean

You haven’t taken the time to clean up the writing on a sentence level. There are lots of typos* or spelling errors. I don’t see this too often because Word has basic spell check and that covers a lot of it. But I do see a lot of submissions where the sentences are choppy or jumbled. How many words do you typically have in a sentence? Are you resuing the same word a lot?

Line edits are a skill. You have to think about the ebb and flow of the words. Poets must choose when to break a line, and prose writers must think about paragraphs. I’m not saying the prose has to be polished like The Paris Review (unless you’re submitting there), but I shouldn’t trip over the sentences as I read.

You make other mistakes, like messing up subject/verb agreement. Or you aren’t following the traditional subject-verb-object flow of a sentence. Before you hit submit, read it out loud or have someone read it out loud to you. We get word blind, so having someone read it out loud to us allows us to hear them struggle.

*Typos do not automatically mean rejection. We are human and it happens to all of us—me included. In this day and age, a few typos remind me the author is indeed human and not a bot.

2. You Over-Cleaned the Prose

You went through your submission with your digital thesaurus and really ripped your words a new one. Violently.

This leads to a few problems.

One—vocabulary. I would call myself well-read. I have my MA in English Literature, meaning I had to read a lot of literature from various time periods and genres. I also read theory essays on literature as well as wrote my own theory essays incorporating sources and texts. (Derrida and Lacan, amiright?) I also have my MFA in Fiction, where I read even more novels and short stories and engaged in critique groups. In addition to novels, I try my best to keep up with several online and print literary journals, reading poetry, flash fiction, and short stories, as well as personal essays, etc. So please believe me when I say that I shouldn’t need to look up that many words in your submission.

Two—voice. It can also feel out of place if the vocabulary of some sections doesn’t match the majority of the submission. I often see archaic language pop up in these senarios (when the piece is set in modern times). Write in your voice. That’s what people want to publish. And if you’re new to writing, don’t force your voice. It will develop with practice.

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Don’t forget to check out this post about short story opening paragraphs!

3. Your Dialogue Stinks

I’m very sorry for the bluntness. Dialogue is extremely difficult to write. I understand. But poorly written dialogue is a slog to read.

You have a lot of filler dialogue. In real life, we have a lot of filler words and lulls in the conversation. Good dialogue should edit that out. Most of the time, you can edit out the “good mornings” etc. and just jump into the conversation.

You have a lot of exposition in your dialogue, meaning the characters are speaking solely to explain things to the reader. This is often when two characters are explaining something to each other that they would already know. To make your characters feel real, they need to talk to each other like real people. I made up the example below, but boy howdy, it’s not far off.

“Hello, Tom, my boyfriend of eight years. Are you ready for our holiday trip to Paris, you know the one we’ve been saving for all year?”

The best course of action here is to read a lot of books and pay attention to the dialogue. Reading plays is also a great way to sharpen your dialogue skills since they are all dialogue.

Your characters aren’t interacting with each other. Because dialogue is dificult, I also see a lot of submissions where the characters skip over important questions. Think of having a conversation with your close friends. They tell you something surprising or scary. You’re going to ask a follow up question.

Update [5/21/2026] I wanted…to add…one…more…thought. And that is to limit the amount of ellipses in your dialogue please! I know you want to show pause, to show the character mulling something over. A better way to do this is with interiority. Ellipses tell the reader to slow down. But when you use them frequently, the reader feels tied at slowing down so much.

That’s all for the free preview. The last 2 tips, plus a bonus tip, are for my paid subscribers. In them, I point you toward my First Chapters analysis on Bunny and Rock Paper Scissors.

They are very common reasons for declines, so don’t miss out! Become a paid subscriber. xoxo.

My Latest Publications

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Read more

One Story had a QR code you could scan and take a quiz to decide which issue to buy (and two substitutes). I bought all 3 plus a subscription, so I won’t miss out!

-The Jejune Cruise by Kristopher Jansma

-The Dissection Question by Emma Cairns Watson

-Colors From Elsewhere by Rachel Khong

-We Are Sorry For Your Suffering by Joy Deva Baglio (which was sold out and I happened to stop by again on the last day and Joy had donated a few copies back to One Story to sell)

Taco Bell Quarterly, special AWP print edition. A fun read, but my favorite was “Everyone I Have Ever Kissed Thinks About Me All Of The Time And Is In Love With Me” by Hilary Kaufman—for obvious reasons.

Slippery Elm Literary Journal, which is published by The University of Findlay (in Ohio).

Stanchion Zine. Their music issue was a double issue, and the AWP special was buy 2 get 1 free. No complaints! And keep an eye on that space because I’m appearing in the forthcoming summer issue, babes.

The Pinch Journal, produced by the MFA program at the University of Memphis. They held a great mixer at AWP. I met several lovely people there. This issue features a poem from fellow Sarah Lawrence peer, Steve—who will also have a poem coming out in Stanchion in the summer!

You, From Below by EM J Parsley from SplitLip Press

What We Do With God, poems by Daniella Toosie-Watson from Haymarket books

Don’t Thank God, Thank The Crash Test Dummies That Came Before You, poems by Frank Allison from Game Over Books

Neither Created Nor Destroyed, poems by Zara Jamshed from Game Over Books

The Fairy Tale Review, founded and edited by Kate Bernheimer. And since 2012, published by Wayne State University Press.

-The Old Lace Issue

-The Arsenic Issue

Kill Dick by Luke Goebel from Red Hen Press

Cherry Tree Literary Journal, made by Washington College undergraduates.

Not in the Video because I’m a dingdong—Street Cats and Where to Find Them by Jeff Bogle—also the founder and EIC of Stanchion.

My Latest Publications

• “Alice Should Have Known Better,” microfiction, Trash Cat Lit, May 2026

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Introducing First Chapters Feedback. $50 for 5000 words.

Is your first chapter strong, clear, hitting the right tone? Is it making the reader curious and generating emotion? From my Substack posts, you see how deeply I cover character, setting, imagery, theme, language, pacing, etc. I can do the same for your first chapter. I’ll give feedback and suggestions for improvement. My posts cover a wide range of genres. Look through older posts to get an idea of how your feedback will look.

The purchase button is at the bottom because I want to make sure you read through all the details and FAQs. I want you to work for it because I’m charging money for a service and you should know what you are paying for.

Subscribe now

The Deets:

$50 for 5000 words, so if your first chapter is under 5000 words, you can send the second chapter too. The cut off is 5000 words. Do not send more. If your first chapter is under 5k and you add your second chapter, but that makes it over 5k, then only send part of the second chapter. In the future there may be an option for longer submissions, but for now the 5000 word limit is here.

FAQS

1. Why is the limit 5000 words?

Frankly that’s a large limit. But if you consider the specs, that is the length of most first chapters. When you’re ready to query, agents frequently only want the first 5 to 10 pages. When someone is deciding to buy your book, they probably read the synopsis on the back and skim the first few pages. It’s your first impression to your readers.

2. Can I send any genre?

I’m not a good fit for the following genres because I don’t read widely enough in these genres, so I don’t feel I’d be able to give you the best feedback: Nonfiction, includinging memoir, essay, or politics; high fantasy (Lord of the Rings), Space Operas or deep science fiction (Project Hail Mary), Romance, historical fiction, or “cozy” novels. You can always message me and say, “Hey my book is like X or Y” and I’ll let you know if it is something I feel familiar enough with.

3. Can I send a short story instead?

Sure, absolutely. The 5,000 word limit still applies. And it is a set price. There isn’t going to be a discount if you send a very short story fewer than 5,000. That being said, $50 is very competitive. Just don’t send flash fiction (under 1500).

4. What format do I use?

Please submit in .doc or .docx so I can give feedback in Word.

5. How do I submit for feedback?

One–Click on Buy Feedback. This will take you to my PayPal page. In the memo section please write FEEDBACK.

Two–Finish the transaction and screenshot the receipt.

Three–Fill out the form on my website or the Google Form. You will be asked to enter your name (first and last), your email, and upload your manuscript file (again .doc or .docx please), and your screenshot with proof of purchase.

Four–You’ll get notes back in a few months. Right now, my response range is 4 weeks, sooner depending on how many submissions I have.

Buy Feedback

Google Submission Form

Latest Publications

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025

Fundraising for Red Pandas

I’m running in the Bronx Zoo’s 5k fundraiser this year! Run for the Wild 2026 supports red pandas. Each runner raises funds. Donate here at my person-to-person page where you can read more about red pandas. [updated to remove defunct donation link]

AWP Day 3

As AWP 2026 drew to a close, I was fatigued and cold. I started my morning with a tour of the Poe Grave, which was interesting, but would have been better had the temperature been what it said it was going to be (70s) and not what it was (50s). Alas.

Fun Facts about Poe’s Grave

• He has three grave plots because people would visit and struggle to find his grave stone. It is a small grave yard, but okay. Now it is near the entrance with a grand bust.

• Every year on Poe’s birthday, someone leaves a bottle of whiskey and a red rose.

Day 3 Panels

Panel One: Lightning Strikes Twice: Writing & Editing Flash Fiction

This panel was all about flash fiction! These bit sized stories have been gaining popularity in recent years. Even 20 years ago, there wasn’t really a name for it. This panel had editors and contributors from Moon City, New World Writing Quarterly, SmokeLong Quarterly, 100 Words Story, and Pithead Chapel.

And no, flash is not gaining in popularity because people have shorter attention spans! Thanks, panelists for stating that because I find that narrative to be the mainstream one and it isn’t so. And while I’m at it, the whole “People aren’t reading anymore” thing, well maybe if they didn’t have to work two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet they would have time to read. It isn’t that people don’t like reading; rather they are exhausted.

Hot Tips

• Flash depends on language, think strong verbs and specific adjectives

• Editors want shorter stuff that is more profound than longer works (yeah ok, that’s sort of vague)

• Don’t linger in the end—too lengthy a denouement is the #1 reason for rejection

In the flash fiction vs prose poem debate (which is never-ending), here is a thought: Flash is more forward moving whereas prose poems are more fluttering

Craft Book & Flash Collection Recommendations

• Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel

• The Prose Poem: An International Anthology by Michael Benedikt

• The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction Ed by Tara L Masih

• The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction Ed by Dinty W Moore

• The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Prose Poetry Ed by Gary L McDowell

I did go to another panel, but, Ziggy fell asleep because he was so bored, and I caught up on correspondences. I did go to a bakery with delicious cupcakes, and brought home half a dozen.

Panel two: The Flash Nonfiction Editors Roundtable: Advice from the EICs

I missed this panel, but here is the handout. Unfortunately, it is just the bios, but if you want to write flash nonfiction, check out the magazines they run and the ones they are published in. This panel brout together editors from Beautiful Things, Short Reads, Lucky Jefferson, The Offing, and In Short to discuss trends and provide tips.

The Flash Nonfiction Editors Roundtable

122KB ∙ PDF file

Download

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March Roundup

Honestly, it’s been a slow month as I recovered from AWP overstimulation and travel, and I am a reader at Craft Literary Magazine where I was reading for their memoir prize. There was a record number of entries, so everyone was reading extra. Great work, my fellow readers.

I also signed up for SmokeLong’s March Micro Marathon—which is a prompt a day, 6 days a week, for a month. I couldn’t complete the last week in real time as I was too tired. Great prompts, great people on there. Highly recommend if it is in your budget.

AND….I’m going on break! I’m taking at least a week to rest and work on the seeds I planted during my writing workshop this month. Best of luck to all who are submitting to journals.

Books I Finished

• Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie. Available for free through Project Gutterburg. If you like the Sherlock/Watson dynamic, then this is a good collection of short stories for you. I liked some more than others, but this style isn’t my preferred detective genre. Overall, Poirot does a lot of his investigation off page and summarizes his findings at the very end. While this is a beloved trope of the genre, my favorite parts are watching the deduction in action rather than hear about it at the end. Still a lot of enjoyable puzzles.

Latest Publications

• “Serendipity” + 4 poems, poetry, Blood + Honey Lit Mag, Feb. 2026

• “When You Find the Secret Tunnel Hidden Behind the Panel,” flash fiction, A Curious Moon Issue 2, Dec. 2025

• “Kaleidoscope,” micro fiction, Silly Goose Press Issue 6, Nov. 2025

• “New Yorkers,” flash fiction, Etched Onyx Issue 18, Sept. 2025