The tabloids liked to point out his “shining good looks.” What good looks he had indeed. His smile was not quite natural—by design. Jeffrey knew that a true smile would not play well on screen. People wanted to see themselves in your teeth; you had to let those bad boys out.… More
Through the Wasteland
FICTION by Á. D. Canareira, Translated by Clare GauntThere was no need to ask why he was crazy about her again, in his romantic, foolish, desperate way; in a world where trying to persuade someone that love without irresistible physical attraction is possible, was like preaching in the wilderness.… More
Jacob Under God
FICTION by Jennifer Maritza McCauleyI struggled under his weight and felt his hardened muscles press into mine. I let out a long breath. Here we were. Just two almost-men molded and shaped and starved for this moment, to trade nasty heat and fear and fury.… More
Dry Rot
FICTION by Helena PantsisThe wind seemed to grow colder. John’s breath was held. He stayed entirely still, unmoving even at the will of the thankless, dry gale. In a jagged clash of metal against snake leather, the snake was stopped short.… More
Attempted
FICTION by Ross PeacockHe was face and body down on a hard surface. Was Heaven hard? More likely Hell. He had no clear vision. Thought that in the afterlife he would at least get good eyesight back but all he could see and not focus on, as normal, were grey shapes. He should have left all of that behind.… More
The Periphery of Stars
FICTION by Hart Vetter“That what you do? Travel from gig to gig, an imposter? Impersonator? What for?”
I bring magic, I think.… More
Cymbeline
FICTION by Robert StoneI’m going to omit some of this man’s fuckings and fucks, which will certainly diminish and change the nature of his invective, but I have some hopes of getting this published in a magazine—I might even get my money back—and no editor is going to publish it if every other word is fuck.… More
Signals
FICTION by Cody ShrumFreezing under those blinding stars, walking on a gravel road in the middle of BFE Kansas, dead deer remains all over me, I wonder how my life has come to this moment. Mom had warned me. She’d said, “Be careful with that boy, he could have a dark side to him. Probably does. Most do.”… More
Cigarettes
CREATIVE NONFICTION by Garrett MostowskiMs. Amy didn’t even know why she was sayin all that to our English class. But we knew what she meant by it. At least, I did. She was just feeling happy how her daddy loved her for whatever reason. That was it. And she was trying to tell us about that love and about not getting hooked on any kind of substances, and she was trying to say we can win our battles sometimes, if we keep showin up.… More
Inventory of Annoyance
FICTION by Xairan RayFuck man, I didn’t even have my tobacco. I was about to rawdog this meeting, no phone, no tobacco, though I did have the faint taste of the marijuana edible I ate earlier. This was a problem, see, often I would get too high, because I would take one edible, forget I had taken the edible, and then take another, and this would go on until I had no edibles, because, I would forget I had taken the edible. Rawdog no more, I thought as I entered the meeting.… More
Try
CREATIVE NONFICTION by David P. BarkerWhen you’re battling addiction, they teach you not to share war stories—to not live in those because they feed the worst parts of ourselves. I’ve never walked the twelve steps so it became easier to live in the worst of it than work the shovel to get out of it. It became so easy to hate.… More
