When Lilacs Last in the Boneyard Bloomed . . .

It’s April, nerds, and you know what that means! Slippery amphibians! Fractured fairy tales! Poetic pond(ering)s! Sweet, melancholy 90s nostalgia! Terrifying land mermaids! Harlem Renaissance greats photographing the undead! Centaurs with sunflowers!

Oh.

Well, that’s what it means to us.

It might be the cruelest month in the Waste Land, but April’s the coolest month here in the Pine Barrens. Pull up a rotting log and join our circle for a spell. Or a charm. Or a full-body transfiguration; we dabble in all the Magicks . . .

Swish it online and flick the .pdf.

 

Pushcart Time!

We will be launching a new issue in January, but in the meantime, please enjoy our nominations for this year’s Pushcart Prize:

Gavin Broom, “The First Week in July

Calvin Celebuski, “A Legend Is Born

Daniel Galef, “The Lady of the House

Frances Klein, “Socrates the Frog

We are thrilled to put these fantastic stories and poems up for consideration, and also to have had the opportunity to share them with you. All of the pieces are quite short, which makes them perfect for reading aloud to a weirdo you love.

Merry happy, everybody. Here’s hoping the new year brings many strange and wonderful things your way.

Guess what just dropped into your pumpkin hole?

Mr. Punkincheeks, Devourer of Souls (and Snickers)

Welcome to issue One Hundred Two. The pieces in these pages share a contemplative tone, reflecting on the past, evaluating the present, and speculating on what is yet to come. Gavin Broom returns with a lovely and subtle seaside story, and C. M. Donahue imagines a lunar adventurer’s final moments in free verse. Heather Santo‘s flash fiction explains how science and art collaborate in the realm of the beyond. Askold Skalsky‘s sonnet explores the distance between desire and reality, and Emily Williamson‘s blank verse poem turns a landfill into a time machine. And if it’s straight-up horror you’re looking for, Predra6 has you covered with this month’s cover art.

Unwrap it online or savor the .pdf.