Excerpts

From Issue 19: "The Red Hair" by Dara Yen Elerath (Flash Fiction)

From Issue 19: "The Red Hair" by Dara Yen Elerath (Flash Fiction)

My friend Hannah liked to brush her hair. It was long, red, and slightly dry from when she’d iron it. Each day I’d watch her drag a sandalwood pick through it as though it were a horse’s mane...
Posted in fiction

From Issue 18: "Masters of War" Mary Grimm (Fiction)

From Issue 18: "Masters of War" Mary Grimm (Fiction)

Estimated reading time: 30 minutes No one needs to hear what a tumultuous year this has been. This week's fiction excerpt harkens back to another t...
Posted in fiction

From Issue 18: "Early Work," by Carolyn Williams-Noren

From Issue 18: "Early Work," by Carolyn Williams-Noren

We thought the chestnuts—on the sidewalk of Steele Street—were going to waste. “I wish,” I’d said to Alison. “I wish we could do something with these.” The clacking handfuls.
Posted in essay, fiction, flash nonfiction, nonfiction, Poetry

From Issue 18 - "Scheherazade" by Jen Michalski (Fiction)

From Issue 18 - "Scheherazade" by Jen Michalski (Fiction)

Estimated reading time: 45 minutes Set aside some time to spend with this week's excerpt, "Scheherazade". As the story unfolds, we see Jen Michalsk...
Posted in fiction

From Issue 18: "Gethsemane" by Christina Robertson (Fiction)

From Issue 18: "Gethsemane" by Christina Robertson (Fiction)

Read time: approximately 25 minutes Christina brings humanity and humor to Robert, the bedraggled protagonist of "Gethsemane." Join us as Robert re...
Posted in fiction

From Issue 18 - "hot cheeto tongue" by JJ Peña

From Issue 18 - "hot cheeto tongue" by JJ Peña

at the top of angel landing’s peak in zion national park, my best friend lina dared me to kiss the dirt we stood on. she read someplace that taste helped a memory last longer. 
Posted in fiction

From Issue 18, "Abby, Who Doesn't Come to Weddings," by Elizabeth Charles (Fiction)

From Issue 18, "Abby, Who Doesn't Come to Weddings," by Elizabeth Charles (Fiction)

Author Elizabeth Charles first wrote "Abby, Who Doesn't Come to Weddings" as part of a short story cycle that "explores the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender and class against the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn." The story's central character, Dr. Abigail Monroe, serves as a compelling guide.
Posted in fiction

From Issue 17: "The Mexican Strikes It Big in Hollywood," Michael Leal García

From Issue 17: "The Mexican Strikes It Big in Hollywood," Michael Leal García


Posted in excerpts, fiction, flash fiction

From Issue 17: "Death by Chocolate" by Katie Burgess

From Issue 17: "Death by Chocolate" by Katie Burgess

"Death by Chocolate" by Katie Burgess is from our latest issue 17. Check out this wry, sensitive flash fiction now. (~5-minute read)
Posted in fiction

From Issue 16: "The Sublime is Difficult to Replifake," Soramimi Hanrejima

From Issue 16: "The Sublime is Difficult to Replifake," Soramimi Hanrejima

New flash fiction excerpt, from Soramimi Hanarejima. Surreal, fanciful, and truthful. Read on for more.
Posted in fiction

From Issue 16: "A Quiet Occurrence," by Alan Perry

From Issue 16: "A Quiet Occurrence," by Alan Perry

Alan Perry's "A Quiet Occurrence" is dedicated to the late Mary Oliver, whom we lost in 2019, and a graceful reflection on that poet's work. Alan says, "The more I read her poetry, the greater my appreciation for the many ways she described beauty in her surroundings."
Posted in fiction

From Issue 15: "Origin Stories for the Turtle Lady," Kent Kosack

From Issue 15: "Origin Stories for the Turtle Lady," Kent Kosack

Kent Kosack's short story from Issue 15 kicks off by sending the reader into a state of nostalgia, but it quickly veers into so much more than that. A narrator you'll fall in love with brings it all home.
Posted in fiction, Kent Kosack, Short story, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, University of Pittsburgh