Stephanie Dickinson
Big-Headed Anna at the Ice Cream Social

Stephanie Dickinson - Big-Headed Anna at the Ice Cream Social

Fiction
Stephanie Dickinson is an Iowa native who lives in New York City’s East Village. Her novel Half Girl and novella Lust Series are published by Spuyten Duyvil, as is her just-released novel Love… Read more »
Zana Previti
Caedra

Zana Previti - Caedra

Fiction
Zana Previti was born and raised in New England. She earned her MFA in fiction from the University of California, Irvine and is currently pursuing her MFA in poetry from the University of Idaho. Her… Read more »
Annie Reid
Last Song

Annie Reid - Last Song

Fiction
Annie Reid is a double expat American currently residing in Sweden after a decade in Canada. She writes apocalyptic video games for a living and fiction for her sanity. She has stories published in… Read more »
Gabe Herron
Mr. Kimberk's Kindness

Gabe Herron - Mr. Kimberk's Kindness

Fiction
Gabe Herron lives outside a small town near Portland, Oregon with his wife, son, and daughter. He's had a winning story in Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers. His fiction has appeared… Read more »
Eliana Ramage
Mr. Longley’s Paper Suns

Eliana Ramage - Mr. Longley’s Paper Suns

Fiction
Eliana Ramage holds a BA and MA in creative writing from Dartmouth College and Bar-Ilan University, respectively. A proud Cherokee Nation citizen, she is at work on a collection of linked stories… Read more »
Venita Blackburn
Ways to Mourn an Asshole

Venita Blackburn - Ways to Mourn an Asshole

Fiction
Venita Blackburn earned her MFA from Arizona State University in 2008. Her stories have appeared in Pleiades, Madison Review, Bat City Review, Nashville Review, Smoke Long Quarterly, Café Irreal,… Read more »

Ways to Mourn an Asshole

Venita Blackburn

Once is not enough. Believe in Santa and Jesus and Clark and Bruce but only ‘til daylight. Remember not to be a child. Pretend to be ill. Wear black slacks. Pray. Cut your hair without a mirror. Buy a casket. Use the casket. Invite all of the friends. Invite no one at all. Bury the empty casket. Collect the ashes. Hold the ashes. Kick the ashes with your heel. Be glad the plastic did not break. Put the ashes away for later. Play basketball. Write an obituary. Remember not to be small. Go hunting. Go mountain climbing. Remember to be very strong. Look at your muscles. Touch your abs. Remember to be proud. Take out the death certificates. Make copies of the death certificates. Draw penises on the back of the copies. Draw faces on the penises. Put the originals away for the insurance company. Open the ashes. Smell the ashes. Cough. Feel a little sick, and shake it off. Put the ashes in glass containers. Pretend they are Canopic jars. Pretend to be a pharaoh. Pretend these are the organs of ancestors. Pretend to come from greatness. Remember not to be afraid. Put one jar outside for the rain. Kill ants outside with an index finger while the rain falls. Remember to be big. Go inside. Open the plastic bag from the hospital full of clothes. Take out the wallet. Pocket a hundred and sixty eight dollars. Look at the driver’s license. Pull out the belt. Wear the belt. Remember to get fat enough to fit the belt. Collect the jar of wet ashes. Drop the license inside. Take the license out and wipe it off. Put the jar of ashes and rain in the freezer. Take it out of the freezer the next day. Sit it out on the fence. Find your hunting rifle. Fire one shot. Miss. Fire again. Don’t miss. Remember not to care. Remember there are other jars left.

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