The guiding principle of Six Ridiculous Questions is that life is filled with ridiculousness. And questions. That only by giving in to these truths may we hope to slip the surly bonds of reality an…

I’ve been an admirer of Grant Maierhofer’s work for years, but my experience of reading his two latest books back to back may be the apex of my experience with his bibliography thus far. Those two …

Mallory Smart is an author, editor, publisher, and podcaster. She has had a prolific year with multiple stories published and a chapbook, We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes, from Thirty West Publishi…

Blueby Gideon Leek “I hate you I hate you I hate you.” That’s what Nora texts me. Today is her birthday. Two days earlier, I’d mailed her a letter. I don’t think she liked the letter. The letter wa…

There are many reasons to pick up Greg Tate’s recently-reissued Flyboy in the Buttermilk, beginning with the fact that it’s a triumphant, wide-ranging collection of nonfiction and cultural commenta…

Eighteen: Twenty-twoby David Tuchman “This is my punishment,” Moshe decides as Yoni’s minivan flips over the median on the Harlem River Drive and smashes upside-down into the asphalt, sending bits …

Like her characters, author Diana Rojas certainly doesn’t take the easy route toward closure or redemption. In her latest novel They Hold Grudges she writes from the perspective of Roberto, someone…

It’s September, and the weather outside is starting to feel a little autumnal. (At least it is in New York….sometimes after dark, when a breeze picks up.) If you’re looking to get…

The guiding principle of Six Ridiculous Questions is that life is filled with ridiculousness. And questions. That only by giving in to these truths may we hope to slip the surly bonds of reality an…

I’m Just Sayingby Tom Andes Seventy-eight degrees, Remy thought. It was 78 degrees at the Fall Fête, and Donald had shown up for the gig in head to toe black, Levi’s and a thrift store suitco…

Writer’s block? Gaaah, have a punt on the page. Take off without a map, see what you find. Here are some tips for when my mind’s a real mess and I reckon I’ll suck it and see.   …

The last decade has seen an increase in works from Katherine Dunn’s archive seeing print, from her ruminations on profanity to a posthumous story collection. Dunn’s bibliography covers a lot of the…

Temporary Suspensionby Garima Chhikara  On her way home, Tanya is thirty thousand feet above the ground, heading toward a place that feels more like a layover than a destination. For now, she hangs…

Some horror stories play on primal fears and anxieties; others work by creating monsters so unsettling the reader will have no choice but to flinch. David Simmons’s stories often pursue a third pat…

Representatives of Future Moneyby Perry Genovesi Emma made it through two sets of security scanners. She set on her game face before meeting Mr. Barnaby. Then they were strolling through the verdan…

Today, we’re pleased to present an excerpt from Loba Loca, a new graphic novel from Run and Guillaume Singelin. Here’s how publishers Oni Press and Magnetic Press describe the book:

In a culinary landscape often crowded with over-complicated techniques and hard-to-come-by ingredients, Jacob Kenedy’s Pasta Tricolore arrives like a breath of fresh, Mediterranean air. It isn&#821…

Storage Unitby Emily Grandy It was a damp day in December and Roger’s mother had been dead six weeks when a call came in from an unfamiliar assortment of digits. He’d been turning into the empty pa…

Here we are, halfway through the month of August. We also have some books to recommend, as you probably guessed. Some are new; some are reissues. One is a particularly intriguing tribute to an icon…

For Neeram Pularumbol (As the Dawn Breaks), my follow-up record to the 2021 release on OnTheCorner Records (When the Waters Refused Our History), I wanted to do a deep dive into Indian percussion i…

Good Boyby Charles Holdefer I don’t always listen to my dog because he can be a whiner but last night we were talking about the possibilities of afterlife and accounts of near-death experiences whe…

You may know Jaime Parker Stickle from her coverage of crime from both the fictional and nonfictional sides of things. She’s the author of two novels, including 2025’s Vicious Cycle, ab…

We Ate Standing Upby Angela Edward I landed at JFK at night, around 10:30 p.m., already unsure. Baggage claim moved slowly. I stood watching the carousel loop again and again, the same suitcases ci…

From reading the first fifty or so pages, a reader might be left with two key impressions of Paul Tremblay’s novel Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep. The first is that it represents somethi…

Grace’s Treeby Selen Ozturk Paul asked me to kill a tree. I needed a permit under the Marin County Municipal Ordinance Code §223.24. I shat and ate permits at this point.  Bay tree roots sprea…

There are infinite ways for our heroes to disappoint us. In Julie Buntin’s latest novel Famous Men, she explores an issue that too many women face: What happens when the men they look up to take ad…

Mouseby Jesse Salvo Sofia says that I am not in love with her and to please stop showing up at her house. I should clarify that it is not her house and anyway I was invited and we are all I think a…

I have always highlighted and underlined sentences I like in books. Another writer once told me they loved reading after me because when they turned the page and saw something highlighted, it excit…

What does your July reading look like? If you’re in need of recommendations, we have a couple to share with you, encompassing writers from all over the world and books in a wide variety of st…

Cultural historians cite Lamont Johnson’s 1972 drama, That Certain Summer, as television’s first foray into gay-themed storytelling. With its high-caliber cast—Hal Holbrook, Martin Sheen, Hop…

There’s a kind of transcendental experience to be had while watching the skies; there’s also a lot of isolation that comes along with it. In his new book Master of Starlight, DW Ardern …

We’ve covered the sixth and final collection of LySandra Vuong’s Covenant in these (virtual) pages before. Publisher Oni Press recently announced that the crowdfunding/pre-order campaig…

An online journal of very short fictions -- under 1000 words.

I have always highlighted and underlined sentences I like in books. Another writer once told me they loved reading after me because when they turned the page and saw something highlighted, it excit…

What a Ghost Isby Andrew Graham Martin We lowered our chicken tenders as one. A glob of barbecue sauce dripped off the end of mine and fell with a splat onto my crotch. “A man?” Leigh asked her mom…

There are five poems at the beginning of Lucy Sante’s third collection of short pieces. I knew she started out as a poet but had never read one. I saw references to chapbooks online that were long …

Brad Neely’s body of work encompasses everything from absurdist comic books to a revisionist take on a certain early president; he’s also written about the life of Ulysses S. Grant. His…

In our afternoon reading: thoughts on novels by Barbara Pym and Susannah Felts, revisiting Norman Mailer, and more.

In recent years, LySandra Vuong’s fantasy series Covenant has found a dedicated audience with its take on fantasy adventures, musings on religion, and romance. A crowdfunding/preorder campaig…

In recollections of her friendship with Kathy Acker, Avital Ronell writes, “Derrida locates in surviving the origin and essence of friendship. Not empirically or chronologically clocked but fundame…

We’re pleased to debut the cover art for Matthew Wong Foreman’s forthcoming novel Sunset at Lion Rock, set to be published by 7.13 Books on September 15, 2026. The novel, set in Hong Ko…

After Youby Alex Treuber I was nineteen years old when I started following people. The first was a young man holding a bouquet of flowers with tears running down his cheeks. I followed him down to …

So I sat down with Charlene Elsby’s Poor Damned Souls one evening and found myself reading a book about a relationship about to collapse. That quickly turned into something much bleaker, whic…

Cat Ritualsby Alex Behr Please empty the litter box. He pees a lot. Play the game called “Find the prize” every day with the scooper thing. There are lots of prizes!

Hello and welcome to the month of June. We hope that you started out the month with the traditional utterance of “rabbit rabbit.” We are currently immersing ourselves in Ibrahim Alfa Jn…

Nostalgia, A Cautionary Taleby Emma Davey I have an excellent memory. If I close my eyes, I can drop myself into a favorite kindergarten field trip or the way I would always eat Grandma’s-bra…

The Swedish Cookbook by Niklas Ekstedt is a beautifully crafted celebration of Nordic simplicity, balance and flavor — a book that feels both timeless and refreshingly modern. Ekstedt brings his si…

Righteous Kissby Joe Aguilar I’m standing in a musty side room beside the cafeteria at my five-year high school reunion, looking at our friend the goldfish, when I start to wonder about kissing.&nb…