“The Mechanic” by Jennifer Watkins

Issue 11 / Fall 2017   When I was fifteen, I met the mechanic. The plane touched down in Atlanta in July, and my hair was still windblown from the Colorado Rockies. My mother’s words echoed as I stepped onto the tarmac: I’m bringing someone with me. I saw him...

“Belongings” by Jennifer Lang

Issue 11 / Fall 2017   Finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers “Mommy, can I keep this?” asks six-year-old Simone. “Please.” She’s holding a scrap of apple-green wrapping paper with irregular-shaped red hearts suspended in air. It was left over from wrapping a...

“Y Under the Ocean” by Jennifer Savran Kelly

Issue 10 / Summer 2017   Y needs the ocean the way a thirsty tree welcomes a storm, lapping up waves even as they batter her, unraveling a thread here, a whole seam there. Too fast the water, the angry tide that comes and comes, while she stands ready to jump or...

Culture Rant: Issue 10 / Summer 2017

Finding Our Inner Sense: Representation and the Cancellation of Sense8 By the Lady and the Gamer   Authors’ Note: The Lady and the Gamer are thrilled at the news of the Sense8 two-hour season finale, but the sentiments shared here – written before the...

Never Make a Deal with a Goblin

The Goblins of Bellwater by Molly Ringle The Goblins of Bellwater Author: Molly Ringle Central Avenue Publishing, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-77168-117-9 $13.95   For those who wish to study legends and lore, there is a truth that is well known: never, ever make a deal with...

New Imprint Seeks to Address Racial Disparity in Publishing

By Morgan Coyner   “Minority writers really do need outlets for publishing,” says Allen Gee, editor of 2040 Books. “They need to know that their work is being considered by the most favorable editors, where bias about race or culture is not a factor. I think the...