Short Story | JOYLAND PUBLISHING

Destiny

Ammi Keller -

The man sat hunched above us on the hot tub’s ladder, his ankles in the water, his nipples pendulous and oyster pink. “So what...

The Lola Quartet

Emily St. John Mandel -

Excerpted from the novel The Lola Quartet, available now from Unbridled Books. 1. Anna had fallen into a routine, or as much of a routine as...

I Was a Teenage Minotaur

A.G. Pasquella -

At the mall a lady offers me a free sample of zit cream and I’m about to be all sarcastic, like “Look, lady— I’ve...

Cousin Barnaby Is Dead

Clifford Garstang -

I’m in the middle of an argument with my mother—she thinks I should ask her friend’s daughter Denise Knickerbocker out on a date while...

Fukushima Mon

Tom Paine -

Last month, by Gmail, I got the invitation to your funeral in Japan on March 11th. It took me a few breaths to remember...

The Border

Arjun Basu -

And then she pulled off the highway and rolled into the town there and stopped in front of a bar and said “Get out”...

Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid

Tan G. Digger -

“So I was reading this article in the Times about how, apparently, there’s like way more people who want to write books nowadays than...

The Poncho

David Balzer -

The Poncho is excerpted from Joyland/ECW’s latest short story collection, Contrivances by David Balzer. It also features work from artists Marcel Dzama, Margaux Williamson,...

The Untitled Lincoln Love Story Project

Katya Apekina -

“Your speech was phenomenal, Mr. President.” Lincoln hunches over as he walks to better hear his companion, Mr. Seward, a small man with a large...

Eulalie Laid

Elise Levine -

At forty feet on a weedy plain aglint with crushed beer cans, observed by pouting bass, he bumped her. She finned to catch her...