Short Story

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...

Hearing Test

Anna Prushinskaya -

You’ll never be quite what you used to be because you’re always getting older. Everyone is. This was her ex-husband’s mantra, but now, they...