Short Story | JOYLAND

Theodore McDermott -

In Indiana, the itinerant portraitist wears a sweater and smokes a cigarillo. Richard Hawkmeat is his name. From fourteen up until the age of...

Arjun Basu -

When the sun sets over the mountains the sky becomes a royal shade of purple. Then it all turns a kind of bubble...

Sina Queyras -

She knew little of poetry, nothing of Sappho, other than a book she had found on a shelf in the used bookstore. Walking as...

Rachel Knudsen -

The seagull hovered for a moment, then landed on the hood of David’s car. “Look at that thing,” David said. “It’s going to shit...

Max Smith -

I stop eating gluten. I read labels on packages at the supermarket. Standing for too long in narrow aisles, my eyes squinting at lists...

Catharine Chen -

You lose your job and your favourite relative in the same month, that’s how it starts. Your publishing company shuts down the imprint where...

Holly Myers -

One begins with the materials at hand. One begins with the materials that are left behind. One begins—here. And here. And here. A suitcase...

Naben Ruthnum -

Before opening the door, I listened for a moment. The carpet I stood on was thick and sound-absorbent, holding in footfalls as effectively...

Paul LaTour -

Go ahead, try it, he said, passing me the shotgun. The long barrel felt cold in my hand. I don’t know about this, I said,...

Katherine Karlin -

If you have ever had an obsession you know how it will expand like foam to fill the contours of your day. And...