The Midwest | JOYLAND

Abby Geni -

My sister was found as a newborn at the edge of the ocean, washed up on the beach by the tide. She lay on...

Katiy Heath -

Is It Normal to Hate Your Husband? Oprah says that the answer may surprise you. Hating Your Spouse Isn't the Red Flag You Think It...

Felix Lecocq -

The miracles are brought to the zoo in three black crates held aloft by three forklifts. The crates are settled on a patch of...

Alex Higley -

The difference between camp and kitsch is that camp knows death and kitsch doesn’t. Don’t laugh. People can be sorted into these two teams...

Carolyn Ten Eyck -

The night after our first kiss, my band played covers for hours in the campus bar. It was packed, humid in the way a...

Natalie Villacorta -

When I come downstairs and Mom doesn’t look up from the paper, I know she’s mad. I know we’re not going to Annapolis. She’s mad...

Nicole Hebdon -

My husband isn’t dead, but he needs to be. That’s what they tell me in the church basement. I’m sitting on the Vesselite emblem....

Sara Kachelman -

Four heterosexuals decided to carve a roast. They were Peg and her husband Pat and Fawn and Fawn’s husband Dick. The husbands had formed...

Rasheeda Saka -

"A Friend" by Rasheeda Saka was selected by Joyland as a finalist in the 2021 Open Border Fiction Prize. I am not so old nor...

Cara Blue Adams -

The following is an excerpt from the short story collection You Never Get It Back by Cara Blue Adams. You Never Get It Back is available now from...