“Polly Swims”
An eerie new short story from Mathew Lebowitz portrays a futuristic experiment run amok.
Double Nickel
This is an excerpt from a forthcoming novel titled “Further from Home," set largely in an imaginary Long Island high [...]
Glass Elevator
In new fiction by Alice Stephens, Dot's elevator ride turns into something entirely different, and menacing.
Buona Sera, Uncle Ray (Rosebud, New Jersey, 1969)
U ncle Ray! Uncle Ray! The Bonaventura brothers, Louie and Tony, ages nine and seven, abandon play, leave their friend [...]
The Detained
T he prison door opened, soaking the gray cell with bright fluorescence. Jean stiffened against the thin mattress, its coils [...]
The Tour Pro
Peter Vilbig: "I'm an 8 percenter (which used to be called Middle Caste). Forget the Starvelings, the Subalterns, the Substratas..."
Jimmy, an excerpt
Bonnie Altucher: "Had he shot himself up in her bathroom? And then tidied up? Or taken a sponge bath?"
The Last Stand of Ms. Betty J. Washington
Jenna Leigh Evans: "The landlord claims I can't have anybody living with me, even though that's illegal. Plain illegal. Are you listening?"
The Sheer Impossibility of Nothingness
Joseph Patrick Pascale: "Imagine yourself sitting in your living room. Now take away the universe that exists outside the room."
Animal Mother
Alexander Slotnick: "Zack brought home a rabbit and said, 'Mommy turned into a bunny today.'"
St. Nick’s Bar & Grill
Connor Crawford: "Dale and his father really fought, and they fought for a long time. Punches. Kicks. Words. Howls."
The Fairly Good Policeman
David Winner: "I'm so utterly feminine. I used to be a sexless sort of person... Now I've changed."