Issue #2 - May 2021
fiction
Edited by Umaiyahl Nageswaran, Lou Deng, Valeria Alcaraz
“I’m Doing This for You”
by Elizabeth Katz
Bio: Elizabeth Katz is a writer and filmmaker based in New York. She is a graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and she has had fiction published by Soliloquies Anthology and Ellipsis Literature & Art.
“The Last Time I Saw Father”
by Konstantin Nicholas Rega
Bio: Born in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Konstantin Nicholas Rega is a graduate of East Anglia's MA in Creative Writing and received a BA from The University of Kent. Twice a Dan Veach Young Poet's Prize finalist, he has been published by the Republic of Consciousness Prize, Into the Void, www.jonimitchell.com, Mikrokosmos Journal, The Claremont Review, Minetta Review, amongst others, and is the Fiction Editor for Crack the Spine and a contributor to Treblezine.
www.neomodernkonstantin.weebly.com
“Sharks”
by Eloise Lindblom
Bio: Eloise Lindblom (they/them) is an MFA candidate in Fiction at Sarah Lawrence College, though they are currently based in Western Massachusetts. Their work has appeared in Into the Void Literary Magazine, Heirlock Magazine, Labrys, and elsewhere. Find them on twitter @mrelind.
“Does Anyone Care?”
by Sona Lea Dombourian
Bio: Sona Lea Dombourian teaches writing and literature at Moorpark College in Southern California.
Artist Statement: I believe the female voice here is one that is openly judged, silenced and overlooked as the recent murder-rape (and subsequent disinterest by law-enforcement) in Great Britain demonstrated only too well. I hope the story illustrates the conflicting values thrust on anyone who dares to use their voice. Thank you for hearing her out.
“Last Chance”
by Stephan Lang
Bio: Stephan Lang retired in November, 2018, and has been writing full time ever since. He has had fiction stories published in Kairos Literary Magazine, BlazeVOX, New Plains Review, Gloom Cupboard and Sixers Review. He is currently working on his first novel, a WWI historical fiction work. In addition, three other short story projects are near completion.
Artist Statement: Story deals with violence of our times, or a least the perceived threat of ruthless violence.
“Oliver Wakes”
by Dustin Heron
Bio: Dustin Heron's work has appeared recently or is forthcoming in HASH, Drunk Monkeys, Passengers, Gravel, The Normal School, Fictive Dream, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. His first book, Paradise Stories, was published by Small Desk Press.
Artist Statement: "Oliver Wakes" is an anti-racist story that takes as its subject the complicity of white liberals in maintaining racist, oppressive systems.
“Corrective Action”
by Amanda Viola
Bio: Amanda Viola is a writer, actor and student born, raised and living in Los Angeles.
Artist Statement: Nearly 50% of states in the U.S. don’t require employers to make accommodations for pregnant women. Many of these states are also taking legislative measures to further limit a woman’s right to choose and actively oppose government funding of childcare services and expanded health coverage, creating a deeply perverse and hypocritical paradox; you must have this baby but we will not help you in any way.
Instagram : @amandamviola
“Black-O-Meter”
by Jessica Sullivan
Bio: Jessica Sullivan is a writer, student, and reader. Her work has appeared in Fiction Writers Review. She is usually over-caffeinated, staring at the sky, and daydreaming. She is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing from American University.
“My Morning Coffee”
by Timothy Caldwell
Bio: I was a professional singer and university professor for forty years. When I retired, I returned to my early love–writing. My novel, The Chaplain’s Assistant: God, Country, and Vietnam, was published in 2012. My essays and short stories have been published in Amarillo Bay, Blue Lake Review, Crab Creek Review, Crack The Spine, Diverse Voices Quarterly, Ginosko, Glint Literary Journal, Menda City Review, The Penmen Review, The Storyteller, and Westview. I am working on a collection of short stories.
Artist Statement: Over their morning coffee, a man struggles to remember a message he was asked to give his wife.
“Good Mad, Bad Mad”
by Andrea Marcusa
Bio: Andrea Marcusa’s literary fiction and essays have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, River Styx, Citron Review, Cutbank, and others. She’s received recognition for her writing in a range of competitions, including Glimmer Train, Southampton Review, Raleigh Review and New Letters. You can see Andrea Marcusa online at: andreamarcusa.com and on Twitter at: @d_marcusa.
“Entrails”
by Gabriel Tronson
Bio: Gabriel Tronson writes to try and understand the world. So far, he's been unsuccessful. He received an AFA in creative writing from Anoka-Ramsey College in Minnesota and published work in the Havik Literary Anthology and Stoneboat Fiction.
