The new planet had rolled out of a bottle of Advil that morning. The bottle had been opened and dropped, and a few of the Advil fell out and rolled under the dresser, and the planet,, with its fog and ocean, fell out, too, and rolled under the dresser. The bottle had been almost empty … Continue reading Planet Sea Fog by Julie A. Hersh
In the kitchen, I find Clara by the sink, looking out the window. Still. Dozens of eggshells are scattered along the granite counter. Broken in halves, segments, shiny egg whites hang off jagged edges. The morning light falls across Clara’s messy braid, making her hair look almost red. But she shifts, and her hair is … Continue reading Yolk by Jennifer Fliss
The Shadow Pantomimes must have drawn the ace of spades for me; that was how I ended up with the Whist Clowns of Old Frizzle pounding on my front door. I was in the shower at the time, my hair matted in suds of rosemary-mint shampoo. They jiggled the lock before the door creaked open. … Continue reading The Whist Clowns of Old Frizzle by Ivy Spadille
Jack carries around an empty room for almost a week before he has the nerve to do more than just peek inside. It’s in another universe, a divergent splinter of this one. That’s what Charlotte says when he calls her from the road and shares the photos he’s taken from outside the door. Jack barely … Continue reading Home Away From Home by Fred Coppersmith
Hi there! At the end of last year I sat down and laid out our hopes and dreams for 2018, most of which veered towards increasing pay for our authors and being more accessible as a content provider. I’m back with an update on our progress. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that’s … Continue reading From the Editor’s Desk: 2018 Update
An introduction to HWL, by Ani King, EiC: YOU MIGHT WONDER why Syntax & Salt, a magazine focused on speculative fiction, and only recently dipping a toe into poetry, might be publishing HWL, a terrific send up of tech culture, based on Howl, which is perhaps the most well known Allen Ginsberg poem of his … Continue reading HWL by Margo Stern
My aunt kept every mirror she ever broke. She kept many things: used toothbrushes, twist-ties with the wires sticking out, and those little white squares of plastic that close bags of bread. They lay jumbled at the bottom of old yogurt containers until she pulled them out to clean with or fasten things with. The … Continue reading Mirror Images by Eleanor Pearson
Too many moons, for one thing. Where did all of these extra moons come from? That one up there, the oblong one, I remember that orbiting the fourth planet last time we visited. You must have towed it here somehow. Why in… Never mind. I don’t really want to know. I don’t want to know … Continue reading Fixer Upper by A.M. Call
Everything started in this room sixty-five years ago and everything will end here as well. A birth then, a death now. It was here where I met him, his fingers clasped around a rasp, chipping the stone, shaping it. He didn’t do faces. He loved to create art for people where they could see themselves … Continue reading A Storm Kissed by Blackbirds by Eva Papasoulioti
I’m remembering again. Remembering — if that’s the word for it. The memories swamp me as I settle down to sleep. A ratty blanket with clumps of soil stuck to it was all I could find to wrap myself in. After discovering naught but ruins for miles, I was glad to come across something which … Continue reading You Will Never Lose Me by Tim Jeffreys