Issue of December 29, 2025

Fair as Fresh Air by Mark Nuzzi — Cover story fiction horror

Mark Nuzzi lives in New Jersey, enjoying middle age and everything that comes with it. When not in his own universe, he spends time as an aquarium hobbyist, an amateur astronomer, writing stories and feeding the wildlife in the backyard.

A Birthday Song in Minor by Jerry A. Sierra — Fiction

What a celebration...!

Blue Ulysses by Tim Law — Fiction

There is more joy in living things...

Brotherly Love by Jim Bates — Fiction

A way that brothers should be...

Alive with Resolve and Resilience by Ndaba Sibanda — Poem

Two poems by Ndaba for the new year.

Death and the Maiden: An Elegy by Claudia Kessel — Poem

"...Her beauty a flaming sword..."

Neon Glow by Jiel Narvekar — Poem

"...You play the hand that came your way..."

Broken Shadow by Nisha Raviprasad — Poem unrhymed

Nisha Raviprasad is a poet and avid reader based in Cochin, Kerala. Her work, often centered on memory, nature, and emotion, has appeared in various literary journals. A quiet observer of life and language, she continues to explore the beauty of the everyday through poetry.

No More Road by Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal — Poem unrhymed

"...I had no destination home..."

Rested, Looking Over the Wall by Bradford Middleton — Poem unrhymed

"...the muse has, it appears, returned ..."

Support Sytem by James Croal Jackson — Poem unrhymed

"...Time is oxygen when masking loss..."

Trench Art by Stephen Kingsnorth — Poem unrhymed

"That summit once a seaside scene..."

What Does a Teenager Do in the Dark? by Dan Holt — Poem unrhymed

"... words of teenage angst in a tattered notebook..."

Ngongo Chronicle: Copper: A Memoir 08 by Ron Singer — Serial fiction

In his private life and in his leadership, Festus Nkwema is beleaguered...