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May 28, 2009 | From TC 9:1 - "Carpe Diem" by Theryn Fleming
Last month, after the editors finalized their selections for the March issue and the notifications were sent out, we received word that one of our authors had died in December. This was sad news for us, as Homer had submitted to us several times over the past four or five years, and while we hadn't published everything he sent us, we had always been entertained by his work. We are sorry that "Buzzards in the Projection Booth" is the last story we will see from him.
My first thought after I'd had time for the news to absorb was that I was sorry that he hadn't got his acceptance before he died. Almost as quickly came a second thought: but isn't it great that he went out the way every writer presumably wants to—writing and submitting until the very end?
Posted by The Editors at 12:13 PM in Literary Journal
May 23, 2009 | From TC 9:1 - "Iraq" by Matthew David Curtis
Creased hands blocking sun,
the old men watch as we ride
down the Phlegethon.
Posted by The Editors at 01:05 PM in Literary Journal
May 18, 2009 | From TC 9:1 - "Bridging Christmas" by Kristi Petersen Schoonover
My eight-year-old sister Kelly says that Santa doesn't come to Salisbury.
"That's ridiculous," I say. The latest in a string of ridiculous things in this nowhere village. Like the football team only plays against itself and I have to be up making breakfast at 5:30, because our school's an hour away and the bus, according to the guys, takes even longer in the winter on account of the plow attached to its grill. "Santa goes everywhere."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm eighteen."
"You're wrong, Graham. He doesn't come here," she insists. "Ask your nickelback friends."
Posted by The Editors at 01:12 PM in Literary Journal
May 15, 2009 | Writer's Glossary
This month's Absolute Blank article is Writer's Glossary Part 1: Elements of Fiction Construction by TC Editor Stephanie Lenz (Baker).
Posted by The Editors at 09:37 PM in Articles
May 13, 2009 | From TC 9:1 - "Merry and Monroe" by Shannon Schuren
She keeps it hidden in a box under the bed.
She only keeps the bed—the same uncomfortable one she's slept on since childhood—because it is high enough to house the box, which fits snugly beneath the tarnished frame, which holds the coiled springs, which lie beneath the torn mattress, all of it covered by the quilt hand-sewn by her grandmother.
She takes comfort in these layers. They are all that muffle the voice when it calls. Teasing, pleading, wounding. She tries to ignore it, has faced the sofa in the opposite direction so she doesn't have to look at it. Still, the loft is sparsely furnished. It is easily heard or seen from anywhere in the apartment.
She used to worry that visitors would ask questions.
Luckily, no one has ever come.
Posted by The Editors at 05:20 PM in Literary Journal
May 08, 2009 | From TC 9:1 - "Ice Under the Bridge" by Ryan Peterson
It was a classic dare among children in the small town of Amethyst, Wisconsin—a rite of passage by which they tested the waters of urban legend each winter to see who was the bravest. Most of all, it was for the thrill of a good scare.
Press your ear to the ice under Blood River Bridge. If you listen closely, you can still hear them trying to scream as the freezing water rushes into their lungs. You can still hear their tiny fists pounding on the bottom of the ice, and their fingernails scratching at it. If you stare through the ice long enough, you might see their faces—black, dead eyes—gaping mouths. But don't freeze with fear…they might break through and pull you in with them, pull you all the way down to the bottom of the icy river, where it's pitch black forever.
Posted by The Editors at 12:26 PM in Literary Journal
May 06, 2009 | Congratulations to Amber Cook
Amber's story "Little Mother" will be featured in Best of the Web 2009 anthology. Congratulations!
Check out the complete list of authors, titles and journals (& pre-order your copy!) at Dzanc Books.
Posted by The Editors at 06:20 PM in Literary Journal
May 03, 2009 | From TC 9:1 - "Do Not Go Gentle" by Richard Wolkomir
(1)
"What'd your cat say?" Elroy asked.
No response.
They stood down there on the dock—the man, dog, and cat—staring up at his house, their skiff bobbing beside the dock where the lanky man just tied it. Elroy figured he must be a crabber from across the river in Old Cootchicalla. He had that sun-bleached look—unkempt yellow hair and mustache, both faded to straw.
Now the short-legged dog plopped down onto the dock, yawning in the Florida sunshine. Probably a Welsh corgi, Elroy thought, except its eyes seemed preternaturally bright. It gazed genially at Elroy. But the black cat and the crabber exchanged another long stare.
Elroy knew a conference when he saw one.
Posted by The Editors at 03:19 PM in Literary Journal
May 02, 2009 | A Midsummer Tale: Now Open!
The theme of the June 2009 A Midsummer Tale writing contest is: Growth / Harvest.
A Midsummer Tale Rules are here.
Please remember to also read the General Contest Rules.
AMT is a creative non-fiction contest. The deadline for entries is June 21, 2009. Good luck!