Genre: Fiction

Nick Tantillo

"You need to keep your eyes peeled,” he chuckled. The clean white flesh was gradually revealed, and the dirty bits rinsed away.

Amie Heasley

"Jake realized their family had never once sprawled out on a bed of grass, their eyes staring up into the black quilt pinpricked with diamonds. He had failed at so much, including pointing out his son’s namesake."

Lili Xie

"The absurdity made her laugh. She laughed and laughed until her tears came out. She didn’t wipe them. While she was laughing, her mind gradually got out of that fervent, agitated state it had been in for days. It had been absurd, she thought, and the real absurdity of all was herself. She was such a phony."

Katie Doarn

"'She’s a witch, that’s what she is,'” said Colin, as they wrapped themselves in the scratchy flannel blankets. Each of them fell asleep thinking of ways to rid their land of Karina, though in their dreams they were learning how to keep her."

Anastasia Jill

"One place in particular - Marie Byrd Land - caught her attention, and not because of its namesake. It had been discovered and given a misnomer in honor of a man’s wife, but at the heart, it was uncharted, virgin terrain still unmarked by subjugation or greedy men.."

Joanna Acevedo

"Suddenly, having a baby doesn’t seem so impossible. She has a baby now. She could just hold onto this one, and everything would be alright."

Nancy J. Fagan

"Her mother and grandmother raised their faces to the sun, and I wondered if they sensed peril as I did. Though I angled my chaise away from the three of them, they stayed in my periphery. That’s something Vivi would have done; she looked out for strangers."

Kris Green

"At night, I sit in my room with the lights out to see if my father or mother will notice I’m not around. My mother is a phantom in the house. They used to check my room to see if I was home. I can hear him pacing outside my door up and down the hallway. He’s humming a rhythmic tone and steady beat that goes nowhere."

Katie Humphries

"She paddled backwards some more, making space, hoping the gator would not notice, but its mossy, knobby skull and snout were now fully above the water. They looked at each other once more."