A Word From Our Editor

The first editorial of our first issue! A daunting task, that I struggled with for many weeks. When I wrote the first blog for the launch of our website, the words came easily. We were finally taking the chance on an idea we’d talked about for ages. Now, with the realization that our concept has become reality, and it’s finally time to release Apparition Literary Magazine: Issue #1, I can’t find the right words to express how proud and how scared I feel. So I’m going to refer back to that first blog a little, back to where we started.

We decided on the theme of apparition for our inaugural issue because it was apt but also because apparitions are sudden and unexpected. We may have come out of nowhere, but we’re doing this thing. We’re going to haunt our little corner of the Internet. But we’re also going to continue to grow and to adapt. We’ve faced small hurdles since we opened for submissions, and it took some adjusting to navigate those bumps; it helped that we had people out there supporting us. I’d like to take a moment to thank every single person that submitted, visited our website, shared posts and Tweets, subscribed, and donated. You all made our November exceptional, shining a bright spot on an onerous year.

We are extremely excited to share our first issue with you all. Each work we chose for publication approached the theme from an unusual angle, though all deal with grief and loss in some way.

“The Ghost Thief” by Kim Sokol is our amazing cover art. In an interview conducted by editor Rebecca Bennett, Kim discusses her creation process and the type of book she’d love her work to adorn.

“I See Dead People” an essay by Clarke Doty discussing the realities of death and grief.

“2611” by Cat Rambo, a reprint that was originally published on Patreon. It takes the idea of a haunting and twists it, leaving you with an ending that punches the air from your chest.

“A Promise” by Jennifer Hudak is lovingly, but heart-wrenchingly written from the point-of-view of a mother experiencing the passage of time.

“Esprit d’Escalier,” a beautiful but harrowing poem by May Chong, about a stairway and the woman that haunts it.

“Quickening.” This heartbreaking poem, by Shannon Connor Winward, tackles the grief of absence with a careful hand.

“The Jade Woman” by Garrett Davis is about the superstitions that follow three soldiers in an unforgiving desert.

“Waiting for the Dawn.” A haunting SciFi tale about grief and the impossibility of letting go by Anna Salonen.

“World Cry” by Tara M. Williams introduces us to a dystopian future and the competition that may have saved humanity.

We hope you enjoy reading each story and poem as much as we did. If you like this issue, I hope you will take a moment to let our authors know on our website, Facebook, or via Twitter.

Apparition Literary Magazine is funded by the editors and by your kind donations. If you’d like to support us, please donate and/or subscribe via our website. We hope to increase pay from .01 cent a word to the professional payment of .06 a word. And be on the lookout for the upcoming launch of our Patreon, which will reward people who donate monthly.

Thank you,

Tacoma Tomilson