If you’re reading this, you survived 2019. Welcome to 2020.
2019 was rough in many different ways for many different people. And while a new year doesn’t guarantee change, it is the chance for a fresh start. And by fresh start, I mean that 2020 now has the chance to prove itself. I think you can do it, 2020. I believe in you.
As 2020 tests out new goals and attempts to improve upon its predecessor, we’ve got an exceptional batch of stories and poems to share with you, dear reader. We received many a submission focusing on science experiments, lab work, animals (both large, small, and embiggened), interviewers digging deep. . . but these are the works that made us stop and reconsider the facts:
You Can Check Out Any Time You Like by Rhonda Eikamp delves into a terrifying world of medical experimentation. (3,200 words)
A journalist weighs the worth of a world-altering event in The Redoubtables by Premee Mohamed. (4,400 words)
One Song Ending by E.A. Petricone twists the typical lab rat setup into a loving (and haunting!) tale. (4,700 words)
Julia August delivers intense characters in a socially fraught fantasy with Passavanti’s Fantasima. (4,000 words)
In At the Bleeding Edge by Lisa Timpf, a scientist accepts the inevitable conclusion of their experiments. (21 lines)
Motes and Morsels by Dawn Vogel applies a sweeter, but just as thought-provoking, note to the theme. (20 lines)
And don’t forget to check out I’ll try Anything Zero to Four Times by Clarke Doty. As always, Clarke’s brilliant and utterly unique voice shines in this personal and somewhat epistolary essay. (1,200 words)
The works in this issue skillfully capture the frisson of a new year–an experiment in growing one year older, in trying new things, and in failing but learning from our mistakes (*cough* 2019 *cough*).
Looking forward, our next theme is TRANSFIGURATION (submission period February 15-28). We’ll be seeking stories about meaningful change, no matter how tremendous or minuscule the metamorphosis. Can I somehow throw another transformation word in?
As we shift and settle into 2020, please consider supporting us on Patreon and following us on Twitter. Without our barnacled friends, this issue wouldn’t exist.
Tacoma Tomilson
Managing Editor
Apparition Literary Magazine is funded by the editors and by your kind donations. If you’d like to support us, you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter and please consider donating and/or subscribing via our website. For 2019, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve increased our pay rate for short stories to $0.03 per word and poetry to $15 flat rate.
Thank you for reading,
