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Creator: Fantasy Magazine
Synopsis:
From Modern Mythcraft to Magical Surrealism
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Episodes:
A Liminal Magic: Diaspora Parallels in Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light
Tue, 24 Oct 2023 08:02:21 +0000
I have a confession to make: I think I’m burning out on writing “Asian American” literature. I know this is wrong of me. I know all writing is political. I know sharing our stories is an important way for us to work past media stereotypes, find each other, and reconstruct our collective histories. I have reread Babel and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and the Green Bone Saga over and over, as if by repeated consumption I could etch them beneath my skin.
Author Spotlight: P.A. Cornell
Tue, 24 Oct 2023 08:02:03 +0000
I have an interest in history, be it major world events or simply pop culture history, and I wanted to include things like my love of ’40s music, pop art, vintage food, the moon landing, and yes, even Star Wars, in a single story, but I didn’t know how to pull it off. This story finally came about in an almost accidental way. I’m a life-long insomniac, and I woke up in the middle of the night, so as I sometimes do, I got up to write. The opening line just came to me, and I started free-writing from there, the first draft flowing out of my exhausted mind.
Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont
Tue, 24 Oct 2023 08:01:48 +0000
On the island of Manhattan, there’s a building out of time. I can’t tell you where it is, exactly. It has an address, of course, as all buildings do, but that wouldn’t mean anything to you. What I can tell you is that the building is called The Oakmont.
Tue, 17 Oct 2023 08:01:30 +0000
the garden sings again / brushstroke of falsetto / petal drops of fiddled solfas
Tue, 17 Oct 2023 08:01:00 +0000
On a night where the moon silvers the falling snow and the air is the gaping mouth of a frozen corpse, the skeleton pig lowers its head to the river flowing upstream and drinks while dreaming of spring. Trees like pale fingers strain towards the skies and line both sides of the river—the skeleton pig has never strayed into the woods for fear of losing its way, but it is tempted to venture beyond this eternal walk along the frigid water. It remembers little other than this journey, this cold.
Tue, 10 Oct 2023 08:01:34 +0000
Take: x = today, y = tomorrow, and k = time / Question I: What would you consider as constant / if all of these unknown variables wear / the memory of you?
Tue, 10 Oct 2023 08:01:24 +0000
Lara is a summer witch born with fruit rich on her tongue, a monkey god's chittering beneath her skin, and a full July sun's worth of love for love. Her ba claims to have read Pasternak, but she knows it was Julie Christie's face he traced when he named her, Julie's yellow-gold hair her ma made fun of him for admiring, bright as an August afternoon.
Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:02:20 +0000
In this, our final issue of Fantasy Magazine: Short stories by Ruoxi Chen ("Fandom for Witches") and P.A. Cornell ("Once Upon a Time at the Oakmont"); flash fiction by Sonia Sulaiman ("Negative Theology of the Child from 'The King of Tars'") and Wen Yu Yang ("Homecoming"); poetry by Joshua Effiong ("The Equation of Time") and Adesiyan Oluwapelumi ("music in the garden"); and an essay by PH Low.
Negative Theology of the Child from ‘The King of Tars’
Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:01:46 +0000
The muse calls me ‘Digenia.’ It is not my real name; that is suspended while I am traveling through these verses, now some 690 years old. To pass through this realm of allegory and myth, of device and symbiotics, one needs to carry a standard. Mine is of the ‘two-blooded.’ Twice-blooded, I want to say. Down through the ages, this language which I speak and write in has no words that contain me. There are plenty of hyphenated adjectives: Half-breed, mixed-blood. But, like the Great Mystery, symbols slide off me. Looking too close is dangerous. I might look back.
Sun, 01 Oct 2023 05:01:32 +0000
In this, our final issue of Fantasy Magazine: Short stories by Ruoxi Chen ("Fandom for Witches") and P.A. Cornell ("Once Upon a Time at the Oakmont"); flash fiction by Sonia Sulaiman ("Negative Theology of the Child from 'The King of Tars'") and Wen Yu Yang ("Homecoming"); poetry by Joshua Effiong ("The Equation of Time") and Adesiyan Oluwapelumi ("music in the garden"); and an essay by PH Low.
Author Spotlight: Sam Kyung Yoo
Tue, 26 Sep 2023 08:02:43 +0000
“Set Yourself on Fire” actually started out as a realistic fiction short story. I wrote it in second-person, originally, but I was drawn to the idea of the narrator being an actual ghostly presence in the story, so I decided to do a complete rewrite using first-person direct address instead. I wanted it to look like it was written in second-person, right up until the moment the narrator makes themself known to the reader as an actual character present in the story who is quietly observing everything. I ended up being a lot happier with this version. Since every word of narration is in the voice of a ghost, the story itself becomes haunted.
Tue, 26 Sep 2023 08:02:16 +0000
As short fiction lovers, anthologies hold a special place for us. Anthologies over the decades have been the battlegrounds of political movements, as well as markers for shifts in genre communities. We grew up reading them, and we still see them as wonderful places: they often contain amazing work, and interesting things are still happening by virtue of their publication. Nowadays, editors/publishers are creating spaces for a broader range of perspectives through anthologies – bringing out books with an awesome array of stories.
Tue, 26 Sep 2023 08:01:04 +0000
The chrysanthemums are dying. The yellow flowers face downward, stems wilting at the neck. Their petals curl and brown at the edges like burning paper. You lift one of the ragged blossoms up, as if to try and help it support its own weight. You keep the flowerpot on the kitchen countertop right by the apartment window where it can get the most sunlight, but it doesn’t seem to be enough.
Sun, 24 Sep 2023 22:43:44 +0000
Ruoxi Chen is a Hugo Award-winning book editor based in New York City. She’s had the pleasure of working on books that have been shortlisted for the Ilube Nommo, Nebula, and NAACP Image Awards, and that have won the Alex, Locus, Crawford, Ignyte, Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy, Astounding, and Hugo Awards, among others. Her work […]
Sun, 24 Sep 2023 01:59:25 +0000
Joshua Effiong is a writer and digital artist from the Örö people of Nigeria. He is a a Pushcart Prize nominee, winner of Aster Lit’s Spring 2022 Award in Poetry, 2nd prize winner of Creators of Justice Awards 2021(poetry category), Finalist for 2021 River Heron Editors’ Prize and Semi-finalist for Jack Grapes Poetry Prize 2021. […]
Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:01:42 +0000
When I was a child and played in mud, my father was still alive. “Come, m’ijo” he’d say, chewing tobacco, fingernails dirty from working the land. “The night is for monsters,” his eyes glassy from the sun, “and so is the day.”
A Mortal’s Guide to Attaining Godhood in the Era of Chaos
Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:01:12 +0000
step one: stop believing. look, my hands are sticky, / reddened by the blood of the death god.
Author Spotlight: Lowry Poletti
Tue, 12 Sep 2023 08:02:54 +0000
This story had two distinct points of inspiration. The first was that I wanted to write about a sort of Faustian deal but from a new perspective. It doesn’t make sense to me that a malevolent entity would separate humans from animals; at some point, if you’re so far above the mortal world, wouldn’t humans and animals look the same to you? What would a deal like this look like if it were offered to a wolf, and why would a wolf take it?
Tue, 12 Sep 2023 08:01:56 +0000
In the fading shadows of dawn, a hunter meets a wolf with white eyes, a wolf whose mouth stretches open, and in its growl there are three faraway voices, distorted as if heard through water, so the hunter shoots. He does not wait to see what he has done.
Brief History of Monsterification
Tue, 12 Sep 2023 08:01:37 +0000
In a voyage into the shoreline of my childhood, / I felt a hand tethering my breath and cutting it into a clan / of monsters.
Sun, 10 Sep 2023 04:30:51 +0000
Adesiyan Oluwapelumi, TPC XI, is a poet/essayist from Nigeria. He was the winner of the Cheshire White Ribbon Day Creative Contest (2022) and the 1st runner up in the Fidelis Okoro Prize for Poetry (2023). His works are published in Poet Lore, Tab Journal, Poetry Wales, IHRAF, Brittle Paper, and elsewhere. A 2023 Adroit Journal […]
Sun, 10 Sep 2023 00:34:04 +0000
Zalika Reid-Benta is a Toronto-based writer. Her debut short story collection Frying Plantain won the 23rd annual Danuta Gleed Literary Award, recognizing the best first collection of short fiction by a Canadian author published in 2019 in the English language. Frying Plantain also won the 2020 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in literary fiction, was shortlisted […]
Tue, 05 Sep 2023 08:02:26 +0000
In this issue we’re proud to bring you short stories by Lowry Poletti (“Dread of the White Dog”) and Sam Kyung Yoo (“Set Yourself on Fire”); flash fiction by Angela Liu (“The Cursed Universe Inside Your Eye”) and Alex V. Cruz (“Bacá”); poetry by Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi (“Brief History of Monsterification”) and Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe (“A Mortal’s Guide to Attaining Godhood in the Era of Chaos”); and an interview with a few of the many anthologists doing interesting work in the field. Enjoy!
The Cursed Universe Inside Your Eye
Tue, 05 Sep 2023 08:01:07 +0000
The glass bottles are caked with so much grime you can’t see what’s in them anymore. It’s better that way because you don’t think you’d be able to do what you need to, if you could. You fish the knife out of your canvas bag, and a lighter with just enough fluid for one more flash of fire. This is your first time—but you’ve seen your mother do the same thing countless times before. Before she made her first mistake. Before you were forced to take her place.
Fri, 01 Sep 2023 05:01:26 +0000
In the September issue of Fantasy Magazine, short stories by Lowry Poletti ("Dread of the White Dog") and Sam Kyung Yoo ("Set Yourself on Fire"); flash fiction by Angela Liu ("The Cursed Universe Inside Your Eye") and Alex V. Cruz ("Bacá"); poetry by Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi ("A Brief History of Monsterification") and Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe ("A Mortal's Guide to Attaining Godhood in the Era of Chaos"); and an interview with several contemporary anthologists. Enjoy!
Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:02:21 +0000
What came easiest was portraying Bari’s complicated, tangled emotions of love and resentment for her family. I think children of immigrants, particularly eldest children, will experience my story differently from everyone else. It’s a feeling that’s hard to put into words, but I tried.
Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:02:20 +0000
Many years ago, a writing instructor said that in order to write a story, you need to figure out who the story belongs to. He was talking about the narrator, the lens of the story. I thought it was good writing advice at the time.
Bari and the Resurrection Flower
Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:01:39 +0000
The forest whispers of my sister’s arrival long before I sense her. Birds flutter between pink-girdled maehwa trees, mocking her voice in the tongue only shamans understand. Seonbyeon, Seonbyeon, they repeat mindlessly, and this is how I know my sister is looking for me. But I don’t know which sister, not until she finally appears from the forest gloom.
Tue, 29 Aug 2023 00:45:36 +0000
Ariel Kaplan is the author of several books for teens and adults, including Grendel’s Guide to Love and War and We Regret to Inform You. She was raised in Virginia and has a B.A. in History and Religious Studies from the College of William and Mary.
Mon, 28 Aug 2023 23:19:36 +0000
Angela Liu is a Chinese-American writer from NYC. She researched mixed reality at Keio University in Japan and now works in IT consulting and Japanese-to-English translation. Her stories and poetry are published/forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, The Dark, Nightmare Magazine, khōréō, Cast of Wonders, and Uncanny, among others. Check out more of her work at […]
Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:22:37 +0000
Sonia Sulaiman writes speculative fiction inspired by Palestinian folklore. Her work has appeared in Arablit Quarterly, Beladi, FIYAH, Lackington’s Magazine, Seize the Press, and other venues. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best New Weird Award, Lammy, and Palestine Book Awards. She is a Hugo-nominated first reader (formerly of Augur, Strange Horizons, and […]
Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:17:11 +0000
Wen Yu Yang (she/her) is a writer born and raised in Taiwan. Currently, she is based on unceded Eora lands, otherwise known as Sydney, Australia. She has words published or forthcoming in Solarpunk Magazine, Ghost City Press, and elsewhere. Her work has been shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Award. When she is not training […]
Thu, 24 Aug 2023 04:22:24 +0000
Alex V. Cruz is a Paterson-born, Dominican-raised speculative fiction writer. His short fiction is heavily inspired by his time in the Dominican Republic and his teenage years in Paterson, New Jersey. He loves animals and is the proud pawrent of two dogs and two cats. Alex graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia University with a […]
Thu, 24 Aug 2023 04:11:02 +0000
P.A. Cornell is a Chilean-Canadian speculative fiction writer. A graduate of the Odyssey workshop, her stories have been published or are forthcoming in over fifty magazines and anthologies, including Lightspeed, Apex, and three “Best of” anthologies. In addition to becoming the first Chilean Nebula finalist in 2024, Cornell has been a finalist for the Aurora […]
Wed, 23 Aug 2023 21:45:07 +0000
Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi, Frontier I, is a Nigerian-Hausa poet, digital artist, and photographer from Bobi. She is an undergraduate student of Medical Laboratory Science at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. She is the winner of the inaugural Akachi Chukwuemeka Prize for Literature, Gimba Suleiman Hassan Gimba ESQ Poetry Prize 2022, a Pushcart and Best of The […]
Damnatio Memoriae: A History of the Past That Used to Be
Tue, 22 Aug 2023 08:01:47 +0000
Their stories filled encyclopedias. / Matched ranks on the shelf, leather-bound, / volume after volume, / cover to cover / packed with their achievements, their failings, their tales.
Tue, 22 Aug 2023 08:01:21 +0000
They have never fought about it. “It’s your body,” her husband says, and means it. Only sometimes, when they’re out walking, a little girl will careen across their path roaring like a giggly tyrannosaurus, and he falls silent. “What’re you thinking about?” she asks, before she learns not to.
Author Spotlight: Davida Kilgore
Tue, 15 Aug 2023 08:02:53 +0000
Most of my writing is fictionalized autobiography, and as I’m getting older I cull through my life experiences looking for my more interesting dramas. I was thinking of my first marriage and how my husband left me high and dry, but he was still able to get U.S. citizenship. I moved to New York as we were going through our divorce and everything I touched turned to gold.
Tue, 15 Aug 2023 08:01:12 +0000
unbraid threads of wind as you would / your mother’s cornrows, boy—
Tue, 15 Aug 2023 08:01:10 +0000
It takes a Black woman to tell the truth about another Black woman, whether she likes that woman or not. If the woman in question is loved, the story reaches mythological heights, she could do no wrong, she was brown skinned and beautiful, intelligent, had all her faculties and her teeth, all the men and women of the neighborhood called her by a term of endearment, which is how Medea morphed into Ma’Dear.
Tue, 08 Aug 2023 08:01:27 +0000
In the land that is now Malaysia, there once was a tribe of monkeys called the Mawahs, whose king was appointed by King Solomon to be the Raja of the jungle. Raja Mawah built himself a throne on the south bank of the Perak River and ruled the jungle fairly.
Tue, 01 Aug 2023 08:02:04 +0000
In this issue of Fantasy Magazine: Short stories by Davida Kilgore ("My Dear, My Love"), Hana Lee ("Bari and the Resurrection Flower"); flash fiction by Joshua Lim ("Voices of the Kings") and B. Pladek ("The Runners"); poetry by Ubong Johnson ("Kumbaya") and Marie Brennan ("Damnatio Memoriea"); and an essay by AT Greenblatt. Enjoy!
Tue, 01 Aug 2023 05:01:26 +0000
In this issue of Fantasy Magazine: Short stories by Davida Kilgore ("My Dear, My Love"), Hana Lee ("Bari and the Resurrection Flower"); flash fiction by Joshua Lim ("Voices of the Kings") and B. Pladek ("The Runners"); poetry by Ubong Johnson ("Kumbaya") and Marie Brennan ("Damnatio Memoriea"); and an essay by AT Greenblatt. Enjoy!
Interview: Nebula Award Finalists
Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:02:49 +0000
As of this writing, the Nebula Awards Conference just wrapped up! It was a fun event, and it felt like a real celebration of genre. The vibe of the conference inspired us to do a collective interview with the Nebula Awards finalists in the Short Fiction category.
Author Spotlight: Margaret Jordan
Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:02:23 +0000
My climate anxiety was at an all-time high. I couldn’t bear to write about reality, but I also couldn’t bear to leave it completely behind, so I built this world where disasters bruise themselves into the people who survive them, leaving wild magic behind.
Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:01:11 +0000
It's so dark. Black-orange-bloody-bruised. Flashlights throw long beams across the sand. Police lights flicker blue and red, blue and red, blue and red, and the Ferris wheel on the pier glows an obscene neon. No one thought to turn off the calliope. It echoes off the empty boardwalk, cheerfully macabre.
Wed, 19 Jul 2023 22:44:36 +0000
Davida Kilgore is the author of a short story collection Last Summer, and editor of an award-winning book of poetry, The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children written by children ages 5-13 who she taught in afterschool programs in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Her work has been produced by SteppingStone Theatre, read […]
Wed, 19 Jul 2023 22:31:27 +0000
A.T. Greenblatt is a mechanical engineer by day and a writer by night. She lives in Philadelphia where she’s known to frequently subject her friends to various cooking and home brewing experiments. She is a graduate of Viable Paradise XVI and Clarion West 2017. Her work has won a Nebula Award, has been in multiple […]
Tue, 18 Jul 2023 08:01:49 +0000
It’s 6.18am and you are looking at / reproduction William de Morgan tiles / and Morris & Co fabrics on John Lewis
Tue, 18 Jul 2023 08:01:19 +0000
No one saw me, but they certainly saw you: lithe and swan-armed, assured in your poses. You had a way with the steps. The light followed wherever you danced.