The Galactic Well at the Edge of Existence
Riley Cross Eo stirred the well with a silver spoon. The waters of space and time rippled in response. He waited for […]
Statistically Speaking
Daniel Guy Baldwin There is a fifty-one percent chance of being born a boy, forty-nine percent chance of being born a […]
Star Guard
Todd Clay Stuart On the first night of the comet, Beth looks up between the austere poplar trees in their back […]
Little Limbs
Leonie Rowland He came to me on his seventy-fifth birthday, when his hands were soft enough to save. They had kept […]
Laughing Tiger Buckles Slowly: A T’ai Chi Lesson
Tom Walsh T’ai chi is going slowly. The instructor’s cat died and we spent a lot of time talking about that. He […]
Dentata Non Grata
Kate Doughty The first tooth came, and the rest of them followed. This would not have been an issue if I […]
Brand-new Blue Sponge to Clean Up After a Memorable Dinner for Two
S.A. Greene The man is sitting facing the window. The woman sits down, facing the man. The man has assembled the salad. […]
In the City of Philandering Flowerpots
Tara Campbell How, exactly, does a flowerpot make love? And how does a flowerpot betray? Technically, a pot is a vessel, […]
Illumination
Sarah McPherson When I am fired, I take the angle-poise lamp from the edge of the desk. I am not sure why […]
Convenience Store Babies
Rosaleen Lynch Convenience store babies were all the rage back then. Came with pipettes the size of turkey basters. Advertised in […]
Amicable
Nathan Willis Say that you need some time alone. It’ll be easier this way. Suggest that your partner visit her […]
Foreign
Lisa Ferranti Editor’s note from Sudha Balagopal: I’ve enjoyed Lisa Ferranti’s fiction for the gentle intimacy her stories convey. In this tale, […]
Two Audio Poetry Performances: Toxic and You Are Music
Melinda Smith Editorial note from Janice Leagra: I don’t remember how I first connected to Melinda on Twitter, but I remember seeing […]
The Grapevine
Marcy Dilworth Editorial note from Sara Siddiqui: In her vivid and concise story, Marcy Dilworth describes the wisp of energy and enthusiasm […]
Do You Remember the Secret We Share?
Jaya Wagle Editor’s Note from Sudha Balagopal: This CNF by Jaya Wagle drew me in from the very first sentence. This story […]
How To Tame a Sea Parrot
Rachael Smart (words) and David Smith (photos) Editor’s note from Janice Leagra: This is a very special and exciting feature for me […]
Lorna
Johannah Simon Editorial note from Myna Chang: This story pulses with desolation and skewed hope, from the powerful narrative voice to the […]
The Devil You Know (TW: Abuse)
Ariel M. Goldenthal Editorial note from Sara Siddiqui: In very few words, Ariel shows us the day-to-day, minute-to-minute struggle of an almost-twelve-year-old […]
I Want to Write About the Moon
Shiksha Dheda Editor’s Note from Sudha Balagopal: The moon and longing create the perfect mood in this poem by Shiksha Dheda. Images, […]
Journeys
Leanne Ncube Editor’s Note from Ian O’Brien: This evocative poem is from emerging writer, Leanne Ncube. I first heard this performed at […]
Two Poems: The Kindest Way and Heat
Jonny Rodgers Editor’s note from Ian O’Brien: I am so proud to be able to share these poems with Janus readers. The […]
Two Micros: A Heart That Does Not Beat and You Will Never Need to Walk Again
Yunya Yang Editor’s Note from Sudha Balagopal: Yunya Yang delivers her signature punches in these two micros. There are descriptions of other […]
Sommelier 2020
Stephen Smythe Editor’s Note from Ian O’Brien: I recently heard this poem recited at a live event and was immediately struck, as […]
If You Were the Last Man on Earth
Dara Thomas Higgins Editor’s Note from Janice Leagra: I’m drawn to Dara’s writing, in part, for its sly, deadpan wit and strong […]
Three Poems: Three Months Old Today, Coloring with My Daughter…, and Foundation
Brian Wallace Baker Editor’s Note from Ian O’Brien: I first discovered Brian’s poetry through a prose poem he had published in the […]
You Can’t Always Get What You Don’t Even Want
Cheryl Markosky Editor’s Note from Jan Kaneen: I came across the first version of this flash in a Retreat West workshop that […]
Insolubles
Ali McGrane Editor’s Note from Jan Kaneen: I’ve been an admirer of Ali’s writing for ages. I love her use of lyrical […]
Alien in the Garden
Gillian Walker Editor’s Note from Sudha Balagopal: Gillian Walker’s stories are layered and dense, the pace of her words allowing for a […]
Photography by Rudri Patel
Rudri Patel Editor’s Note by Sudha Balagopal: Rudri Patel is both a writer and a photographer. Nature tells us stories, and in […]
Bee Costume
Dan Sanders Editor’s Note from Janice Leagra: I’m drawn to Dan’s stories because they are intelligent and entertaining, told from a singular […]
Violently Bashful
Melanie Tomkins Editor’s Note from Ian O’Brien: I heard this poem performed at the Coalition open-mic event, which Mel is co-founder of. […]
A Percussion of Bones
Victoria Buitron Editor’s Note from Janice Leagra: I asked Victoria if she had any pieces to submit because I am drawn to […]
So Much In Between
Ellen Weeren Editor’s Note from Sara Siddiqui: Ellen Weeren gives us the story of a woman who’s birthing a baby right after […]
That Doggie in the Window
Stephanie Austin Editor’s note from Sudha Balagopal: Stephanie Austin’s creative non-fiction is at once poignant and loving. In That Doggie in the […]
The Red Dress
Gina Harlow Editorial note from Sara Siddiqui: Sometimes, after the death of a loved one, you might hear things about them from […]
The Forms I Took to Escape From You
Sharon Telfer Eel … you, all slippery sweetness baiting your trap, me, gliding sliding straight in, wriggling slithering bumping those curving lips […]
Assembly Instructions For a Love Triangle
Raima Larter LoveTriangle.com Thank you for completing our online questionnaire. See below for your personalized LoveTriangle kit instructions! Materials included in your […]
Pale Urn for Hydras
Haolun Xu i. Am I so bad? All I ever wanted was to simply transcend all things. But life as […]
The Other Side of Me
Helen Chambers A confident stranger with newly-cropped hair stares back at me in the mirror. Does she feel lucky, I wonder? […]
Un, Deux, Trois
Helen Chambers ‘Morning all – hope you’re wide awake, cheerful and ready to work hard. Don’t yawn, George, or you’ll set me […]
The Counselors of Stelita Tero
Mike Keller-Wilson The counselors of sleepaway camp Stelita Tero are beasts, uncaged till morning. By now, we’ve shed our counselor skins, stripped […]
You Never Do
Daniele Nunziata Even God had a day off. Even machines need a day off. Even the moon, once a month, takes an […]
A Horse Named Kairos
Marissa Hoffmann When Dad isn’t reading, he’s talking, and there’s no stopping him when he’s in a good mood. Mum is on […]
A Girl Broken Down
Heather Shaw Sixteen fingers and four malicious thumbs hold me to the bed, Then they get to work. Stretch out my arms […]
In Carini
J. Kenny each afternoon on that ancient dusty hill in a square of smooth slippery stone a crowd gathers in front of […]
While It Snowed
J. Kenny on a Sunday we walked through a cemetery while it snowedand the flowers left at Christmas were now frozen on […]
It Pulls You Under
Laila Amado The season of the fogs brings heat and languor to this island lost in the middle of the sea. Everything […]
Thistle
Ives Phillips I let the bud poke my palette,Bitter up my tongue,Because I’d rather that thanGrin a grin you don’t deserve. I […]
Driven Home
Rob McIvor Alice stops the car in a quiet spot, a service road behind the Multiplex. The last film ended an hour […]
Cornered
Liz Churchill He’s racing to catch up with his mum when he spots leopard skin between the wheelie-bins. It’s well past his […]
