Inkwell: In Transit
by Kristen-Paige Madonia
“In Transit,” by Kristen-Paige Madonia, is a look at momentum, how people move and how they stop, the forces that and impulses that guide our decisions. The main character, Sapphire, is a twenty-seven year old writer who has fled to California from a New York life of privilege and obligation. Now [...]

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Ghoti: Gulliver Road
By John Cotter
John Cotter’s Gulliver Road is a clear, concise little tale of youthful hijinks gone horribly wrong. It’s an expertly crafted work which explores with the everyday troubles of two young boys, Paul and Taylor, in a frank, genuine manner.
The plot is refreshingly simple: it begins as best friends Paul and Taylor [...]

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Agni: Drama Kids
by Kate Williams
“Drama Kids,” by Kate Williams, is brief but potent. It’s a short story look at teenagers in drama—a class or club, it doesn’t matter—and how they straddle maturity and childhood. This story is special because of the images Williams uses to draw her characters and the world they inhabit. Williams doesn’t [...]

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AGNI: The Sightseer
by Sari Wilson
“Sightseer” by Sari Wilson, is the story of Lewis, a rich American exploring Bangkok. But even as he is in another country, we see all of the many expectations and assumptions he brings with him. This story reflects both the main character’s prejudices as well as the reader’s. In large part [...]

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Agni: Happy Accidents
by Jill McCorkle
On the surface, “Happy Accidents” is nothing but an affirmation of the power of positive thinking. It doesn’t look like much, but Jill McCorkle has done much more than that. Her narrator might be trying to justify her life, but we also see a glimpse of human nature. We get to [...]

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Agni: My Thoughts on Pâté
by Kim Adrian
Kim Adrian’s short story, “My Thoughts on Pâté” is a pointed look at sensation, memory, understanding, and the questions we ask. This story wanders through memory; it’s languorous, but there are moments of sharp observation that trickle throughout the piece makes this a darkly confused, though still delightful, story.
Join [...]

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Agni: The Instructions
by Eric D. Anderson
There’s something special about finding someone else’s writing. It’s a situation where you find a letter on the ground or someone mistakenly sent you an email. It’s a look into another person’s life. It’s a moment when you find yourself with a piece of someone’s story, a fragment of someone’s [...]

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Ghoti: Maximón
by Richard D. Treat
If Richard D. Treat’s “Maximón” were printed as a novel, its cover would be embossed with a big, bold “recommended for discussion” stamp.
Ripe with authentic Latin flavor and exotic scenery, “Maximón” is well-crafted, highly entertaining, and a must-read for fans of extraordinarily eccentric lifestyles. The story follows the narrator through his [...]

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Carve Magazine: Samurai Blue Grass
by Craig Terlson
This is a story about loss, told by Jim, an artist whose wife has recently died in an accident. We meet Jim at a point where he seems have accepted his wife’s death, but is still carrying enough demons to prevent him from living a full life. [...]

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Carve Magazine : This One Thing
by Jaren Watson
Jaren Watson’s This One Thing is a story about love, loss, and life. It is a very charming story that opens with a man describing his comically, over sized dog. The man is also married, and they are the most loving couple. Trying to have a child, they [...]

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Small Spiral Notebook: Falling
By Laurie Seidler
After reading the first paragraph of Laurie Seidler’s story, I paused and said to myself: This woman is a serious writer. How can one paint such a vivid opening scene with so few words? The answer is a spark of inspiration followed by lots of hard [...]

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New Yorker: Free Radicals
by Alice Munro
“Free Radicals,” by Alice Munro, begins as a meditative examination of death and survivors, but then melts into a horror story that can’t withstand the weight of its own absurdities. First we must accept that a killer wanders into this woman’s house; that plot point is probably viable, though his [...]

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