by Nannette Vernon “Across the Vast and Unforgiving Landscape” is an honorable mention in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. The sun glinted off a car in the distance, a little blip of light, an occasional shimmer along the dull gray highway dissecting the vast Wyoming plains. The…
by Sara Carey “Swallow” is an honorable mention in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. This story contains sensitive topics. Before me, on the bathroom counter, sat two translucent orange pill bottles with no labels. I stood with my back against the subway-tiled walls. My best friend Olivia…
by N. Ryan Tucker “Train a Comin’” placed first in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. I don’t remember makin’ the devil no damn deal. Musta bargained with him when I was a kid. Can’t call to mind much of them times anyway. I knew it weren’t no…
by Jesse Teller “Waiting for the Sun to Go Down” placed second in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. There is a low hum. A bit of a hiss. Like that first few minutes on vinyl before the song starts. You can hear the song churning out low…
by Amy Midgett “See” placed third in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. The 757 bucked and shuddered beneath their feet. Hank gripped Elizabeth’s hand and she buried her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder. With his free hand, he cupped the back of her…
by Jenel Alan “The Roller Coaster at the End of the World” placed fourth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. I have PhDs in three fields, including biochemistry, so I know the correct dosage to put in his apple juice. To get him away from his parents,…
by Megan Okonsky “The Five Stages of Grieving My Attention Span” placed fifth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2024 Fall Fiction Contest. (Bloop.) Denial I blinked at the first bloop. Then I went back to my book. I scheduled one hour of peace at the coffee shop before going back…
by Rosalind Goldsmith She teased up the ruff of the teddy bear so the starched frills stood out like a strange white shrub around its head. It was a comforting little toy with shiny glass eyes and a sweet knitted smile under a button nose. You could move the arms…
by Kenneth Bell A group of orcs rallied in front of a food bank. Some of them hoisted up picket signs that read “Meat is Murder” as they protested and roared to all within earshot. Others carried signs with graphic depictions of bloodied and severed limbs. The group formed a…
by Allison Cross I was planted on the day you were born. Cerulean blue etched the clouds, contrails slashed it through. A breeze brushed against spring. My roots were a tangled, constricted ball, and it hurt when your father plunged me in the hole. When he piled the soil around…