With Thanksgiving lumbering toward us like a fat feathered dinosaur, we are pleased to present three stories about family and two stories about food in Issue 72.

In Chelsea Hanna Cohen‘s marine creation tale, an axe-wielding dad indulges in corporal punishment on “Sedna’s Hands” with surprising results. Maria Pinto describes a peculiar (and heartbreaking) “Response to the News,” and C.B. Auder explains, in a surreal way, why “We Cannot Become What We Need to Be by Remaining What We Are.” Anthony Cordello explores the unique dangers of being a “Dishroom Supervisor” in a Chinese restaurant; meanwhile, Marcel Harper drops a hell of a secret ingredient into the chili in “Heatseeker.” This month’s delicate Doggie de los Muertos cover art was created by the exquisitely named Loulabelle Hales.

Masticate it online or slurp the .pdf. And don’t forget to leave cranberry-sauce handprints on your front door, unless you want Turkasaurus devouring all your leftovers and half your children while you sleep.

I hear this is the brand the President uses to take notes (and doodle) during Cabinet meetings.

It’s September, which always fills us with back-to-school spirit and nostalgic memories for glitter gel pens and those little scented erasers shaped like fruit. There’s no mood more literary than this, so we’re pleased to present five speculative stories for your required reading list. Abbey Kos fondly recounts “When the Bees Came” in an elegant flash piece, and Brandon Barrett explores a girl’s unusual problem in “Sue Nguyen Sees No Ghosts.” The title “No One Died on the Moon” is not actually much of a spoiler for Keely Cutts’ sci-fi tale of loneliness, nor does “Our Lady of Fire” do more than hint at the terror churning beneath the surface of Laura Hogan’s haunting short. Finally, Kathryn Michael McMahon shares the story of a sympathetic shark and his comely human chum in “Loveteeth.” And if you love Japanese Snowy Octobunnies, you won’t want to miss this month’s cover art by ShirrStone Shelter.

Wiggle it online or jiggle the .pdf.