Most wonderfully revived from the miracle elixir of our recent temporal holiday to the Victorian era, we now return to our regularly shed-yuled monthly programme with this ripping box of delights.
Happy September, darlings!
(And speaking of happy, we’re currently looking to fill our upcoming Happy Endings special issue. We’re still open for regular submissions as well. Help us stay weird!)
Now what?
We know it’s not “cool” or “literary,” but we’re suckers for a happy ending. (Not that kind, pervert.) While we appreciate a good bloodbath finale or gothic tale of woe as much as the next forest-dwelling cryptid, this particular issue will feature stories that leave us feeling as warm and fuzzy as this melted butterscotch we just found in the pocket of our sweatpants.
Anything goes in terms of genre for this one, including narrative poetry, if that’s your thing. Science fiction, horror, and other genres where happy endings are comparatively rare would really schmear the sesame bagel of our heart—and it can be done; see Seanan McGuire’s “Each to Each” or Joe Hill’s “20th Century Ghost.” Really, though, we just want to be delighted. The details are up to you.
Remember, a dark story can have a happy ending (but please avoid the items on our “nope” list). And not all happy endings are hugs and smoochies and riding off into the sunset; conclusions involving death, destruction, or giant spiders could be considered happy, depending on the circumstances. That being said, we’re looking for more than schadenfreude here, so give us at least one character we can root for.
There are a lot of terrible things happening in the world, right now and always. Remind us that good things happen, too. Drain the vinegar of despair from our soul and fill it with the rainbow sprinkles of joy.
Length: Up to 4200 words for stories; up to 100 lines total for poetry. Flash fiction is welcome.
Deadline: Midnight on March 1, 2018. Final decisions will be made by March 14 (most submitters can expect to hear from us much sooner). Accepted Happy Endings stories and poems will be published in April 2018 as our 100th issue.
Ready? Head on over to Submittable!
The Victorian Mash-Up Special Issue has debarked its dirigible and is ready for your perusal!
We begin with Julia Patt resurrecting Liz Frankenstein from both literary obscurity and the dead in a wonderful tale that also stars H.G. Wells’ anonymous Time Traveler and, well, just about everyone else from the Victorian literary era, plus the occasional dinosaur. Also, Tesla. It’s a corker.
Next, Dan Morey takes the obvious route and cross-pollinates Little Women and Moby Dick. Yeah, we didn’t see that one coming either. Really, nobody fucking would, but Morey pulls it off brilliantly. It all starts when Jo March gets a harpoon for Christmas.
Finally, Jen Fawkes concludes the proceedings by mashing up James Moriarty with…Love? Infatuation? Obsession? We’re still not entirely sure, but we do know Fawkes has crafted a lovely pastiche that just might be about the wonder of pastiche itself.
Sample a seven-percent solution online or enjoy the absinthe-flavored PDF.
P.S. Want to know more about Jersey Devil Press? Of course you do. Check out the awesome interview The Review Review just conducted with our excellent editor, Laura Garrison.