And the 2012 JDP Novella Contest Winner Is…

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…Jody Giardina, with “Merdeux,” a wonderfully JDPish story of Afghan war vets, space aliens, and a restaurant with a very special menu. To describe it in any more detail would probably spoil this darkly inventive science fiction tale. Suffice to say that Eirik spoke for all of us when he said of Jody’s work, “”Elegantly crafted poop stories are why I became a writer.”

We can’t wait for you to read “Merdeux” in our August Issue and it won’t be alone. Nick Kimbro’s neatly crafted horror story, “Surface Interval,” was a unanimous choice for runner-up. The author said he was going for Jean Ray via Lovecraft, but the end result put us more in mind of the original Alien or John Carpenter’s The Thing. Pick any one of those and you’re in pretty good shape.

As good as these stories were, it wasn’t an easy call. Sam Bradford, K. Marvin Bruce, Jimmy Grist, and Allan McDonald also made the short list with very strong submissions. Unfortunately, we couldn’t publish them all.

Thanks again to everyone who entered our inaugural Novella Contest, which we are officially declaring a success. And one more round of congratulations to Jody and Nick.

I Assure You We’re Open

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We hope you had a good Easter or Passover or other spiritual/religious event that falls around the first full moon after the Spring equinox, but now it’s time for you — and us — to get back to work.

Yep, JDP is once again open for monthly magazine submissions. So get typing and send us something wonderful.

We’re also in the final stages of the Great Novella Contest Debate, as we weigh the pros and cons of a very strong short list of stories.

(And, by the way, if you haven’t received a rejection from us yet, you made the short list. That’s the good news. The bad news is there’s a less than 20% chance you’ll be our actual winner. Sorry about that. But if it’s any consolation, this isn’t an easy decision and anyone who made it this far sent in a truly impressive effort.)

We’ll be formally announcing the contest winner on Monday, and the remaining contestants should expect to hear from us over the next few days, one way or the other.

We’ve got more coming your way, including info about our special October Halloween-themed issue, new upcoming book releases, and an update on what some of your favorite JDP writers have been doing of late.

So keep checking back, follow us on Twitter, and get to writing our next favorite story.

Oh, and don’t be afraid to tell us and our writers that you love us. Seriously, we’re fragile. And, needy. Really, if we were an actual person instead of a literary magazine we’d make a really annoying, clingy boy/girlfriend.

But since there’s no pay for anyone in this gig, the only true reward we and our writers get is the support you show. So, if you loved something you read on here, make sure you comment on it, Tweet it, Facebook it, or possibly even make an excellent youtube video about it.

And thanks to everyone who has commented, RTed, or Liked us already. You’ve satiated our insecurity for at least another hour.

We Are Alive! Issue 29

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Spring! When a young person’s fancy turns to thoughts of love and the rest of us…well, we mainly sit around wondering what the hell the cream filling in Cadbury Eggs is really made out of.

And because introspection shouldn’t just be for Easter candy, our new issue has a definite metacognitive vibe as we turn our thematic focus on, well, us. We’ve gathered together five stories about literature, writers, writing, and words, plus, one short tale about art. It’s a veritable feast of creative self-examination.

Also, there’s a seventh story about a woman with a gun in her mouth. (That one’s probably a metaphor for something, but sometimes it’s best not to overanalyze these things.)

Pass the Peeps. Issue 29 has hatched.

Read it online here. Download the PDF here.