We’re thrilled to present our table of contents for the Autumn 2025 issue, which will be released this Monday, November 10, 2025.
In Issue 12, twenty artists wander the corridors of longing.
When we think of longing, we think of desire, nostalgia, hope, regret, tenderness, desperation, and resignation. But its power shouldn’t be Continue reading “Announcing the ToC for 34 ORCHARD’s Autumn 2025 issue: COMING MONDAY!”
The twenty-two artists of Issue 11 turn over new leaves—only to discover their tender undersides.
Most of the time, “turning over a new leaf,” although difficult, isn’t devastating. Sometimes, though, it means completely reinventing ourselves, letting go of what we used to hold dear, regret, grief, brutal honesty, and the inability to recognize our reflections in the mirror.
As we head into summer, here’s hoping any personal growth and change you’re facing isn’t as devastating as what these artists have imagined.
The downloadable PDF is designed so that it can be printed on double-sided paper for easy reading like a print magazine. As always, the issue is free, but there is a donation link should you choose to contribute.
If you like what you’ve read, spread the word!
We’re thrilled to present our table of contents for the Spring 2025 issue, which will be released on April 25, 2025.
In Issue 11, twenty-two artists tackle the challenges of a turned leaf.
Most of the time, “turning over a new leaf,” although difficult, isn’t devastating. Sometimes, though, it means completely reinventing ourselves, letting go of what we used to hold dear, regret, grief, brutal honesty, and the inability to recognize our reflections in the mirror.
As we head into summer, here’s hoping any personal growth and change you’re facing isn’t as devastating as what these artists have imagined.
Cover: The Unwritable Entry – Walter H. Von Egidy
The Mirror Stage – Dana Wall
All the Pretty Reindeer – Stetson Ray
Fault/Forgiveness – Sarah Cannavo
Late-Night Calls – Amanda Bintz
Change in the House of Flies – Kai R. Hastur
What Hansel and Gretel Never Told You – Kristina Hals
Our Special Games – J.J. House
Origami – Yong Takahashi
I No Longer Work for Frito-Lay – Preston Lang
Lucy’s Treacherous Silence – Marcelo Medone
H.G. Wells on New Year’s Eve – Attar Topobroto
Progress – Teresa Sanchez-Reyes
Best Meal of the Day – LM Fontanes
Interior Design – Victoria Nordlund
Kintsugi – Michael Takeda
Fragment of Glassy Black Material – Sarah Jackson
Fool’s Gold – Keira Reynolds
Pinus taeda – Andrea Ferrari Kristeller
Faith – Richard Brush, Sr.
Talisman – Temidayo Temiloluwa
It’s Electric – C.R. Langille
Arrives here https://34orchard.com/issues/ on our issues page on April 25!
Our January 2025 window has just closed (wherever you are in the world, that’s 11:59 p.m. January 15; if you send work we’ll check your time zone, don’t worry). We are grateful for the approximately 2000 pieces of work that we received, and we have been working hard to get back to everyone as soon as possible.
If you have subbed within the last five days or so, please be patient as we continue to read. If you subbed earlier and haven’t heard from us, your work is likely still being considered for a spot in our current or upcoming issues, and you will likely hear from us shortly.
If you do NOT hear back from us by February 28, 2025–which is our deadline for responding to everyone–please reach out to us through our Contact form, or send us an email at 34orchardjournal@gmail.com.
Enjoy your spring!
Kristi here! Last year, I recommended an anthology I co-edited, Wicked Sick, to 34 Orchard readers because it shares our aesthetic, so it might be in your wheelhouse if you like what you read here.
I’m thrilled to share that not one, not two, but SIX of the stories that co-editor Scott Goudsward and I selected for the New England Horror Writers’ Wicked Sick anthology are on the recommended reading list for Ellen Datlow’s 2023 Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen! It’s the highest number of stories selected in a single volume in the Wicked series (and also the only one I edited).
Stephen Mark Rainey—who appeared in our inaugural Spring 2020 issue with the moving piece “Night Crier”—wrote a generous introduction for Wicked Sick, writing that “these authors reach into your brain, into your mind, and with surgical assurance cut and twist you around until it hurts. But in the majority of these works, you’ll find not just sympathy for and by the various characters but empathy — which, rather than despair or trauma or disgust, I would say triggers catharsis. Even when the Specter of Sickness triumphs, for him it is often a bittersweet, less-than-complete triumph.”
Wicked Sick’s stories mentioned in Datlow’s list are:
“Irish Wake,” Michael Deady
“The Tall People,” Catherine Grant
“House of Tupper,” Meg Smith
“The Cancer Ward at Midnight,” L.L. Soares
“Toad in the Hole,” Gevera Bert Piedmont
“The Cancer Eaters,” K.H. Vaughan
Others who have appeared in the pages of 34 Orchard also appear in Wicked Sick: Trisha J. Wooldridge, Kurt Newton, and Jenna Moquin.
While in wait for our Spring 2025 issue, Wicked Sick would make for a perfect January read. You can pick it up on Amazon for either a nice holiday gift or for yourself here: Wicked Sick.
This issue plunges into the cavern of feeling forlorn, lost, and left behind; sasquatches, mermaids, street dwellers, siblings and jobseekers watch as the world chugs on without them. But although abandonment may feel like a death knell, we shouldn’t underestimate its positive power: a woman seeks justice, a grieving spouse turns grateful, and a mother finds strength.
If you’re feeling forgotten as the grayer days of autumn darken into winter, 34 Orchard’s Autumn 2024 issue may offer the camaraderie and light you seek.
The downloadable PDF is designed so that it can be printed on double-sided paper for easy reading like a print magazine. As always, the issue is free, but there is a donation link should you choose to contribute.
If you like what you’ve read, spread the word!
The ToC for our Autumn 2024 issue (coming November 10!) has arrived!
In our tenth issue, twenty-two artists appreciate the emotional state of post-abandonment. Sasquatches, mermaids, forgotten street dwellers, siblings and jobseekers all feel sadness, longing, and despair. But although abandonment may feel like a death knell, we shouldn’t underestimate its positive power: Sometimes, things are left behind for reasons.
If you’re feeling left behind as the grayer days of autumn darken into winter, 34 Orchard’s Autumn 2024 issue may offer the camaraderie and light you seek.
Cover Art: Between Worlds – Sonali Roy
Attn Attn – Nichole Lightner
Connection – Yash Seyedbagheri
Things We Did on the Internet – Beth Boylan
Dolphin – T.L. Antoff
Medium Fries – Jilian Elisabeth
When I Scramble Eggs – Jacqueline Jules
Our Parents’ Children – Mia Scattergood
Shantytown – Gordon Linzner
The Day After – Claire Francis Collier
A Stranger in Winter – Rob Francis
The Dark Reflection – Melina Ekic
No Sanctuary – David H. West
Meeting Mary Bloody Thighs in a Convenience Store in Arkansas – Josie Levin
Let Him Roll – Sarah Bradley
When Nature Calls – Craig Thornton
Gardens – Kevin J. Fellows
Mother, Father, Us – Miel MacRae
The Museum – Gregory L. Norris
For Only an Hour – Susan Brush Jonas
Selling the House – Rasha Abdulhadi
Footprint – Kyle E. Miller
Arrives here https://34orchard.com/issues/ on our issues page on November 10!
Hello, 34O readers…it’s Kristi (Founding Editor).
Cosmic, at its core, is existential. Cosmic literature deals with many heavy themes, including the knowledge that should not be known, the futility of the human existence, and the consequences of generational trauma (and that’s just naming a few). Much of what we publish in 34 Orchard—although we publish all genres, not just cosmic—deals with these themes, so we think the H.P. LOVECRAFT FILM FESTIVAL & CTHULUTHON—which we’ve loved for years—would be of interest to our readership who might like their existential cocktails laced with a bit of shinyweird. We’ve seen a LOT of really excellent, thought-provoking, emotional content in this festival’s line-up year after year.
That said, the KICKSTARTER FOR THE H.P. LOVECRAFT FILM FESTIVAL & CTHULUTHON 2024 IS NOW LIVE! This year’s theme is Dunwich Harvest Festival and includes several hours of short and feature-length films, Q&A’s with filmmakers, and panel presentations.
The virtual option—happening on a computer or phone near you!—is from October 18-22, while the in-person option at the historic Hollywood Theater in Portland, OR is October 4-6.
One of the big honors for me this year is that I was asked to participate in 2024’s Challenge from Beyond, which will be published in the annual Microfiction Contest Winners volume! If you get your tickets through Kickstarter, the book is one of the add-ons.
The Kickstarter only runs through September 22nd, so be sure and hurry and get your package and exclusive goodies now! YES, TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE after the Kickstarter, but why wait? You can only get the goodies through the Kick, folks! If you DO decide to wait, be sure to sign up for their mailing list so you know when they’re available: https://hplfilmfestival.com/
Lately I’ve been feeling restless and wanting to take some writing classes—we all know that, as writers, not only is it like having homework for the rest of our lives, we’re never done learning.
I’ve signed up for Steve Almond’s Almond Joy: A Trio of Classes to Kickstart Your Writing courses at Writing Co-Lab below, and wanted not only to share the opportunity out there with our 34 Orchard followers (many of you are writers), but also to tell you that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND his new book—Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories.
One of the reasons our readers love 34 Orchard is that in its pages they find something with which to connect—and Steve’s book is right in line where that’s concerned. No matter where you are in your writing career, I can guarantee you’ll find something in here that makes you stand up and scream, ‘yes! I GET that! That’s ME!’ Steve’s style is irreverent and forthright and so much fun to read as well; in addition, there’s a real focus on the writing journey and how to connect with your inner passion (because that’s really what makes writing sing—nobody likes to read emotionally dead stuff, am I right?)—it’s evident in the subtext. I’m careful about what I recommend, the same way I’m careful about what we publish—it’s got to be GREAT or the answer’s no. This book? This is a must-read, and a must-have. You can pick it up here.
I’m confident these classes of Steve’s are going to be just as awesome. I studied under him at a conference in Miami (back in 2009) for a whole week, and it was amazing. There are things I learned in that class that I still use actively today, so I’m eager to attend these sessions! It’s $259 (with the fee) for all three sessions, or just $95/each. The classes will meet on Zoom Tuesdays September 3, 10, and 17.
If you’re interested, you can sign up for it at this link (it’s limited to 30 students, so hopefully it’s still available): https://www.writingco-lab.com/classes/almond-joy-a-trio-of-classes-to-kickstart-your-writing-with-steve-almond
I also plan to sign up for American Short Fiction’s MFA for All series. I’m particularly excited about the one on Point of View. Those are $360 for all three, or $150 per. Full information, course descriptions, and sign-up options are here: https://americanshortfiction.org/mfa-for-all/
I hope to see some of you in class!
Kristi
If you love scary abandoned (several pieces also 34 Orchard vibe and two, in fact, are from past 34O contributors), you’ll love Monsters in the Mills, which is now available in instant e-book and paperback pre-order. Here’s the scoop:
Behind graffitied fences or obscured by woods, the abandoned mills of New England watch. For thrillists and historians, urbexers and developers, or just the average passer-by. Omnipresent and looming, the mills lure the innocent to their mysteries, secrets…and terrors.
The We are Providence writers hunt what lurks among the crumbled bricks and strangling sumac. A widower on a demolition crew wakes the revenants. A musician rents a foundry’s rehearsal space…and otherworldly tenants are practicing on him. A lonely girl combs the ruins to find an unsettling friend; a bitter punk moves into a refinery where her bestie vanished, and a criminal breaks into a cloth factory to discover a sentient—and sinister—machine.
These eighteen terrifying tales suggest when abandoned mills beckon, it’s best to ignore them.
After all, they’ve come to collect their due.
You can get the ebook instantly or pre-order the paperback here: https://bit.ly/4bhZmWa
SPECIAL OFFER! Take a photo of yourself with the paperback and email it to me at 34orchardjournal@gmail.com – and I’ll mail you a limited edition custom-made laminated, durable souvenir bookmark (I hand make these; they’re not the stuff you get online. Trust me, these’ll last you FOREVER).
ToC:
“The Children at the Spindles,” Mary Robles
“The Web,” Joshua Rex
“Under the Frozen Sky,” Brennan LaFaro
“Darkness Repeats,” L. E. Daniels
“Mill Dues,” Jason Parent
“The Cleaner,” Victoria Dalpe
“The Circle,” Christa Carmen
“In the Belly of the Mills,” Elizabeth Devecchi
“The Gourmand,” Mr Michael Squid
“The Spinning Mule,” Paul Magnan
“Gourd Guy,” Rick Claypool
“Strike,” Jessica P. Wick
“Blackstone,” Steven P. Belanger
“The Medians of Providence,” Errick Nunnally
“Cinched,” Kristi Petersen Schoonover
“We Created a God Monster,” Gage Greenwood & Kylee Jones
“Kiss of Death,” Ricardo D. Rebelo
“The Devolution of Doyle,” Aron Beauregard
34 Orchard 