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Welcome to Apex Magazine issue 151!
This issue we’re exploring complex relationships through some wonderful dark fantasy, body horror, and a subtle spooky flash piece.
In “Liecraft,” by Anita Moskát (translated from Hungarian by Austin Wagner), an entire marriage is built on lies for the betterment of the community. Deceptions and hurts are peeled away slowly in this rich dark fantasy tale, and the truth underneath may be the darkest thing of all.
Catherine Tavares’ story “Ghosts of Summer” is a gentle spooky tale exploring magic, grief, and the lengths one will go for the briefest respite. This is a tiny story—just over 1,000 words—but the emotional impact is huge.
“Code Green,” by Rebecca Johnson, is a fantastic dark sci-fi/body horror story full of rich worldbuilding and realistic characters. I was so blown away by the story, that I immediately accepted it during a writing retreat where Rebecca was workshopping it. That’s when I found out that this is her first publication! Honestly, I have a hard time believing that. Read the story. You’ll see why. This story is layered and complex and very, very good.
Leah Ning returns to the pages of Apex Magazine with “We Used to Wake to Song.” Leah is quickly becoming one of my favorite short fiction writers with her ability to interweave body horror with incredibly deep and complicated familial relationships. This story takes that and combines it with eco-scifi in the most beautiful, terrifying way. It’s delightful.
We round out the short fiction with “The Beautiful Conceit of Death and Night” by J.A. Prentice. This is a lovely fantasy with a story within a story. Told from the perspective of a cat who guides souls to the afterlife, Prentice explores how legends are born when one girl decides she won’t follow the predetermined life (and death) she’s supposed to.
Our flash this issue explores the way we create ourselves, the way we respond to the way the world creates us, and the way we are limited by both. “The Fate You Choose” by Nadia Radovich, for our Hunt theme, is a resonant Greek myth retelling. “FAQ on My Vagina Dentata,” an epistolary piece for our Teeth theme, is in turn funny and frustratingly familiar. “Cassandra and the Changeling,” a modern fantasy for our Carousel theme, uses evocative language to explore escape and discovery in the margins of a small town.
Our nonfiction this issue is by Michael Knost and Premee Mohamed, and our reprints are by Kel Coleman and Cynthia Gómez. Marissa van Uden was absolutely on FIRE this issue with her interviews with authors Leah Ning and Anita Moskát and translator Austin Wagner. Bradely Powers returns with an artist interview with cover artist Natasa Ilincic.
Also appearing in this issue are the winners of our latest Drabble contest: The Masks We Wear. Selected by editor Kai Delmas, we have drabbles by Mari Harrison, Nico Martinez Nocito, and Jim Horlock. And finally, we have a flash piece called “Horse and Rider,” by Christine Beres, that was selected by KC Grifant through the Reach Your Apex Weird West flash contest.
At the moment, Apex Magazine is in the midst of our Kickstarter to fund 2026. If you haven’t backed us yet, I implore you to if you are able. Kickstarter is the way we make the majority of our funding. It pays for all of the content in the magazine, plus for small wages for our editorial team and all of the miscellaneous charges that occur when running a magazine, such as website costs, email service, etc. I truly believe that Apex is a valuable market not only for writers, but also readers. We strive to bring you diverse voices from all walks of life and around the globe. But more than that, we want to entertain you, make you think, give you a break from reality, and broaden your reading horizons. If you find value in what Apex Magazine does, please back our Kickstarter and share it with your friends so we can keep publishing the strange, surreal, shocking, and beautiful stories you’ve come to expect from us.
You can find our Kickstarter campaign here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/apexpublications/apex-magazine-2026
Yours in reading,
Lesley Conner
Editor-in-Chief
Apex Magazine
