Welcome to Apex Magazine issue 140!
While working on this issue, I slowly came to think of it as the Apex ASMR issue. It’s quieter, less in your face than issue 139 with “The Monster Fucker Club” and “But I Loved You,” and way less weird than issue 141 (we turn the weird up to 100 in November), and I think that’s good. You can’t keep turning up the loud, brash, and shocking. That’s exhausting and, after a while, it all just becomes noise. So this issue, we take a step back and give space for stories that are haunting and beautiful and quietly worm their way into your subconscious. You may not finish these stories breathless with excitement, but I hope you will finish with a creeping dread and awe.
We open the issue with an original story by Lyndsie Manusos called “Whisper Songs.” Set against a harsh, unforgiving backdrop, birds—and possibly the world—are dying. If you see a bird die, by law you must contact the Sonos, who will come and collect the bird’s song for the Ark. The story opens with a new mom deep in the darkness of exhaustion and postpartum depression calling the Sonos about three baby blue jays who have died in her yard. What follows is a complex story slowly revealing a world that has gone so wrong and the people who are trying to find joy and life amongst so much death and strife. Beautiful and sad, this story is an excellent exploration of what a person will do out of desperation.
“Quietus” by Zohair is different from many of the stories that Apex Magazine publishes, but is absolutely stellar in its own way. The story is a metaphor for religious indoctrination and subjugation. It follows the journey of a coffin floating down a river. As the coffin travels, it is come upon by many people and animals, all who use the coffin in a way that helps them in that moment. Some stay with the coffin for a long time, going along on a journey to which they have no control and no idea how it will end. Others fear it and push it on, wanting to get away from the coffin as quickly as possible. This is Zohair’s first published story, and it is one he says could not be published in his home country of Pakistan. I am incredibly proud and honored that he allowed Apex to bring this story to the world.
Lucy Zhang explores what it means to wager a life in her story “Life Wager.” It begins with Waigong gambling away his 18-year-old daughter in a game of mahjong. He tries to take it back, offering to cut off all his limbs instead, but the stranger who won the match isn’t interested in this trade off. He takes the daughter to the heavens and she dances for the deities. Eventually the two have a child, and the child learns in their own way what wagering a life means. Revolving around village life, mythology, and mahjong, “Life Wager” is a lovely tale with many layers of meaning.
Stories have power and a storyteller’s intentions are not always kind. In “Kɛrozin Lamp Kurfi” by Victor Forna, a mother must outwit a storyteller to save her son. Forna explores what it means to have your life controlled by a story constructed by another in this intricately layered tale, and how desperate and impossible it can feel to try and break out of the narrative.
“Junebug” by Sarah Hollowell is a melancholy story about a group of friends traveling to visit another friend who is in hospice care. It explores the way friend groups have incredibly difficult, serious conversations late at night via text mostly in the form of shared memes, why it is so hard to just be open and honest and have direct conversations, and what it means when your little band of four is going to become only three in a short amount of time. I loved this story because so much of what June feels about her friends resonated deeply within me. The story is cathartic and warm, but also incredibly sad.
Rich Larson returns to Apex Magazine with a delightful horror flash piece titled “Spitting Image.” When Timmy asks the 10-year-old narrator of “Spitting Image” to come see a magical well deep within the forest, of course he goes. What he finds is far beyond his imagination and scares him away from the woods forever.
For our flash fiction this issue, we have two stories chosen for the heart of wood/brain of glass theme. We wanted to get ahead on our editorial calendar and a double theme seemed the perfect opportunity. The first story, "Brainpink Umber," by Chelsea Sutton, is a beautiful exploration of dementia and love across generations on the theme Brain of Glass. The second, "From This Beating Heart, From This Fractured Mind," by Elisabeth Ring, is a vivid examination of love and mental health that powerfully combines both themes.
Eugen Bacon and Tonya Liburd bring us our classic fiction this month. “Memories of the Old Sun” by Eugen Bacon is a beautiful story full of longing and a desire to become the person you want to be, rather than the person your mother expects you to be. In “Through Dreams She Moves,” Tonya brings us an unconventional love story steeped in familial bonds, obligations, and gauzy, dream-like quality that is beautiful, but also terrifying because of how easily it could all slip away.
Our nonfiction this issue comes from Dana Cameron and Mariano Villarreal. Dana discusses the age-old writing lore that an author must have experiences and adventure to be able to write about such things. She takes this concept and reimagines what that means for day-to-day life. Mariano brings us an excellent primer on Spanish speculative fiction. This is a market that is rich and thriving, but that unfortunately does not reach a wide audience outside of Spain and a few Spanish-speaking countries.
Marissa van Uden interviews Lyndsie Manusos and Victor Forna in our author interviews. Bradley Powers chats with our cover artist Aaron Nakahara in our cover artist interview.
Before I close this editorial, I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you all that Apex Magazine is no longer using Kickstarter to fund future issues. We’ve held Kickstarters to fund each year of the magazine since coming back from our hiatus, and while these funding drives have been successful, they are also a huge drain on our time and energy. Combined with the loss of Kindle Periodicals, we must rely more than ever on our reading community. Our hope is to be able to fund future years through subscriptions, the sale of individual issues, and through our Patreon. If you enjoy Apex Magazine and feel that we offer a valuable market within the speculative fiction world, then I would encourage you to please consider buying a yearly subscription or backing our Patreon. Subscribers and Patrons gain access to our Discord server, as well as other perks. Plus, you would know that you are helping us to pay our authors, artists, and editors. If you already back us financially, thank you!
I hope that you enjoy this issue as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together. It is my first as sole editor-in-chief, and I’m excited to share it with you.
Yours in reading,
Lesley Conner
Editor-in-Chief
Apex Magazine
