Musings from Maryland
Welcome to Apex Magazine Issue 155!
In this issue, we’re exploring family, those we’re born into and the ones we choose for ourselves.
In a house at the edge of the woods lives a witch. Adults whisper about her, children dare each other to knock on her door. Inside, the witch is unbothered until a small boy has something larger to fear than a witch. “Rosewater” by Rachel Alm explores monsters and motherhood in this touching story.
“Compliance” by P.A. Cornell asks the reader when is it okay to make a choice for someone who is unable to make that choice for themselves. Jessa and Thea live in a world where infants are implanted with a chip that takes away any form of choice. Children immediately comply with any command given to them, because they’re unable to say no, or even to know if they would want to say no. At eighteen, this chip is removed, and the consequences, as you can imagine, are … messy. I love this story so much because it doesn’t shy away from the complexities that are inherently wrapped in this idea. How do you protect someone who can’t say no? When is it okay to make life altering choices for those people? How do you deal with the fallout?
Malachi Lily’s “They Calls Me Freedom” is a touching story about a young child finding a fish spirit trapped in the Florida swamp. Freedom frees the spirit from the tangle of the swamp and takes them home to their family, but the fish spirit isn’t what Freedom believed it to be and their family doesn’t welcome it the way Freedom believed they would. Told in Swamp Tongue, this story is complex and deeply sad, giving the reader a small glimpse into a universe full of stories for Lily to explore.
Magical surgery isn’t a theme I feel we’ve explored a lot in Apex Magazine, but Kel E Lyle brings us a spectacular example with “Heartrending.” Living in a society where couples exchange hearts as part of the marriage ceremony, our narrator can’t imagine wanting to get married. She knows that she won’t have a choice—soon, her parents will arrange a marriage for her—but she’d rather keep her own heart, or exchange with one of her close friends, Ophelia and Camille, if she must. Trapped by societal norms and her parents’ expectations, the narrator must figure out a way to navigate the few choices she can make for herself.
Our flash fiction this issue delights in the prose and the language while exploring final moments. "One Two Three" by Hannya Kay for our MOON DOGS & SUN DOGS theme is one sentence—a frenetic, terrifying piece. "Beyond the Edge of the World" by Maro Reus for the WITHOUT A MAP theme brings readers into a rich world, familiar and unique at once. "A Lullaby for Dying Fish" by Gwendolyn Hicks for ELEGY is a short, chilling piece that creates a world from a few words, leaving just enough to the imagination.
Our reprints this month are by Phoenix Alexander and Allison Thai. Mary G. Thompson brings us a piece about writing sideways and Ed Grabianowski explores the zen of Godzilla in our nonfiction essays. This issue’s author interviews are with Rachel Alm and Malachi Lily, and Bradley Powers discusses art and community with our cover artist and designer Justin Stewart.
I’m writing this just as we’re coming down to the last few days in the Apex Magazine 2027 Kickstarter. I don’t know yet if we’ll fund, but I’m hopeful, and in the spirit of that hope, I wanted to thank everyone who supported this year’s campaign. Running a magazine like Apex takes a community. A community of editors, writers, and readers who all come together to create something that is beautiful and full of life. Thank you for being part of that community.
Yours in reading,
Lesley Conner
Editor-in-Chief
Apex Magazine