Literature

For decades, in a series of unsettling cases that have fascinated people around the country for their eerie similarities, young men who fit a certain “all-American” profile have been found dead in frozen bodies of water. White, college-aged, traditionally attractive, and presumably cishet, they tend to be good at school and sports and are often

I first read Jenny Offil’s Dept. of Speculation when it was published in 2014. Reading it again after the birth of my first child, nearly a decade later, I was newly struck by her concept of the art monster: “My plan was to never get married. I was going to be an art monster instead.

My Wife Pays Me and I Pay the Nanny Oliver Munday Share article “Feeders” by Oliver Munday The night before we met with Babette, Sarah and I had almost canceled the interview due to stress. At the time, our daughter, Sophie, was just three months old and refused to take the bottle. Sarah had had

Vi Khi Nào and Lily Hoàng’s collaborative text Timber & Lụa is a trilingual collection of ten short stories, each presented in Vietnamese, English, and a sui generis hybrid of the two, Vietlish. The book is structured to make its multilingualism legible and accessible: English is presented on the verso side, Vietnamese on the recto,

As someone who has been married for twenty years, I have heard Valentine’s Day dismissed as “a day for amateurs.” And yet for people actively dating or searching for love, it still carries undeniable allure. Long before it became about roses and prix fixe menus, Valentine’s Day was shaped by a legend of devotion and

Like many of you, I wake up each morning with the feeling that they’re coming for us. But then I think, they have always come for the queers. And we have always, throughout human history, stood watch all night over the fire. We have always taken care of each other, and we will keep on

Caesura by Victoria Kornick One of the most common symptoms of an oncoming grand mal seizure is the sense that it has happened before. Déjà vu, like an epileptic seizure, begins as a disturbance running through the temporal lobe of the brain. The sensation of déjà vu, in itself, can be a small seizure. It

Aaron Burch is the Rick Rubin of online literary publishing. Over the last two plus decades, he’s helped hundreds of writers jumpstart their careers, whether it was through Hobart, the online literary magazine he edited for 20 years; the micro prose journal HAD; or his latest project, Short Story, Long on Substack. Burch is also

When I Grow Up I Aspire to Be Nothing Like My Father Click to enlarge Highland Click to enlarge The post Nothing Is Wrong and That’s Terrifying appeared first on Electric Literature. Read the original article here

Alice Evelyn Yang’s sweeping debut novel, A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing, chronicles the experiences of a Qianze, a second-generation Chinese-American, whose estranged father reappears in her life a decade after leaving her and her mother. What follows is a whirlwind tale of Qianze’s lineage, spanning 93 years and two continents, tracing back through her father

As a Sri Lankan-American born in rural Appalachia, I have always sought stories with characters who connect me to a culture and heritage I can’t find in my own backyard. Having not seen my own heritage reflected back to me anywhere outside my own home, stories were the only way I could get a better

When my parents died, I expected grief. I expected flowers and casseroles, sympathy cards and awkward hugs from well-meaning acquaintances. I did not expect sticker shock. According to the most recent statistics from the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral with burial is $8,300. The median cost of a funeral with

Writing in Notebooks Is My New Personality Imogen Clarke Share article “Notebooks” by Imogen Clarke I first found out about the notebooks from David. Interesting that somebody so pedestrian would change my life, but I suppose it had to come from somebody. If it wasn’t him it would have been one of the others. Or

Emily Nemens’s Clutch is a sprawling, ambitious, and deeply-felt story of friendship. The five women—Hillary, Reba, Gregg, Carson, and Bella—are old enough for their fair share of regrets and responsibilities, and the book focuses on how they still show up for one another. Despite kids, addiction, ambition, parents, and career, these women will get on

As a shy junior high student, I had a love-hate relationship with my art teacher, Mr. Krezanosky. Love, because he paid attention to me. Hate, for the same reason.  “That drawing would be half good if we could actually see it,” he’d say. “Make it darker.”  I tried, but my version of dark was featherlight.

Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover of Acid Green Velvet by Grace Krilanovich, which will be published on September 8, 2026 by Two Dollar Radio. You can pre-order your copy here! The breathtaking and consequential first novel in nearly two decades from the award-winning author of the cult sensation, The Orange Eats Creeps. In the late 19th

“She was Radical” by Tanzila Ahmed “But where was she radicalized?” they’ll ask.  “Why here, in the streets of Los Angeles, born and raised,” I’ll say. 1. My mother said I didn’t cry when I came out of the womb. I suspect I side eyed this world from the get. Though I was born in

It is now officially the year of the horse, specifically the fire horse, which makes way for new beginnings, newfound energy for change, and a death of old patterns that no longer serve. Take a deep breath and welcome this newness after the reckoning that was 2025, the year of the snake. The year of