H is eyes locked on the next one, as if catching them
m eant som ething m ore than just a gam e.
Before he could answer, she slung back the drink, turned from the doorway, and vanished into the kitchen shadows
He kept at it? an old fishing net from the garage rafters his only tool.
A m onarch slipped past.
He m issed again
H is jaw clenched
H is breath, clipped.
?Fuuuuuck,?
he said, drawn-out I jum ped.
I wasn? t allowed to use language like that? the last tim e I did, I tasted soap for a week
W hat was his goal? To catch them ? Or control som ething?
The m ason jar buzzed with orange and brown, a chaos of wings
He struggled with the lid, forcing it crooked until finally he dropped the jar into the m uddy yard.
OUR EDITORIAL BOARD
A hearing impaired writer and artist adopted in Luxembourg, Kelly Sargent is an awardwinning author of two memoirs in verse, a haiku and senryu poetry collection, and a children’s storybook. Recent honors include: Firebird Book Award winner, The Rash Award in Poetry finalist, Eric Hoffer Award nominee, Touchstone Award for Individual Poems nominee, and Best of the Net nominee. Her other works have appeared in more than eighty literary journals. She also serves as the creative nonfiction editor of TheBookendsReview. Visit www.kellysargent.com to learn more about her.
K.D. Zwierz is a lecturer, musician and poet. His poetry was recently featured in the anthology Ukraine in the work of international poets (Literary Waves). His writing explores themes of displacement, cultural identity and historical relativism, explored through the analysis of his own experiences growing up in a migrant farming community. Of PolishItalian descent, he lives and writes between Croatia, Kuwait and the UK.
Colby Flade (he/him) is a queer writer, artist, avid drinker of coffee, and student based in Chicago. He is the author of TheSmelloftheLightBlueHouseinSummertime (2021), Menthol(2022), FearHome(Oyez Review, Vol. 49, 2022), ShortSweetSimple:LovePoems (Bottlecap Press, 2022), IgnisFatuus(Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Issue 35, 2023) and TheFly&Odor(Beyond Words Press, 2023). Colby’s work can be found online, at bookshops like This Old Book in Grayslake, Illinois & The Book Teller in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. Flade attended DePaul University, studying Writing, Rhetoric & Discourse, and is currently pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. Find him on Instagram @theflade and on www.theflade.com
Noah Evan Wilson is a writer and musician based in New York City. His stories have been published in Beyond Words, Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine, and Prime Number Magazine, among others, as well as the anthology, TenWaystheAnimalsWillSaveUs , from Retreat West Books. Noah is currently an MFA candidate at Rutgers University-Newark. His latest record, The View fromtheGround – EP , is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Candi Martin is a Creative Writing tutor and published writer/editor who writes on social equality and our roots in this world. She holds MA Creative Writing and Wellbeing from Teesside University and has always written for her own wellbeing. She can usually found listening to BBC6 music with a huge cup of tea. IG: @candi_says
Brian "Brie" Sheridan is a writer and editor existing on the East Coast. They are currently trying to publish their first chapbook. In their free time, the enjoy playing nostalgic video games, planning out tattoos, and drag.
Roberta Laurie is the author of Weaving a Malawi Sunrise. She holds an MA in Environmental Education and Communication and teaches in the Bachelor of Communication Studies program at MacEwan University. Roberta writes about writing,
nature, sustainability, and sustainability communication. She is currently writing a memoir inspired by a box of letters left behind by her father.
deb Ewing writes, paints, and screams at the stars because the world is still screwed up. She improves what she can with music collaboration, peer-review at Consilience Poetry Journal, or designing books for Igneus Press. Follow @DebsValidation on X and Instagram. Read her self-distractions at FolkWorks.org and JerryJazzMusician.com.
Lachlan McGregor is a queer Sydney-based writer. Their poetry and fiction has featured in BeyondWords , BeyondQueerWords , and HalfandOne . Lachie traipses the globe playing queer rugby and enjoys petting neighbourhood felines. They have just completed their Masters of Creative Writing at Sydney University and enjoy monthly meetups with a brilliant writing group.
Erin Courville is a perpetual student and avid reader from Vermont. Erin has edited for The IsisLiteraryMagazine at the University of Oxford, In SumMagazine , and Parlor Tricks Literary Magazine at Williams College. She has acted as Editor in Chief for Parlor Tricks , and has published poetry with BeyondWords , Mag20/20 , ParlorTricks , and local newspapers.
Joseph Cusi Tian-Delamerced is a Filipino writer based in Connecticut with a background in medicine, education, and storytelling. He has won short story awards for pieces published in LIGHT , CreationMagazine , and BeyondWordsMagazine . You can find more scattered thoughts he weaves together on Instagram (@wordsbyjosephctd) and on Medium (medium.com/@joseph.ctd).
WRITERS
Kate Murphy Sanchez is a writer and mother based in San Diego, California. Find her on Instagram at @k.in.your.book.
Lina Buividavičiūtė was born on May 14, 1986. She is a poet and literary critic. Lina is author of two poetry books in the Lithuanian language. Her poetry is published in Matter , Masters and ProversePoetryPrizeanthologies, and the magazines:DrunkMonkeys , BeyondWords , The Dewdrop , The Limit Experience , Beyond Queer Words , Maudlin House , Cathexis Northwest Press , PoetryOnline , RedNoiseCollective , SadGirlsDiaries, as well as the Versopolis poetry platform. Upcoming publications include New Millennium Writings , CathexisNorthwestPress , RedNoiseCollective , TheStardustReviewand BeyondWords
E.J. Vega is a US poet and writer with Cuban and Gallego roots. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. He holds graduate degrees in writing and journalism from Columbia University and lives in New York.
Jay Oshiki (they/them) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Portland, OR. They received their MFA in creative nonfiction from Colorado State University and are the winner of the Hallie Brown Ford award in creative writing. They enjoy writing about gender, sexuality, and romance media.
Annaliese Crocker is a first year Creative Writing student at Falmouth University, UK.
Most of the pieces by Nicole Powers are about her mother. She was such a strong influence in her life. Now that she's gone, Nicole can't help but see her hand in shaping her own personality.
Amrita Mehr Aziz is a Bengali Poet and first generation Indian-American.
Lee Erickson, MA, LPCC, is a poet, grief therapist, and EMDR-trained Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. His poetry explores themes of identity, loss, and self-discovery, often drawing from personal experiences of grief, estrangement, and resilience. After the death of his older brother to suicide in 2002, followed by the loss of his father and a second brother to ALS, his work took on a deeper exploration of mortality and transformation.
Dick Altman writes in the high, thin, magical air of Santa Fe, NM, where, at 7,000 feet, reality and imagination often blur. He is published in SantaFeLiteraryReview , AmericanJournal ofPoetry , FredericksburgLiteraryReview , FoliateOak , LandingZone , CathexisNorthwest Press , Humana Obscura , Haunted Waters Press , SplitRockReview , The Ravens Perch , BeyondWords,NewVerseNews , WinglessDreamer , Blueline , SkyIslandJournal and others here and abroad. His work also appears in the first edition of The New Mexico AnthologyofPoetry , published by the New Mexico Museum Press. Pushcart Prize nominee
and poetry winner of Santa Fe New Mexican’s annual literary competition, he has authored some 250 poems, published on four continents.
Lunar Park is a student, poet, and writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2023, she earned a Silver Key in short story at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa.
A. Sans writes from the fracture lines of love, grief, and healing. Her poetry explores the raw spaces where intimacy and vulnerability meet survival. This collection explores love strained by addiction, the ache of unmet intimacy, and the quiet torment of waiting. With stark honesty and lyrical precision, A. Sans confronts emotional dependency, codependency, and the courage it takes to stay or walk away. Her work echoes with heartbreak, longing, and the quiet resilience of someone who continues to hope, even in the dark.
Meryl Branch-McTiernan is a New York City based fiction and screenwriter. Her 2024 film, "Katie's Mom," won the Audience Award for Best Feature at Dances with Films in Hollywood and is now available to stream. Her fiction has been published in TheBrooklynRailand The SouthamptonReview . She hosts the podcast, "It's All Write" with Ariana McLean.
Collette Grace is a Texan author who needs to write like she needs to breathe. She is a graduate of Texas State University with a B.A. in English and Religious Studies. She enjoys literary fiction with queer and romantic themes, though her guilty pleasure genre is apocalypse fiction. She currently works as an administrative assistant, and her hobbies include reading, writing, napping, and being plagued by e-mails.
Sebastian Moya is a writer of fiction and a poet. He was raised on the Borderlands of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, before graduating with a degree in Narrative Structure from the University of Southern California. His education continued by receiving an MFA from Brooklyn College where he was awarded a Truman Capote Literary Scholarship.
M. Anne Avera is an author and poet from Auburn, Alabama. Her work has been featured in HalfandOne , TheClosedEyeOpen , and other literary reviews. You can find more of her work on writeranneavera.substack.com.
Keith Halstead lives in the mountains that form the border between Bulgaria and Greece. He likes to write. He lives on the Bulgarian side.
Kimberly Bella lives just outside of Boston with her husband, college-student twins, and two cantankerous dogs. Her poems and writing have been featured in Beyond Words LiteraryMagazine,WomenonWriting , and in I Will Set a Place for You, the inaugural edition from SolidFoodPress . She holds an M.B.A. in Finance from Suffolk University.
Anita Liebscher is a poet, residing in Wilmington, NC with her hubby. She loves the outdoors, scuba diving, travel, reading, and playing with her wonderful grandchildren.
Noreia Rain received the Daniel Langton Poetry Prize in 2020. Her work has appeared in VastChasm , TheAna , TransferMagazine , WinglessDreamer's2021HalloweenAnthology , and BeyondQueerWords2023 . Writing, audio clips, and music can be experienced at https://noreiarainwords.wixsite.com/noreia-rain-words. IG: @noreia_rain_words. She is longing to walk in the forest again, to wander gardens in evening summer light.
Kat Correro is a Louisiana-based teacher and artist who creates poetry and paintings exploring love, identity, grief, and resilience. Her work turns mess into meaning and is featured in her forthcoming manuscript, Colliding Forces. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in counseling at LSU Shreveport. Find her art at kataclysmickreations.com.
VISUAL ARTISTS
Cover art: Nosyby Yoonji Huh Yoonji Huh is a dedicated student enrolled at a school in Seoul, South Korea. With a strong passion for the arts, Yoonji is diligently curating her art portfolio in preparation for university.
Christine Luna,FragmentsofMemory , 24x12, mixed media. Christine studied at Emily Carr College of Art & Design, Vancouver (Diploma Fine Arts) and pursued printmaking as her medium of choice, along with continuing drawing and color theory classes. She exhibited in Vancouver at Malaspina Printmakers, Six of One Gallery, the ECCAD Summer Show, solo printmaking shows, and at Arts Whistler, B.C. Now living in Toronto, she is a member of the Don Valley Arts Club (DVAC) where she continues to explore pastel and acrylic painting. She has exhibited at Todmorden Mills Gallery, the Sunnybrook Hospital Art Foundation, Artusiasm Gallery, Art for Cancer Foundation, Womens Art Association of Canada and has permanent work in The Michael Garron Hospital Arts Centre, as well as the Art Gallery of Ontario online show, Portraits of Resilience. IG: chrisluna_artist
Lawrence Bridges, Mother and Child in Lisbon . Lawrence’s photographs have recently appeared in the Las Laguna Art Gallery, the HMVC Gallery in New York, and the ENSO Art Gallery in Malibu. He created a series of documentaries for the NEA’s “Big Read” initiative, including profiles of Ray Bradbury, Tobias Wolff, and Cynthia Ozick. He lives in Los Angeles. You can find him on IG: @larrybridges
Inspired by great masters as Vrubel and Monet, Van Lanigh creates figurative and landscape pieces. Her unique style is a reaction to abstractionism in an attempt to capture surrealistic yet casual reality. This is especially underlined by new forms and materials used in Van Lanigh’s artworks aimed to achieve the viewer’s resonance between visual effect and message of the painting.
Paula Praeger, Clotof Uncontrol . Paula is an artist and a writer. Her prints have been exhibited in the United States and abroad and she has contributed artwork to literary magazines. Her poems were published in Hindsight , Cancer , MonthstoYears , CloseUp , VisibleInkAnthologies , the SadGirlsCluband HumansoftheWorldblogs.
Christoph Black, Whataretheystaringat?Christoph grew up all along the east coast of the US. Born In New York, but lived in Maine and Florida and Minnesota as well. He currently resides in Seattle WA where he works with individuals who have physical or intellectual disabilities for his day job. Once he is home you can find him gaming, writing short stories and poetry or of course painting. He loves to leave his art up for interpretation.
Aleksandra Scepanovic,Headscapes,TwoViews . Aleksandra is a New York sculptor whose work explores the human condition through fragmented forms, celebrating wholeness amidst fracture and transformation. Her sculptures emerge from lived dislocation from a childhood in then-Yugoslavia, through the surreal terrain of war, to quiet reintegration
across continents. Today, she works between Woodstock and Brooklyn, sculpting figures that resist closure and invite reflection.
Amy Salzman, ElBlommom . Amy is an artist from the Fishtown neighborhood of inner-city Philadelphia, a city known for its grit and diversity. As Philadelphia becomes more and more generic and gentrified, Amy found her artistic calling painting streetscapes as the neighborhood once was or is now in an attempt to capture Philadelphia as a city of neighborhoods. She paints the things she loves, urban life, diva bars and cityscapes with a unique perspective.
Oonagh Latchford, MainStreet (2002), oil on canvas. Oonagh is a visual artist based in Wexford, Ireland. Her painting practice, which is predominately figurative, explores the theme of memory and an interest in climate change informs recent work - seemingly unconnected areas of research, but which each serve as a metaphor for the other and both are subject to a type of erosion. A pink line has become a recurring motif within her work, wrapping itself protectively around people and memories – linking both to places in a visual way - interrupting the work, adding an element of abstraction and stopping it being read as a straightforward scene.
Cassie Boulis, RockFormation . Cassie is a teenage artist living in Atlanta. Most of Cassie’s artwork centers the LGBTQ+ experience and the development of identity.
Amber Allen, Higher,Ibelieve Amber is a contemporary painter whose work combines her passion for space travel, environmentalism, scientific theory and feminism. Always on the lookout for fun yet meaningful subjects, she explores the connections between our past and our future with a focus on space age themes as a metaphor for the human condition.
Leslie Brown, Crawlers . Leslie has an MFA in Creative Writing. Her digital work appeared on the cover of ZoeticPress , NBR:WorldTourand VarietyPactArt(Winter 2023/24). Future work will appear in ClosedEyeOpenand BurningWordLiteraryJournal . Other publications include PhoebeLiteraryJournal
Seoyun Park, Bound Seoyun is a high school student and emerging artist. Passionate about visual storytelling, Seoyun works to create evocative and thought-provoking pieces.
Donna Renee Turan, Liberty'sLament . Donna is a mixed-media artist based in upstate New York whose work explores emotional resilience, justice, and the unraveling of illusion. A former court assistant turned full-time painter, she creates textured, symbolic pieces that confront both personal trauma and collective unrest. Her work has been featured across New York State and can be found online at www.LadyReborn.art, on Instagram at @ladyreborn_by_donnarenee and on Facebook at LadyRebornArt.
Karin Reimondos, American Dreams. Karin is a freelance photographer, emerging international writer, and horse breeder, living on a farm in Sweden with her Welsh Springer Spaniels, Ben, Billy and Mickey. Karin writes poetry, non-fiction and fiction. Karin has had a poem published in Poet's Choice poetry book “Words That Heal” published in May 2025. Her first collection of poetry “Baby Steps Towards Acceptance” was published in June 2025.
A poem published in Poet's Choice poetry bookMylife,MyChoices , published in July 2025. A photo published in Beyond Words Magazine, Issue 59, July 2025. A photo published in Beyond Words Magazine Issue 60, published in August 2025. Forthcoming artwork submission to L'EspritLiteraryReview , Issue Seven, due out mid-October 2025 and her YA Novel will be published in winter 2025/20206. Karin's Instagram, FB and TikTok are “The Happy Household”
GJ Gillespie, WhenAllisSaidandDone.GJ +is a collage artist living in a 1928 farmhouse overlooking Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, WA. A prolific artist with 22 awards to his name, his work has been exhibited in 69 shows and appeared in more than 185 publications.
Christopher Ghattas, Lighter . Christopher is a writer and photographer with published works in previous issues of Beyond Words, High Shelf Press, and the New Plains Review. He is also the winner of the 2009 Emerging Creative Writer Award. Christopher is a biochemist with the CDC and has a B.A. in English and Rhetoric as well.
Vanessa R,Balance The slight vertical gold line in Vanessa’s piece symbolizes the balance of life. Paint made from acrylic colours.
Lior Locher, ExApple . Lior is a nonbinary mixed-media artist, mainly working in acrylic, and collage and printmaking. After having lived in 6 countries on 4 continents and being homeless at some point, they are now based at the English seaside. Their training is in personal development, coaching and therapy, they are fascinated by people’s inner lives and how we make sense of our own inner journeys as humans, and the inner dynamics and stories we tell ourselves.
KpartyMonster is a multidisciplinary artist whose work blends digital collage, emotional symbolism, and narrative depth to explore identity, longing, and liminal states of being. With a background in both mental health and visual storytelling, she creates pieces that speak in metaphor inviting viewers to decode what remains unspoken. Her art often serves as a mirror, revealing the tension between chaos and control, silence and confession.
Jenifer Fox is a self-taught watercolor portrait and figurative painter.
Robin Young, PracticallyPerfect . Based in Borrego Springs, artist Robin Young works in mixed media focusing mostly on collage and contemporary art making. Repurposing a variety of materials into lighthearted and sometimes disquieting messages; Robin’s artistic universe is strange, funky, sometimes perverse and always alluring.
Jinwoo Brian Park, HumanGarden Jinwoo Brian Park is a student attending high school in Massachusetts with a passion for visual arts. Brian's art portfolio encompasses a range of mediums and styles, reflecting his diverse interests and inspirations. Outside of his artistic pursuits, Jinwoo enjoys exploring nature, reading, and spending time with friends and family. He is excited about the possibility of sharing his artwork with a wider audience and looks forward to continuing to grow as an artist.
Jingwen Liu is a visual artist from China, currently based in New York City. She is pursuing a BFA in Digital Photography and Imaging at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Drawing from both Eastern and Western visual languages, her work explores themes of memory, identity, and the evolving relationship between technology and the human experience. Through photography, digital media, and conceptual storytelling, Liu investigates the boundaries between the real and the imagined, often incorporating personal and cultural narratives into her practice.
Michael C. Roberts, Basic Nature XI Michael is a retired pediatric psychologist whose photographs have appeared in TheCanary , Burningword , FERAL , ChollaNeedles , Cantos , RightHandPointing , Camas , AlchemySpoon , Rush , 3rdWednesday , TheWord’sFaire , and elsewhere. He has focused recently on minimalist style of reducing nature to its basic elements. His photographic book is available on Amazon: "Imaging the World with Plastic Cameras: Diana and Holga"
Sami Cave, SheWearstheBreakBeautifully Sami is an award-winning artist based in Texas, working primarily in acrylic and watercolor. Her paintings often feature animals and whimsical figures, designed to bring a sense of peace, playfulness, and inspiration. https://www.peacefulpainting.net/
J.C. Henderson, RedUmbrella J.C. is an artist and a poet. She has published visual art, including cover art, in literary and art magazines, both in print and on online.
Wednesdae Reim Ifrach, UniverseMoves . Wednesdae is an art therapist, artist, and poet who has worked across the mental health and art world. Their community art projects include participating in the Monument Quilt and working with Artful Practices for Well-being through the MoMA. Their art comes from the intersections of emotional expression, healing, and challenging societal norms around art.
Patricia Cannon, AbandonedBoatatBelvedere . Patricia has been a Registered Nurse at UCSF since 2001. With over two decades of experience, she has worked in various areas of critical care, including cardiac and neuro-intensive care, hematology-oncology, and school nursing. Outside of her work at the hospital, Patricia finds refuge and creative expression through her faith, photography, and poetry.
Joan Abraham, BlueSparks . After a successful 40-year career in Corporate America in senior roles in Finance, Six Sigma & Change Management, and Chief of Staff for a Technology executive team, Joan has retired from Silicon Valley Bank and now has the ability to pursue her passion in art. Her work features appealing color palettes and she loves to create eye-catching art that makes people stop, stare and smile. She has received wonderful feedback from her commissioned clients and was chosen to exhibit 10 paintings at ASU Gammage Theater in October 2023 - and has been selected to return in 2025. @JoanAbrahamArt
