Only one more day of anticipation!

“I do really like a soft, matte red lipstick that doesn’t make me look like a drag queen or an elderly Mexican madam. I can spend some considerable time looking for said lipstick.”

—Amy Bloom

We can’t wait to announce the winners of our High School Writing Contest on April 15!

www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/poems...

“If there are two
and if they’re unaware that I am there,
they meet each other in the passage, pause
as if exchanging news,
then go their own ways home.” —excerpt from “Kronos” by Joshua Mehigan

@joshuamehigan.bsky.social

We can’t wait to announce the winners of our Annual High School Writing Contest next week!

Follow us to be the first to know.

“Loving you is every bit as fine
as coming over a hill into the sun
at ninety miles an hour darling.”

—Denis Johnson, “Poem”

www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/stori...

“Gradually, she and Carl had made up. At first they spoke only on the phone. Finally, she invited him over. Now they’re getting back together. The trip was his idea.” —excerpt from “Why Don’t You?” by Emily Russell

“Love enlarges. What you put out into the world, you get back tenfold.”

—Vanessa Hua

@vanessahua.bsky.social

Cartoon by Pat Byrnes

www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/narra...

“my heart barked in my chest

each morning, I didn’t dare go back to sleep—couldn’t bear to wake
twice to the same day” —excerpt from “That Spring” by Lo Naylor

April 1-10 is our free submission period. Looking forward to reading your amazing work!

“A well-meaning friend of my father’s once told me, ‘You’ll never be a writer.’ I’m stubborn.”

—Vikram Chandra

@vikramchandra.bsky.social

www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/poems...

“you come hot,
scratching at the throat,
marching between
one blazing Arab &
one crazy Jew.” —excerpt from “Ode to the Hebrew Letter ‘Chet’” by Maya Pindyck

Today is the final call for our Winter Story Contest!

Submissions close tonight at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time.

www.narrativemagazine.com/winter-2026-...

“I wanted my love to be everywhere, was sure

the little losses would strengthen what was left.

Then love began to bite its way through me.”

—Soren Stockman, “Blood Flowers”

Tomorrow is the last day to submit your work to our Winter Story Contest!

We can’t wait to read you: www.narrativemagazine.com/winter-2026-...

www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/stori...

“She thinks about their arrival. The cab ride in the dark. They’ll unlock the door. The suitcases thumping on the floor. She panics a little when she can’t quite picture the apartment.” —excerpt from “Why Don’t You?” by Emily Russell

“As we turned to face the mirror, I saw myself, and for the first time, I didn’t look away.”

—Andrea Lim, “Senior Spring”

Cartoon by Kendra Allenby

www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/unsch...

“‘I heard she hits her when she misses a note,’ Madeline says. ‘That’s where she got that funny-looking blotch on her face.’ We shudder as we think about how the scar might feel.” —excerpt from “Suzuki Method” by Jen Lue

“Words are harbingers, messengers of our time. They come into the world one way, and as the world turns, they evolve.”

—Carol Edgarian

@caroledgarian.bsky.social

Celebrating Narrative Prize winner Morgan Talty’s bday with his story “The Prepper”: www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/sprin...

“My grandfather had two children: a son and a daughter. Mom was first. I’ll tell the story even though it fills me with rage.” —excerpt from “The Prepper” by Morgan Talty

Our Winter Story Contest closes on 3/31!

The time for procrastination is over! Make those final edits, and hit submit: www.narrativemagazine.com/winter-2026-...