In case you missed it- our Spring 2026 Issue is out and ready for you to dive in!

pocket children — Peatsmoke Lucinda Trew there is a woman in my dream, shimmering  in thin prairie sun, standing still as stone in wind that bends wheat to its knees

Image published in current issue of @psmokejournal.bsky.social.

www.peatsmokejournal.com/spring-2026-...

The Starling — Peatsmoke Sarp Sozdinler The room filled with honeyed light, or maybe the syrupy memory of it, and the birds gathered in the corners, clicking their beaks in gratitude.

'I began collecting their shadows in a notebook, marking days when the cooing grew loudest, or when I’d find a feather stuck to my socks.'

A beauty to enjoy by @sarpsozdinler.bsky.social in @psmokejournal.bsky.social

www.peatsmokejournal.com/spring-2026-...

The Starling — Peatsmoke Sarp Sozdinler The room filled with honeyed light, or maybe the syrupy memory of it, and the birds gathered in the corners, clicking their beaks in gratitude.

Sometimes I think they are just the shape of her silence.

Beautiful!

@sarpsozdinler.bsky.social @psmokejournal.bsky.social

www.peatsmokejournal.com/spring-2026-...

I’ll Never Forget — Peatsmoke Kyle Weik The clouds storming in faster. My heart racing as you climbed higher and higher and higher. Your backpack slipping and falling back to earth.

The softness of your hand. The way it led me through wire fences and buckthorn thickets without a scratch.

So good! Kyle Weik @psmokejournal.bsky.social

www.peatsmokejournal.com/spring-2026-...

Another stunning piece from @psmokejournal.bsky.social they’re on 🔥 this week!
@kyleisamu.bsky.social‘s piece is stunning, and the ending! Ohmigosh, heartbreaking and perfect! 🤩

🦋“Longing” by Kelly Haneklau
🦋“Pink Haired Woman Merged” by Howard Skrill

Painting of a meadow in shades of yellow and green with tall grasses in the foreground.

BANNER ART
“Meadow after Dion Salvador Lloyd” by Judith Skillman

ART continued
🦋“Double View” by Kateryna Bortsova
🦋“Weathered Not Worn” by Chris Bible
🦋“Difference Noted” by Chris Bible
🦋“(t)rust” by @abbiedollwrites.bsky.social
🦋“The Golden Earring” by Najib Joe Hakim
🦋“Time After Time” by Najib Joe Hakim
🦋“Image 9” by David Rubenstein
🦋“Lies” by M.L. Tucker

ART
🦋“Meadow after Dion Salvador Lloyd” by Judith Skillman
🦋“Yellow Bird” by Chris Espenshade
🦋“Bar-Belle” by Devon Balwit
🦋“Alluring” by Devon Balwit
🦋“Ekstasis” by Ana Prundaru
🦋“Gap Year” by Ana Prundaru
🦋“Crowned Chase” by Rebecca Joe

POETRY
🦋“Fruitless” by Jennifer Sepso
🦋"Panspermia: A Love Story" by Edward Thomas-Herrera
🦋“Observer Effect” by Grace Lynn
🦋“My Girlfriend Pries Up Rocks” by Eloise Schlutz
🦋"From a Line of Du Fu" by Tom Laichas
🦋“pocket children” by Lucinda Trew
🦋“stage manager at the dance hall” by Nick Crowley

FLASH
🦋“I’ll Never Forget” by Kyle Weik
🦋“Slightly Hungover Co-workers Prefer Communicating Through Slack” by Subhravanu Das
🦋“My Last Dance with God” by Cora Schipa
🦋“Another Word for Starling” by @sarpsozdinler.bsky.social

FICTION
🦋“Instructions on Living a Life” by Rebecca Burden
🦋“If This Isn’t Your Dream Date, Then Tell Me What Is” by Katie Todd
🦋“All the Nights Are Long Now” by Mollie Hogan
🦋“Boys Like Buckshot” by Christian Fuller

We are thrilled to announce the release of our Spring 2026 Issue! What a great time of year to read something new!
NONFICTION
🦋“The Language We Share” by Akemi Ueda
🦋“Phil Connors is on the Spectrum” by Jeffrey-Michael Kane

"She believes in karmic retribution and she believes in real love stories."
Read "Nothing Ever Happens" by Edie Patterson, and be in love with everything.
Art: “Perch” by Lauren Suchenski

"In the distance, the fire kept burning. There was nothing else for it to do."
Read "Mother Talk" by Camille Pirtle, accompanied by a mini-interview with the author!
Art: "Around the Riverbend” by David Summerfield (originally published in The Words Faire Literary Magazine)

"Does he understand what I’m saying? Does any of this mean anything to him?"
Riveting and utterly intriguing. Read "URGENT: New Home Needed" by Jess Peng today!
Art: “Atleast Once A Year” by Shanmukh Gollu

Bodies in Bags: Stories Stories

It's alive!!

BODIES IN BAGS is out there in the world. With another kickass cover from @egallagher.bsky.social

It's not going to be for everyone, but if you're into dark, gritty crime fiction, I hope you'll check it out.

bookshop.org/p/books/bodi...

Blue flier with I’M THE UNDERTOW fun fact: IN THE NOVEL, THERE IS A SCENE IN BARNES & NOBLE. I DIDN'T WORK AT B&N, BUT IN COLLEGE, I WORKED AT BORDERS BOOKSTORE IN SANTA BARBARA WHERE I MET A SLEW OF CELEBRITIES, MOST NOTABLY: JEFF BRIDGES, JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, TROY AIKMAN, MARCUS ALLEN, JENNIE GARTH, AND MY FAVORITE: KATHY BATES.

8⃣ Tuesdays til launch!

🌊I'M THE UNDERTOW Fun Fact Countdown!

"He looks tired but peaceful, like a man who has finally found something to hold."
Read "Good Grief, Florida Man" by Bethany Bruno to find out what's behind the headline.
Art: “Even the Ocean Has Ears” by Carella Keil (originally published in The Storms Issue 2)

"Although both truth and utility change over time. In both directions."
Dilemmas. Read "Central Time" by J. M. C. Kane
Art: “Full Moon Over the Dom” by Nuala McEvoy

"So, together, she and the new boyfriend, they just weren’t “baby” type people, it seemed, or at least not earnest baby type people."
Read "Baby" by Marie Buck and ponder your baby-ality.
Art: "忠孝東路 Loyalty and Filial Piety East Road" by @acadialogue.bsky.social

"You feel hands that are not there, cold and clammy and pink, crawling up your thighs, spreading and pinching where your armor is not strong enough to protect you."
Suit up in your armor and read "This Is How to Burn a Witch" by Aeka V. Joshi.
Art: “Selene’s Horses” by Audrey Holmes

"I'll Be Waiting" by Ani King chosen for the Monarch Queer Literary Awards! "...I wanted to touch your hand that was touching your collar, I wanted to touch your collar that was touching your neck, I wanted to touch your neck." -Excerpt from "I'll Be Waiting", published in our Spring 2025 Issue

We'd like to extend our sincerest congratulations to @aniking.bsky.social for being chosen for the Monarch Queer Literary Awards!

In case you have missed it: we are OPEN for submissions!

This one feels extra special and thanks so much to @psmokejournal.bsky.social for publishing and nominating “I’ll Be Waiting” 🫶🫶🫶

🧣"忠孝東路 Loyalty and Filial Piety East Road" by Lilith Acadia Bluesky: @acadialogue.bsky.social
🧣“Around the Riverbend” by David Summerfield
🧣“Even the Ocean Has Ears” by Carella Keil

ART
🧣 BANNER: “Selene’s Horses” by Audrey Holmes
🧣 “In Pursuit of Eurydice” by Haley Cole
🧣“Atleast Once A Year” by Shanmukh Gollu
🧣Full Moon Over the Dom” by Nuala McEvoy
🧣“Perch” by Lauren Suchenski

FICTION
🧣“URGENT: New Home Needed” by Jess Peng
🧣“Mother Talk” by Camille Pirtle
🧣“The Doge of Flatbush” by Trent Lewin
🧣“Nothing Ever Happens” by Edie Patterson