SmokeLong Quarterly

Dear SmokeLong Friends,

Once again, we have a wonderful selection of stories for you. As I look over this batch, it strikes me that our authors have taken some serious liberties with reality: the full-on magic of “Womb Viewer,” the loose connections of “Salvador Dalí Eyes” (Press 53 Contest winner), the dreamlike language of “A Light Kneels by the Gutter,” the lying narrator of “True, False, and Floating,” the confused narrator in “If There’s Any Truth In a Northbound Train.” The stories are both playful and deep, in various ratios.

This issue also marks the end of our Kathy Fish Fellows’ year with us. We have been honored to work with Adam Peterson and Megan Giddings and to publish their stories this year. We wish and expect the best for them in their writing careers.

For those of you who attended our reading and improv performance at AWP in Seattle this past month—thanks for coming! We had a wonderful time. And if you haven’t wrapped your hands around our anthology, The Best of the First Ten Years, you can get yours online at Matter Press or stop by our East Coast Book Launch Party on April 26 if you’re in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Thanks to our weekly guest readers, who read a week’s worth of submissions in order to find that one story. We owe you guys. Many of our author interviews are conducted by these tireless people. Take a look!

Nancy Stebbins
Senior Editor, SmokeLong Quarterly