I feel *very strongly* about Apex and I want to live in a literary ecosystem where it survives and thrives. So, help me be good algae here. This metaphor is really wanting to go off leash so I should probably stop, but please back Apex if you can.

If you're looking for a short horror story that will have you sobbing, look no further than @avgreenewrites.bsky.social's story "Bubble Bath" which asks just how much a parent will do for their child, knowing they cannot be saved. Find it in our anthology, Tangle & Fen (link in bio) #horrorstory

I’m so honored by this review of Horror Vacui - and as a bonus, I’ve also got a solid list of stories to go read next. 💚

What’s a poster you had in your room growing up? (There were at least three other NIN posters, but this was the one right above my bed)

I’ve got a micro piece opening this installment, and the whole episode is fantastic!

I’m driving around in a giant ass suburban as an only-thing-available rental, and friends, there is absolutely no reason for a private vehicle to be this fucking big.

I pine for this gorgeous French restaurant in Nanjing, China (Les 5 Sens) pretty regularly.

This poor drenched cardinal is so pitiful and irritated.

Loved this story! "No one is ever really ready for a demon to drag them to Hell."!!! And the parenting scenes: so spot on, so solid and emotional amidst [the world] going to hell!

Please enjoy a brief respite from the moral, political, and social collapse of the United States, courtesy of the very real and inexplicably ungated walk-in storm drain next to my old junior high! Thank you @giganotosaurus.bsky.social and @tbonejenkins.bsky.social for the space to go long. 💚 🛶

I spent about two hours in the car wondering what happened to this truck.

Penguins. They are penguins. Penguins exhibiting well-documented penguin behavior. They are cute penguins who adopt a cute baby. It’s a book about cute penguins whose moral is basically that all kinds of families love their babies. pen.org/banned-pictu...

For the “read a childhood favorite” task in my annual reading challenge, I busted out Clan of the Cave Bear. Is it perfect? No. Would I be able to not just survive but thrive if I got stranded in the Pleistocene because of how many times I read this book in fifth grade? Thousand percent.

there should be a version of LinkedIn but it's called LynchedIn and we all post the weird and wonderful art we're working on

Oh man. This is absolutely wonderful but heed that content warning!

Oh god the customer service airline rep is gamely mirroring my anxious millennial fawn-response exclamation mark usage. The perkiness of this text exchange is becoming unbearably unhinged.

I made it all the way to the page with the hormone graph in All Fours before I realized I was reading a horror novel.

He’s not sleeping, he’s dead, Duo.

‘Monster Fuckers Club’…fucking brilliant by @avgreenewrites.bsky.social in @apexmag.bsky.social

I’m FINALLY watching Penny Dreadful, and my god this show came here ready to have a good time, huh?

This story is incredible.

Jesus Christ, old timey newspapers pulled no punches (1923).

I’m having a really hard time writing right now, BUT I have learned how to make the ever living fuck out of buttermilk biscuits from scratch, so at least it’s not a total wash.

Look, I’m as tired of a Lovecraft pastiche as the next guy, I just don’t know how else to describe the last two hours I spent cleaning out my fridge.

Last call! Closes tonight at 11:59pm CST

If you'd like to support Sheree, Apex is launching a Kickstarter this fall for an anthology she will be co-editing: The Map of Lost Places. It isn't live yet but you can bookmark it at the link below to be reminded. It's something she's been excited about. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

SEPTEMBER, 2023 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets (as reported to Horror Writers Association HWA, Los Angeles chapter) — "A selection of New or Reopening Market Listings this month paying minimum pro rates of 5 cents+ per word" ericjguignard.blogspot.com/2023/08/sept...

Does anyone know how long the “random ear-piercing pterodactyl shrieks” phase of elementary-aged human development lasts?

We've got a new month starting next week, which means it's new issue time! Here's a quick glimpse of Issue 140's gorgeous cover art created by Aaron Nakahara

Posting this here in case anyone is no longer active on the ex-bird. Subs open in just under a month! https://www.hungryshadowpress.com/submissions-little-bastards

This English major was unprepared for how much math was going to be involved in trying to write a short story about a rogue planet. Orbital mechanics are a whole thing, I guess.

New ill-advised bit of oversharing oversharing on my Substack!

Pumpkin lives in a perpetual state of Saturday morning.

This is a great episode of Print Run about private equity, AI, and publishing. Listening to this and knowing that KKR also recently (2020) acquired Overdrive, the biggest player in library digital lending is … upsetting.

Today's story is The Monster Fucker Club by A. V. Greene, published in the pages of @apexmag.bsky.social #139. Did not expect this subject matter to kick off the issue, was not disappointed. (Ever wanted to fuck a monster? Think again, mebbie!) Thoughts: https://wp.me/p8LkPa-2sy

Okay, I wrote down my conspiracy theory about book bans. “The point is that fascists don’t just want to remove copies of The Bluest Eye from our public libraries; they want to remove public libraries from our democracy.”

I have an essay in Nightmare Magazine called "The Un-Manored Gothic." It's a personal essay about MY relationship to gothic romances and horror and how I conceptualize writing those stories. If you like what you read, you may like my upcoming collection: Skin Thief. 🖤

Having a story in Apex has been the high-water mark of my year, and they’ve been one of my favorite SFF magazines for years (and I have Patreon receipts to prove it!). If you’re able to support them by buying an issue, please consider it. I’ve never once regretted my Patreon membership, either, btw.

It was supposed to be a phoenix but can also play a dragon or a pteranodon on TV.

I love this story about snakes and burgers and how hilariously and tragically impossible it is to be a parent at @hexliterary.bsky.social https://hexliterary.com/?p=1688

Oh it’s a new platform so I can express again my biggest problem with any Batman related media : PEARLS DO NOT BREAK THAT WAY THEY HAVE KNOTS BETWEEN EACH PEARL TO KEEP FROM RUBBING AGAINST EACH OTHER AND ERODING

If you want to help make sure we have a thriving short speculative fiction market for readers and writers alike, check out this site. Subscribe to your favorites. Pick up individual issues of zines new to you.

Happy Friggin Monday!!

I can fail all day long at writing stuff and jump right back up and cheerfully get back to work, but nothing throws me for a loop quite like experiencing a bit of success. Does this happen to anyone else, and if so, does anyone know how I can stop psyching myself out?

Look, it’s supposed to be a dragon, just go with me on this one please.

Hi BlueSky, I brought skulls!