This is the story. Thank you, esp. to OKD editor @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social ! okaydonkeymag.com/2025/11/28/o...

"Trust me. You ain't ever encountered monsters like these before." The paperback edition of ENCOUNTERS is out now! www.amazon.com/dp/0648731596 With stories by @slimyswampghost.bsky.social @ttmaddenwrites.bsky.social @notmargopecha.bsky.social @rlmeza.bsky.social @cavaterra.bsky.social and more...

Obsessed with these micros by @jimmy-kindree.bsky.social 💕

There's only ONE (1) WEEK LEFT to apply to be a reader for OKD! Now's your chance to be part of a kind and committed indie lit mag team. Don't let Sad Jack 🫏 continue being sad! Learn more and apply by next Saturday, Jan. 31st at forms.gle/kAQyzPW3oR8Y....

Hey everyone! We've extended our preorder offer! You can now enter the giveaway until Fri 13th March 😱! Post your order confirmation or email it to [email protected] for a chance to win 1 of 5 paperbacks! Fifteen monstrous tales. Out Friday 13th March! 👻 www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4BLN1GR

A new year always brings change, and we wanted to share OKD’s recent masthead changes with you. In case you missed our January newsletter (buff.ly/oiRYEE5), we have three team members moving into new roles and two new additions to the team! The images (and alt text) below outline all four changes.

Huge CONGRATS to 2025 OKD contributor Amber Burke for making it into the Best Microfiction 2026 anthology with her piece "Dark Circles"! This year’s winners were picked by final judge Diane Seuss @dseuss.bsky.social. See the full list of winners at www.bestmicrofiction.com. 🫏

Want to read for an established, highly-rated, BOLD and WEIRD literary magazine? Yes, we're talking about Okay Donkey! The donkey, known as Sad Jack, would transform into monocle-wearing "Happy" Jack if you joined us! Learn more and apply by Jan. 31st at forms.gle/kAQyzPW3oR8Y.... 🫏

Happy New Year from OKD! 🎊 Our first newsletter of the year is… a Q&A with our editors! If you’ve ever wondered about the importance of cover letters or what factors contribute to a decision on your submission, look no further. Read on for more from OKD: okaydonkeymag.beehiiv.com/p/you-asked-...

Well, well, well... the donkey has sprouted a tail fin and jumped right into spot #8 on Charlie Fish's 2026 FISH List of lively independent literary magazines. We're so excited that we might just perform some water tricks alongside the donkey! See the full list at buff.ly/G8FaEQK.

We are proud to be lucky number 7 in the Bold and Weird category of Chill Subs Best Lit Mags of 2025! The donkey is always happy to receive compliments (but only when we pass on the message to him, since he really can't read, despite his protests). Check out all the winners here: buff.ly/Xw4HXk6

The holidays are upon us, and we continue to be enraptured by gratitude for this weird and wonderful life. Here at OKD, we're especially grateful for our many staff readers who enable us to treat every submitted piece with care. Learn more about our readers at okaydonkeymag.com/masthead/.

Presenting OKD’s Best Microfiction nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

Congratulations to OKD’s 2026 Best Small Fictions nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

Meet OKD’s Pushcart Prize nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

Pre-order offer! If you pre-order our new antho, ENCOUNTERS, you'll be in with a chance of winning one of five paperback copies on release day. Either post your order confirmation or email it to [email protected]. Fifteen monstrous stories. Out 02/14/26 www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4BLN1GR.

New little piece out today 🧖‍♀️

👹 @slimyswampghost.bsky.social and I are stoked to announce ENCOUNTERS with cryptids is now available to preorder! www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4BLN1GR Stories by @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social, @vilefable.bsky.social, @rlmeza.bsky.social, @notmargopecha.bsky.social, @jennystrath.bsky.social and many more...

I'm SO EXCITED to have a story in this anthology! Big big thanks to @andrewcull.bsky.social and @slimyswampghost.bsky.social for picking my story featuring a creature you might encounter in the Finnish woods...

Have you ever wondered how... • a literary magazine is run? • decisions are made on submissions? • to improve your chances of getting published by an established literary magazine? Ask our editors (almost) anything by 11/30: forms.gle/NiBR9KQG2PHZ... Answers coming in our January newsletter! 🫏

Love this haunting piece so much. For fans of Junji Ito, Charles Burns, and doubling down.

"I start drawing the spiral on the back of my hand in crusty ballpoint pen, refreshing it whenever it fades, so when the aliens come back they'll know right away who to trust." "Spirals" by @narwhallington.bsky.social, new flash fiction out today at OKD:

Our plans for November are here! 🔥$15 Basic memberships! 🔥Chats with residency directors & @1demerith.bsky.social! 🔥A monthlong Write-More challenge led by @okaydonkeymag.com associate fiction editor @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social! And more👇 litmatchcollective.beehiiv.com/p/november-p...

"I think it's the house trying to get in. It's testing out the walls, trying to dream enough space to crawl in." From "Which House," a new original comic by Mariah Gese. ➡️ buff.ly/6DlXGu2

I have a new story in @okaydonkeymag.com and I am so excited about it! I hope you like it as much as I do! okaydonkeymag.com/2025/09/19/1...

There is always a moment, writing in a second language, that we think we’re not ready, that we’re not ‘good enough’, as @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social explains in this last episode of Season 4. In the end, we realise there is no such thing as ‘good enough.’Language is always evolving, and so are we.

Had the pleasure to join the wonderful @norami.bsky.social on Chosen Tongue podcast. We had a great chat about writing in a second (or third!) language and all the feels that come with it.

New from me today. This one is close to my heart - a short fiction built around some artists & works that have lingered with me. Not straight ekphrasis but an attempt to write about some of the ways that art can work on us My deep thanks to Heidi & Steve at OKD for all their care with this one ❤️

"It's time to see Joel, but Pat says he can't – he doesn’t want to see him this way, which is dead." "Travel & Leisure" and "The Farm" by Linda Drach, new flash fiction out today at OKD. 📝

"Robin insists that we discuss our respective literatures to keep our minds agile. They say we'll need our problem-solving abilities when things get worse." "A Reading List for the End of the World" by Julia Rose Greider, new flash fiction out today at OKD. 📝

Everyone who applied to be a Fiction Reader has been emailed with a decision! Check your spam folder if you don't see that in your inbox. Thanks again for applying 🫶

Our Associate Fiction Editor has a piece out today in @ergot.bsky.social 👀 (cc: @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social)

“Ah,” he said, holding me at arm’s length. I gasped, out of breath. His expression had changed. “I, the—” I licked my lips. They’d gone dry. “What’s wrong?” “Your back.” Today on ergot.: 'Scorpion Eggs' by Heidi Marjamäki ( @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social ) www.ergot.press/authors/Heid...

Kicking off the weekend with this little beastie 🦂

Just over a week left to apply to be a volunteer Fiction Reader for Okay Donkey! In this role, you'll read and vote "yes," "no," or "maybe" on up to 10 submissions per week. • Read what we publish: okaydonkeymag.com/flash/ • Apply by Friday, March 21: forms.gle/JPzvJMpKXf27GKXB8

We’re looking for volunteer Fiction Readers! Come join our lovely little team and get your hooves on some of the weirdest, bestest stories out there. We’re taking applications until March 21st 💖🫏

"Still, when she visits him, she does not want to look different, unfamiliar. He still has some recognition. He seems to know her even if he can't say who she is." Two stories by Lavina Blossom, new flash fiction out today at OKD. 📝

I stand with Ukraine. Every decent person should. It’s not just a strategic interest. It’s a moral imperative. Slava Ukraini. 🇺🇦

Our Shirley Jackson tribute issue opens tomorrow! Read the guidelines here: bit.ly/4iA6H8u

We're No. 12! We're No. 12! 🏆 So many great mags on here, not to mention a really intriguing methodology. Check this out:

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 4: Meet our readers! Seven of them were generous enough to share a little more about themselves…

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 3: Meet our social media team, Christine Salek and Ashley McCurry! (Fun fact: They're both also longtime OKD Fiction Readers.)

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 2: Meet our poetry editors: Carolene Kurien, Eric Lochridge, and Jonah Meyer!

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 1: Meet our fiction editors, Steve Chang and Heidi Marjamäki!

Hey there! May we have the honor of being your... community favorite? We'll even make it super easy - Copy this: Okay Donkey Paste into "Poetry" and/or "Flash & Micro": tally.so/r/mKPJ4A Thanks for being part of our community! 🥇

A note from OKD’s founders, Eric and Genevieve, on some changes you may have noticed around here lately…

Ooooo this looks like such a cool workshop! And Steve is very wise and an amazing teacher 💖

Meet OKD's Pushcart Prize nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

Congratulations to OKD's Best Small Fictions nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

We're officially on a publication break until 2025, but that doesn't mean we're going away! Stay tuned for our Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, and Pushcart nominations this week and a special OKD staff spotlight later this month. 🌟