Not all monsters of childhood live under the bed. Some of them live in your closet, quietly eating your dolls and clothes and much, much, more, as Stacie Turner's story "Like Sunlight, Like Poison" teaches us.

My sister tells me, as she leans forward, wine on her breath she tells me. Both of us a little drunk She tells me. About her math teacher and how he wasn’t a safe man. - from "Drunken Supernova" by Keira Perkins

In "Tasks for the Mourning, or Flowers as for Flesh," by G.E. Woods, we learn one possible approach to dealing with your resurrected past.

We know that the narrator of Amanda Mitzel's poem "Personals Ad" is forty-one, soft-spoken, and more odd and interesting than they first appear.

Psst, hey, kid, want to go to Mars? Based on what we see in Zohar Jacobs's story "On the Bare Unwelcome Shore," you might want to re-think that plan.

What if your sister died? What would you pay to bring her back? In "Hungry Ghosts," by Miranda Rain, the answer is...well, you'll have to read it to see.

"Scoop" is the second story in this month's issue to involve scooping, though this one, by @retreasure.bsky.social, involves magic snow and ice cream for dessert.

Granny would grin, teeth like neglected gravestones, activating all her laugh lines. “Don’t get old, I wouldn’t recommend it.” So begins Wen Wen Yang's story, "Granny's Spider," which goes places very quickly.

Did you miss Mo Usavage's story "Erosion" from Issue 22? There's clay and grandfathers who are sons and a man who falls from the sky.

Your childhood will take an odd turn if you're born in the afterlife because your mom took poison, as we learn in Gordon Brown's story "Birthmarks".

I had a story come out today! If you think too much about fairy tale witches and also murder and complicated relationships, this one is for you. theorangebee.substack.com/p/tasting-no...

FFer Read of the Day: "Lexicographer of Quiet Corners of the Mind" by @bogiperson.bsky.social in @smallwondersmag.com smallwondersmag.com/piece/lexico...

"Five Easy Hairstyles for Snake-Haired Girls," by Jelena Dunato, delivers on the promise of stylish hairstyles for Medusas on the go.

Have you read the poem "False Beet" by RJ Aurand? It's a striking piece about consumption, death, and rebirth.

Submissions are OPEN for Year's Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume Four (the best of 2025). Send me your SFF published in 2025, you crazy Canucks! Details on my site at the link below. DON'T SELF REJECT! You can't win if you don't play ;) Subs close Feb 28, 2026. Pls share WIDELY.

Not every dream we visit is a pleasant one, especially when we know how it turns out. Well, the narrator knows how it turns out. For you to know, you'll need to read the poem "You're Dead & I'm Safe & Still I Dream of You" by @smhallow.bsky.social.

The narrator of "Katya's Microscope," by Monica Joyce Evans, has a friend with a dog, a microscope, and a deep interest in blood.

If you lived in a land replete with gods and miracles, maybe you, too, would find a way to spread those miracles around like the protagonist in Malda Marlys's story "Bite by Bite and Lie by Lie," from Issue 22.

death is in. mycelial decay is in. THE DEADLANDS COINS ARE IN.

Absolutely gorgeous read 🥄👀

Very excited to have a speculative flash piece out with Small Wonders today!

Whomst among us hasn't had a mother who scoops out her eyes with a spoon and lets us play with them? But that's just the beginning of @montanna-harling.bsky.social's story "Oleander".

There are several great magazines fundraising right now, or about to start fundraising, and we encourage y'all to support them!

It is the spooky month, and we have a spooky cover for our spooky October issue! @elizabeth-space.bsky.social's art perfectly complemented our issue's stories and poems. Get your copy of Issue 28 or sign up for a subscription at our store! store.smallwondersma...

Excellent point. We have our no-AI policy for submitters of both words and art (smallwondersmag.com/submissions/) but haven’t explicitly spelled out that we don’t use AI in place of first readers, to summarize pieces, or to talk to our contributors or staff. We’ll add that to our site.

New issues of Dirty Magick, @lightspeedmagazine.com, @nightmare-magazine.com, @locusmag.bsky.social, @flashfictiononline.bsky.social, @smallwondersmag.com, are here for the month of October, and many of them are spooky! weightlessbooks.com/2025/10/

September MicroVerse roundup is out!

“A Week at the Raven Feather Salon” by @carrievaughnco.bsky.social from @lightspeedmagazine.com, “A Runaway Android’s Guide to the Oro-Ti Night Market” by @mruthrobinso from @smallwondersmag.com, and more short fic recs from @cypayseur.bsky.social

Glance up at the waning crescent moon and consider, what if it had a mind? What would it want? And how would it get it? Aimee Ogden's "To Persist, However Change" in our third issue does a fabulous job with a strange point of viiew:

Super grateful for this generous review and recommendation of “A Runaway Android’s Guide to the Oro-Ti Night Market,” online now at Locus (and super grateful to @smallwondersmag.com and guest editor @premeemohamed.com for giving it a home in the first place, too): locusmag.com/review/gigan...

Tehnuka's "I Welcome the Ant Colonies in Our House" in our issue 21 is a quiet story with a heart full of marching ants:

Sometimes, the bees take you where you need to go. Find the time today for "Bee Kept" by @jordanrhirsch.bsky.social:

Myna Chang's "Let us Dream" is a scifi horror poem that will take your breath away. Read it here in our third issue:

Oh hey, we spot a Small Wonders story in there! timothyquinn.bsky.social's The Warfighter in issue 23! smallwondersmag.com/piece/the-wa...

$2.99 a month for some really amazing stories and poems, right in your inbox! store.smallwondersmag.com

Pause before you pluck those blackberries from the brambles on the side of the road, and consider what's nurtured them. Read "The Lure of Blackberries" by R.L. Summerling in our issue 21:

Take a break today for whimsy, somewhat mad science, and cats. Discover the secret ingredients in "Dr. Hypha's Laboratory" by Brian U. Garrison:

I love a little twist on a fairytale retelling! Read this story "Princess Lilaclaire and the Witch’s Frog Faire" by my friend @indigorue.bsky.social in @smallwondersmag.com. I promise you won't be disappointed 🐸👀

I loved this one!

Quarantine was a rough time. We're not judging anyone for their hobbies or coping mechanisms. Especially not the protagonist of Rachael K. Jones's story "How My Sister Talked Me Into Necromancy During Quarantine" in our third issue:

You should absolutely go read this story by my writing friend @indigorue.bsky.social! It is a delightful little sliver of self-discovery.

It’s never a bad day for auto-cannibalism!

Auto-cannibalism, transformation, messy family relationships and more: "Erysichthon’s Daughter" is a story that has it all and holds it all together wonderfully. Read this story by M.R. Robinson in our issue 21 today:

Read this at once! It's marvelous 🐸

My story is out in Small Wonders today! “What was supposed to happen was this: on the faire’s opening day, Princess Lilaclaire would visit the pond, kiss a frog into a prince, share a candy apple with him to test their true love, and live happily ever after.” Read to see what actually happened…

Something has gone awry at the faire this year, and Princess Lilaclaire is not having a great time. Check out "Princess Lilaclaire and the Witch's Frog Faire" by @indigorue.bsky.social today and see what happens when the frogs just aren't cooperating:

Look, the zombie apocalypse is no cause to neglect the garden and the food it provides. Grab your gloves and boots and read "A Gardener Teaches His Son to Enrich the Soil and Plan for the Future" by Jennifer Hudak in our third issue:

Today needs a meet-cute involving a malfunctioning magical toaster. If you agree (and you should) you'll want to read "The Appliance Crisis" by Beth Goder in our issue 21:

When humanity is gone, what will happen to the guardians left behind? Our reprint today is "The Last Sentinels" by Dawn Lloyd:

A beautiful story on the power of kindness from Ian Li. Check it out! @ianli.bsky.social