Christine Brandel | The Conium Review
Dear Detectives,. If you are reading this, it means one of two things: Ive been arrested or Im dead.. If Ive been arrested, youd damn well better have a search warrant before you go nosing around my private business. Instead of reading any further, just have a good think about yourself and your life choices, you fascist pigs.. If Im dead, however, Id like to help you out. I dont mean to imply that youre incapable of doing your jobs, though I confess I dont have much faith in the police (see Par. 2). Im just saying I dont want to end up a name scribbled on a cold case box hidden away in your stations basement.. First, we need to decide if my death was the result of natural causes, suicide or homicide. Have you found me crumpled on the floor underneath a tall ladder, my body bruised and covered in white paint? Theres your natural cause, my friends. Would you mind taking a minute to look up and admire the ceiling I managed to get to before my fateful fall? Thanks.. Otherwise, the ...
girls | The Conium Review
The ground is sinking quicker now, quicker than ever before, and all the people know it. Some leave, drive cars down river-roads, tires spinning without moving forward. Quickly, they abandon cars and steer boats, row or motor until the bow hits dry land somewhere else. But others stay, drink cheap beer, laugh as the water rises past their calves, knees, tickles their swamp-sweaty thighs. Their houses are set on stilts, but the water rises so high they must climb stairs to the second floor, to the attic. The water does not surprise them, but that doesnt make it any more believable.. The water cant hurt us, the parents say, as it fills their mouths.. Three girls stand on the roof of the house where their parents drink in the attic and watch the water rise, swallow fences, chicken coops, windows. Dogs try to keep their muzzles above water, but the girls do not try to save them-the fences, the dogs, the dollhouse in the first floor bedroom below-everyone has already drowned. The dolls paper ...
Duotrope | The Conium Review
Oct 31, 2013. Duotropes Digest just listed our upcoming Innovative Short Fiction Contest ($500 prize and publication for the winning author). You can find the listing here.. The contest opens to submissions on December 15th. If you use Duotrope, click "track" to add the contest deadline to your list of tracked markets. And while youre clicking around, why not click "Favorite This Market.". As always, remember to report your submission response times. The more authors that report submissions, the more accurate and useful the database becomes for everybody.. ...
Natural Bridge | The Conium Review
love #beaches #sand #stone #romanceme #younglove #ilovehim #hiking #suckiteasy #notmyhormones #ignorantpeople #kidsthesedays #fuckyou #perfect #sofunny #scared #frightenedher #herpoopface #bubbles #bubbleboy #blowingbubbles #camo #wow #haha #waxing #ouch #boyfriend #thingswedoforlove #lmao #brazilian #gettinsome #easy #leggings #shopallday #everyday #dinnertime #seewhatidealwith #waiting #boredinajeep #pregnantgirlproblems #whosaysicant #doitalone #proud #family #newbaby #baby #girl #united #firstbaby #soinlove #undescribable #bestfriend #fiancee #leftjob #sealions #salmon #sunshine #happy #gotengaged #isaidyes #morepregnantgirlproblems #antacids #guncontrol #chickentikkamasala #doessexcountasexercise #yesitshis #moving #neveragain #lies #brokenheart #dowhatyoulike #mommyandme #forevermygirl #daddyshome #breakingupishardtodo #makeupsexxxx #shouldnthavelooked #handincookiejar #actionsnotwords #lieslieslies #stop #fuckyouinstagram #eatme #blockeveryone #mommydaughtertime #nofilter #lovemymissy ...
Gilmore Girls | The Conium Review
Melissa Reddish recently wrote a piece for Monkeybicycles "If My Book" series-where authors compare their new books to strange things.. Melissa says "If Girl and Flame were a love letter, it would be addressed to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, Joan Jett, Garbage, Fiona Apple, Joan Didion, Margaret Atwood, and my mom." We couldnt agree more. Dig deeper into Melissas comparative interpretation of her novella here.. ...
burn | The Conium Review
Melissa Reddishs novella, Girl & Flame, came out earlier this week. Through August 31st, well be running a Goodreads Giveaway for her new book! As a special bonus, winners of the Goodreads Giveaway will also receive a complimentary copy of Brian Philip Whalens limited-run micro-chapbook, And It Will Be Called the Highway of Holiness.. Click here to enter for a chance to win one of five free copies available. Girl & Flame is an formally innovative novella that chronicles a womans search for self and understanding after her father, brother, and lover are consumed in a devastating fire. Sarah Rose Etter, author of Tongue Party, says "Reddishs prose dazzles and burns. Its a fire thats impossible to ignore." A reviewer for Sabotage Reviews calls the book "A daunting but dazzling blend of harsh reality and an eerie fantasy.". ...
Contributor Update: Ashley Hutson published at "SmokeLong Quarterly" | The Conium Review
Ashley Hutsons story, "At Sea," has been published at SmokeLong Quarterly. Congrats, Ashley!. ...
editorial response | The Conium Review
May 15, 2016. Our new Critique & Feedback submission option is now open! This pilot program lasts through May 31st. If theres a strong response, we hope to continue the service throughout the year.. For a $30 fee, you can submit to this category and receive extensive editorial feedback. Your feedback will typically be at least a page long (single spaced), including suggested revisions/edits, recommended reading, and answers to any specific questions you might have about your writing.. As part of the submission process, you can also have the critiqued work considered for publication (the piece will go through normal consideration channels; theres no favoritism or preference toward publishing pieces submitted as part of the critique service). Full guidelines are available here.. ...
free speech | The Conium Review
Feb 6, 2017. The 2017 AWP Conference is just a couple days away. Well be exhibiting at table 548-T, and were co-hosting an off-site event on Thursday, February 9th.. This years conference is in Washington, DC. Meanwhile, a few blocks from the convention center, a misygonistic xenophone sits in the white house. Consequently, this years AWP must be about more than schmoozing and afterparties.. Were a socially responsible publisher, and we typically donate copies of our print-runs to charities like Housing Works Bookstore Cafe and Open Books. At this years AWP Conference, were going a step further. We are donating 10% of all AWP sales to the American Civil Liberties Union. Just a couple weeks into the Trump presidency, and the ACLU has already challenged the Trump administrations actions in court. The ACLU has along history of demanding equal rights and fighting for our basic feedoms, and were proud to offer whatever support we can.. On a related note, we hope youll consider attending ...
2018 Innovative Short Fiction Contest deadline extended! | The Conium Review
The deadline has been extended for this years Innovative Short Fiction Contest, judged by Maryse Meijer, author of Heartbreaker (FSG, 2016) and Northwood (Black Balloon Publishing, forthcoming).. Originally slated to close on May 1st, you have two extra weeks to submit. The final deadline will be May 15th.. Full guidelines are located on our website.. You can upload your submission through our Submittable page.. ...
Glimpses | The Conium Review
Neila Mezynskis recent book, Glimpses, pre-dates her chapbook Yellow Fringe Dress (which I reviewed last month). It was released in 2011 by Scrambler Books, so its publication date isnt exactly ancient, but the book itself contains a blend of old and new work from this prolific poet.Yellow Fringe Dress, by contrast, contains more new material, and its ebb is collective in nature. Glimpses is a hodgepodge of different selections-but this isnt a major problem throughout most of the book. Mezynski told me that the older pieces were left in because they are "sincere work, which seems to make a difference." She added "[the poems] are my kids"-a sentiment that most writers can appreciate. Still, in some cases the old and new clash-there are two distinct tones running through this book, and they dont always gel.. So, when it is gelling, what does Glimpses do as a collection? It doesnt have the same extended narrative arc as Mezynskis newest book, but it approaches the thin (or perhaps thick) line ...
darkness | The Conium Review
The bodies of ladybugs are scattered throughout the house, withering into wings that still shine through coats of dust, like drops of rusty old blood allowed to dry exactly as they fell. No one has been here to grind them into paprika or bury them under the many overlapping rugs, or build any tombs. No one has broken Rutledges curse or admitted to believing in it. The house is in-the-family but the nearest neighbor is a wolf sanctuary on the next Appalachian ridge.. I lost my job in October and no one minded that I came here because no one was here. You can always fall back on family, especially if theyre away. I wouldnt be long though, just needed a rent-free space while I looked for the next thing.. I perch my empty suitcase on the spiral stack of old suitcases at the foot of the spiral stair. None of them look like mine, they are dusty, they are cracked, they are crocodile, they are unrelatable and unrepeatable, they are shades of green and yellow that nobody wants anymore.. Some ladybug ...
A Tennis Court | The Conium Review
Apr 8, 2016. Leesa Cross-Smith (author of Every Kiss a War, co-editor at Whiskey Paper, upcoming judge for our flash contest) has a new piece at Storychord. Check out "A Tennis Court" here!. ...
pub day | The Conium Review
Souvenirs and Other Stories hits shelves today! Were kicking things off with a Goodreads giveaway. Between now and June 30th, you can request one of ten free copies on Goodreads. Winners will be chosen at random after the giveaway period closes. ...
University of Pennsylvania | The Conium Review
You call yourselves the most successful animal in the ocean. At the top of the food chain for millions of years, despite your small brain. You say, who needs intellect? Or empathy, compassion-your offspring learn young all thats for weaklings and losers. You tell them, win at any cost. Youre under no illusion that its nice at the top; no its straight up competition for all youve got. But you get to cruise the oceans enjoying the view and never worry about whats coming for you.. Theres no prey shape to our posture, no surface marking to signal our lower strata. Some of us are stupid, some of us are smart. We have beauty, color, and art. Some of our bodies are wildly bizarre, others are shaped much like yours, rounded and tapered at the ends to reduce drag in the water. But underneath all our flesh is bone, while you are constructed entirely of cartilage. So you swim faster, and turn more tightly. Your jaw holds many rows of teeth that freshly regenerate every few weeks. Some of us dont ...
Dan Rosenberg | The Conium Review
Apr 6, 2015. Chelsea Werner-Jatzke will be reading at a Beechers Magazine and Blue Earth Review off-site event. Other readers include Ryder Collins, Athena Kildegaard, Rachel Mennies, Dan Rosenberg, and Pete Stevens.. Time: Thursday, April 9th at 9:00pm. Place: Uptown Republic, 3001 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN. Find the Facebook event here.. ...
Madrid | The Conium Review
Dec 28, 2013. Marc Schuster (Guest Editor of our Spring 2013 issue) was recently published in The First Day. Checked out his essay, "Is Nothing Sacred?" on their website.. Other recent publications include "Form 28" in The Ampersand Review, and "Madrid" in Apiary Magazine. He is also the author of The Grievers, The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl, Don DeLillo, Jean Baudrillard, and the Consumer Conundrum, and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.. ...
hair | The Conium Review
Some time during the night a tendril of hair shot free from Zoyzis tightly plaited hair to snatch the collar off the cat. Her therapist thought perhaps a pet might calm her agitated mane, but if anything, the small black kitten served as an amusement, a play thing for her predatory protein to tease and taunt until the game proved tiresome and ended with a snap of the felines neck. As she untangled the hair from the collar with the tiny silver bell, the strand resisted, winding itself tight in and around the pink leather in refusal to comply. She grabbed the scissors off the nightstand and cut it quick and clean at the scalp, sealing the long lock in a sandwich bag to suffocate it. She watched it slither from the collar and struggle against the ziplock. "You had your chance," she said and tossed it in the trash, slamming the lid closed against the frantic bell-ringing. She decided to give the cat to her therapist.. Unruly, her mother had said of her hair, a real birds nest particularly so the ...
Lauren Russell | The Conium Review
Some of Russells images are deliberately caught in the haze typical of post-dream remembrance, solidified as a theme early on with her poem "Fame," wherein the speaker proclaims "Fame is to wake up and find your dream transcribed on Wikipedia." The poem continues to circle this hilarious thought, but her levity becomes stoic at the end, as the dreamers remembrance destroys its own core: "In the dream called Fame, there are a hundred and nine contributors. / If the dreamer weights in, it is always at the risk of awaking.- / OneHundredandTen 15:34, 11 Apr 2011 (UTC)" And thus the poem ends, characteristic of Russells style: both witty and mundane, fun and bleak.. Other poems talk-or shout-at other recognizable moments from the life of every poet, or dreamer, or human being. As aforementioned, you wont find flowery bits with their lofty venerations: the other poems range from a clever look at the lover as "artifact," to complaints about supposed-smooth-talking guys on the subway, to a prose ...
God's Autobio | The Conium Review
Perhaps the most outstanding story in the collection is "Chimpanions." Reminiscent of futuristic stories like Daniel H. Wilsons recent novel, Robopocalypse, "Chimpanions" tracks the rise and fall of "a really great invention," seen through the eyes of an old lady who gets a Chimpanion to keep up with her friends. "Chimpanions (chimps + companions) were electric robot friends-pets you might call them, though they were so much more than pets." Except her Chimpanion just keeps killing people, seemingly in response to her commands. Or does it? A fatal "manufacturers error" by a company that makes Chimpanions and munitions means that perhaps she is not responsible for the murderous spree after all, although she has already tried to cover things up by feeding the corpses to the Chimpanion. The appropriate response by the end of the story is probably horror or disgust, but the whole story to this point has been delivered in such a matter-of-fact fashion that it is frankly hard not to crack a smile as ...
New Hampshire Girl | The Conium Review
It couldnt literally happen like that, but language is imprecise, so the girl disappears in a flash, the way a magicians assistant disappears, then rematerializes, on the other side of the auditorium. Or the girl disappears under supernatural circumstances, vanishes in real time before our very eyes, out of this dimension. Because energy never ceases to exist, she must be someplace, another world, an alternate plane, a space of which we dont yet possess an adequate understanding. The New Hampshire girls family lives in willful disbelief. Despite what the police say, they wont give up. Why should they? Isnt hope better than knowledge?. My sister, who is terminally ill, was selected from the audience by a famous illusionist for a part in his act. He caused her to vanish from one box and brought her back in another. He made her promise never to reveal the secrets of his trick. So far, she has not. One day, shell disappear again, and well know, despite our grief, that shell never return. ...
Kim Mayer | The Conium Review
Lit.mustest: "I Saw Them When…". Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98115. Wednesday, February 26th, 2014. 7:00pm to 9:30pm. Third Place Books in Ravenna and the Lit.mustest reading series present an evening with award-winning and recently published students and alumni from Goddard Colleges MFA in Creative Writing program. ...
landlord | The Conium Review
Before you embark on this impossible, Columbus-esque journey, know that failure is imminent and guaranteed. Stop being so naive. This is step one. Finding any sort of friendship between you and your landlord will be immediately decimated by a late rental payment. Or having friends over late. Or playing music too loud. Or playing music in general. Best to rip that band aid off now.. Stroll into the leasing office with your hopes up way too high. This is step two to achieving any great, unattainable goal. Not to mention it makes you look mouthwateringly gullible to the hungry eyes of a Landlord. The wet-behind-the-ears, young, careless renters are prey, for they will inevitably trash the place and never see their deposit again. But this time will be different. Tell yourself this over and over until you believe it. This is step three in the five-step plan. This time, youll do everything to make sure this landlord loves you. Your last landlord is history, so dont talk about that. Pray she doesnt ...
Ravi Mangla | The Conium Review
This first chapbook from Ravi Mangla has an ambitious premise, but it doesnt meet expectations. However, Visiting Writers represents a step toward a more cohesive authorial voice for Mangla. There is evidence of Manglas attention to detail throughout the chapbook, and even if the chapbook fell flat for me, I imagine that some of Manglas stylistic choices will evolve and serve him better in his next collection. All writers grow and learn as they revise their work, listen to critics (or ignore them as necessary), and reflect on past projects. I sometimes wretch when looking back at my work from five years or even five minutes ago; Ravi Manglas piece is fine-tuned enough that it doesnt force this gag reflect, but it still misses the mark. So this brutal review aside, Mangla may be an author to watch. Visiting Writers was contrived, and it almost used its premise as a crutch-hiding behind its literary references while failing to impress on its own merits-but when Mangla steps into his next ...
Bridget Brewer | The Conium Review
Fiction editor William VanDenBerg will be signing copies of his Caketrain Press release, Lake of Earth, at our 2016 AWP Conference table (#1238) on Saturday, April 2nd from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. Later that evening, hell be reading at an off-site even hosted by Caketrain & Solar Luxuriance.. The reading starts at 7:00pm at The Drain, located at 2232 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. in Los Angeles. The other readers include Rachel Levy, M. Kitchell, Thibault Raoult, Kit Schluter, Katy Mongeau, Leif Haven, Kristin Hayter, and Bridget Brewer. ...
Book Review: God's Autobio: Stories | The Conium Review
Perhaps the most outstanding story in the collection is "Chimpanions." Reminiscent of futuristic stories like Daniel H. Wilsons recent novel, Robopocalypse, "Chimpanions" tracks the rise and fall of "a really great invention," seen through the eyes of an old lady who gets a Chimpanion to keep up with her friends. "Chimpanions (chimps + companions) were electric robot friends-pets you might call them, though they were so much more than pets." Except her Chimpanion just keeps killing people, seemingly in response to her commands. Or does it? A fatal "manufacturers error" by a company that makes Chimpanions and munitions means that perhaps she is not responsible for the murderous spree after all, although she has already tried to cover things up by feeding the corpses to the Chimpanion. The appropriate response by the end of the story is probably horror or disgust, but the whole story to this point has been delivered in such a matter-of-fact fashion that it is frankly hard not to crack a smile as ...
"Filigree," by E. M. Stormo | The Conium...
Every friend group has the friend who everyone hits, and for us it was Tommy. He wasnt even our smallest friend. That was Jean. But Tommy received our violent affection.. At the bar, Lisa kneed Tommy in the gut and then elbowed him in the back because she got bored waiting in line for the bathroom. Tommy held her drink and salvaged it during the attack. The bouncer wanted to break them up, but it wasnt even the worse beating Tommy got that week. Wyatt slapped the shit out of him over Sunday brunch and afterwards, when everyone was saying their goodbyes, Bobbio did that thing where you point out a fake stain on someones shirt and poke their nose, except he broke Tommys nose with the maneuver. Jean drove us to the hospital in her minivan. The whole way there, Bobbio made fun of Tommy for his soft bones and weak cartilage. Tommy apologized to us for the inconvenience, stopping out the blood with some junk mail Jean had lying around.. I never hit Tommy in public. I liked to wait until we were ...
Gillian Devereux | The Conium Review
Nov 20, 2013. Printers Devil Review has just released a new issue, featuring several poems, a short story about queer life in rural America, and a story by David Varderman thats accompanied by illustrations from Harriet Burbeck. This issue also features excerpts from Gemma Cooper-Novacks novel Go Home Faster, Jade Sylvans memoir Kissing Oscar Wilde, artwork from Keith Francis, and more. You can find the issue here: http://www.pdrjournal.org/fall2013. Fall 2013 contributor, Thomas Dodson, edits and designs Printers Devil Review.. ...
AWP reading | The Conium Review
Come see our upcoming contest judge, Manuel Gonzales, reading from The Miniature Wife and Other Stories at the AWP 2014 Conference.. Manuel will read on Saturday, March 1st at the Washington State Convention Center, Level 6 for the event "Celebrating 20 Years of Extraordinary Fiction at Riverhead Books." The readings go from 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm. In addition to Manuels reading, youll hear recent work from Jess Row (author of Nobody Ever Gets Lost), Danielle Evans (author of Before Your Suffocate Your Own Fool Self), and Nami Mun (author of Miles from Nowhere).. ...
Portland State University | The Conium Review
The advanced preview of this falls issue is understandably low-budget, which is fine; I dont mind a low-budget. Our small press is no stranger to limited coffers. And in previous small press gigs, I worked on plenty of stapled zines made from cardstock and pilfered library printer paper.The sneak preview is basically a saddle stapled zine with 14 pages of internal content to choose from. Unfortunately, as far as zines go, its not that well constructed-unaligned pages, copy grade paper cover, and a single staple with teeth facing outward for a nasty prick to the fingers. But then again, its a promo piece, and I have to give them props for making use of the centerfold pages for a large, landscape piece of black and white artwork.But enough about the physical appearance-the final Portland Review issues are always beautifully assembled, with great artwork, perfect binding, and attention to detail. I just like to address the volumes physical quality, because layout and design is an important ...