STORY OF THE WEEK

STORY OF THE WEEK

Faith By Maryanne Chrisant

Faith

By Maryanne Chrisant
Jake died, and I waited for some sign telling me we should fare forward to this new place. We were buying it from the bank for a lot of money.

POEM OF THE WEEK

POEM OF THE WEEK

Mockingbird Ode By Craig van Rooyen

Mockingbird Ode

By Craig van Rooyen
So ramp up your heebie-jeebie preacher rant. Slip on your best bah-bah-doo dat-n-dat. Mock each and every sleepy word, tucked into its very own cotton candy cliché.

FINAL 2 WEEKS TO ENTER

FINAL 2 WEEKS TO ENTER

FINAL 2 WEEKS TO ENTER
Deadline: Mon., Mar. 31, at 11:59 p.m., PST.

The Contest is open to fiction and nonfiction writers. We’re looking for short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, and excerpts from longer works. See the Guidelines.

NARRATIVE FIRSTS

NARRATIVE FIRSTS

NARRATIVE FIRSTS
FIRST-TIME AUTHORS are a regular feature in Narrative. Read the works of some of the remarkable poets and writers who first appeared here.

NONFICTION

FICTION

NONFICTION

NONFICTION

John Irving at Iowa By Ron Hansen

John Irving at Iowa

By Ron Hansen
Suddenly John was there, in slim blue jeans and a rough white shirt that could have belonged to a Spanish troubadour or a sixteenth-century pirate.

FICTION

FICTION

Rapture Basement By Maud Newton

Rapture Basement

By Maud Newton
My mom didn’t want me to know that she was taking testosterone. When she started having the pellets implanted fifteen months ago, she ordered everyone who knew never to tell me.

POETRY

CARTOONS

POETRY

POETRY

Vaquero By Eduardo Martínez-Leyva

Vaquero

By Eduardo Martínez-Leyva
In Spain, folks call their denim jeans—vaqueros. As in, I’m going to slip into my vaqueros. Take my vaqueros to the bar.

CARTOONS

CARTOONS

Cartoon Art Volume 2025-02 By Various Artists

Cartoon Art Volume 2025-02

By Various Artists
New laughs over an increasing readership, a shrinking patience, and various non-starters.

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The Lucky Bastard By N. Jane Kalu

The Lucky Bastard

By N. Jane Kalu
Only now does Grace understand that for her mum, the 1993 election held so much promise that it caused hope to spread like a disease.

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Roanoke Rapids By Ashleigh Bryant Phillips

Roanoke Rapids

By Ashleigh Bryant Phillips
Tchaikovsky can be real sad. And sometimes Tchaikovsky can be scary. But it’s never real scary. Things always turn out in the end.

NARRATIVE 10

NARRATIVE 10

NARRATIVE 10

NARRATIVE 10

Narrative 10 By Chris Bohjalian

Narrative 10

By Chris Bohjalian
When I was in college, the writer in residence at my alma mater suggested, “Be a banker.” I knew I had a lot of work to do.

NARRATIVE 10

NARRATIVE 10

Narrative 10 By Allegra Goodman

Narrative 10

By Allegra Goodman
I just knew I had a calling. As an adult it’s good for me to remember what I knew as a child. Writing is more than a profession.