Short Fiction Round-Up #78

Welcome to the review of the twenty-three (23) stories I suggested on social media over the course of August 2023! If you missed any, here they are. 

If you enjoy any of these stories, I strongly encourage you to read more on the magazine's website and if you like more than one story there, please consider supporting them either through a one-time donation or subcription.

Fingers by Rachel Hein was published at The Rumpus in 2020. 
Children are fearless of the things adults shield them from ... until it's too late.

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HAD published Re-Entry by Marguerite Sheffer in July.
A story of how pottery can provide lessons for piloting spaceships.

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Phosphor's Circle by Annika Barranti Klein was published at Haven Spec in 2021.
Sometimes you just want to give your museum tour without the snarky dads input.

Monster of the Month Club by Marissa Lingen in August
What if your friend got you something exciting, like a monster each month you have to kill?

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fiction published In the Making by Tonya R. Moore in July. 
A wonderful sci-fi story about accidents turned into worse situations.

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The Time Bureau Came to Careers Day by Sarah Jackson was published by Strange Horizons in July.
A poem about your personal past and time travel.

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Nature: Futures published Eight laws I wound up breaking while attempting to restore the timeling by P.A. Cornell in July.
This is a hilarious little story about when things go slightly wrong when time traveling.

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FAQ: The "Snack Fight" Portion of your Thesis Defense by Luke Burns was published by McSweeney's in 2010.
Thesis defense does feel like defeating snakes.

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RE: Thesis defense issue by kalirush is an AO3 fanfiction of the previous McSweeney's story published in 2020.

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Lightspeed published So, You Married Your Arch Nemesis . . . Again by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor in 2022.
A cool story with excerpts from "larger" stories to tell it. Also, what a love story.

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The Power Of by Mel Grebing was published by Manawaker Flash Fiction Podcast in July.
A beautiful piece that tackles whether a protagonist must have agency.

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The Wife's Story by Ursula K. Le Guin was originally published in 1982. 
​A story that challenges your preconcieved notions of what is happening in the story.

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If There's Anyone Left published Five Tips for Sealing Away an Ancient Evil by Ann LeBlanc in 2020.
Absolutely perfect from step one to ... six?

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Mr. Death by Alix E. Harrow was published at Apex Magazine in 2021.
This story made me cry. Have a box of kleenex nearby.

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Diabolical Plots published

Interstate Mohinis by M.L. Krishnan in June
A story about a monster who falls in love.
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Glass Moon Water by Linda Niehoff in July
A bit of humor, a bit of nostalgia for those summer days as a kid - if the dead swam with us.

The Dryad and the Carpentar by Samara Auman in July
What happens when a dryad is neighbors with a carpenter?

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Funerary Tea by Anne Leonard was published by Daily Science Fiction in 2019.
What if someone told you the unflattering truth about a deceased loved one every time you served them tea?

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Metaphorosis published A Wielder Does Not Know Regret by Katherine Karch in August.
A story where the ending changes the meaning of the title and the rest of the story.

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Songbird, Jailbird by Pauline Barmby was published at Stupefying Stories in July.
A flash piece with a bit of a joke about writers block.

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New Millennium Writings published Persephone by Amina Gautier in 2022.
A beautiful re-telling.

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The Princess with Blood on Her Dress by Jared Povanda was published by Milk Candy Review in July.
Do you see the ending?

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Small Wonders published The Only Way Out by Louise Hughes in August.
When a taxi driver is the only one who can save a family.

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Looking for another speculative fiction market? I didn't highlight much horror this month. The Speculative Fiction Magazine Subscription reference site can help you find just what you're looking for.