Art Poetry Prose Photos Books&... Links Archives About Home

Art Poetry Prose Photos Books&... Links Archives About Home

 

Writer by Matthew M. Devlin

Anderson was a cripple. His gnarled fingers worked the keyboard, forming slow sentences. Whenever he stopped he would pause, as if deep in thought, reflecting on the words he had written. In truth, each sentence was a struggle.

 

The Uncommon Man by James G. Piatt

The uncommon man in his uncommon room was uncommonly exceptionally groomed. His mind was uncommonly dark, and his teeth so sharp looked for common prey his singular mark. His pinstriped suit and his Rolex watch he thought made him look rich as he sipped his aged scotch.

All Through The Night by Crystalwizard

Throughout the night, I heard their screams of pain. I tossed, I turned, I put the pillow over my head. Nothing helped. Those poor creatures, locked away, pleading desperately to be released.

The Librarian's Lot by Tom Sheehan

"Special delivery, Ma'am," the man said, handing Gladys Towbridge the packet of mail he'd extracted from her mailbox. His casual smile matched his clothes, comfortable and durable. "I'm looking for a room and was told at the depot I'd get accommodations here. I left my bag there just in case. I am Augustus Emberly. I've come a long way and would rather not move on right now."

Kerosene Heat by JB Hogan

Hays woke about four-thirty a.m., afraid to move, the blankets and sheets so icy he feared the chilling effect of even the slightest accidental contact. He lay completely still for at least ten or fifteen minutes, hearing some of the other men in the tent stirring, waiting for someone else to get up and start the fire. Nobody did.

The Quilin by Norbert Luciano

The first time I ever saw a unicorn, of any kind, was on that very early morning in May. Daddy tip-toed into my room, crashed into my night table, cursed and woke me up. Said, "Hey, Merrily, come see something wonderful, a unicorn spearing Fujis in the orchard."

Snippets by Terry McDermott

A snippet is a form of writing where you tell a story in 30 words or less. Here are two examples.

Non-Fiction

 

Maizie by Laudizen King

Maizie was a Cocker Spaniel and Poodle mix, and it was cancer that cut her life short. She belonged to our neighbors, Jim and Linda, who lived across the hall here in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. Maizie was a rescue dog and as such she required a great deal of patience and training to learn how a dog behaves in a loving family, and how to interact with others in a busy apartment building.

Book Review

The Dude Abides (Falsani, 2009) reviewed by Mark DiPietro

In 1984, a violent little homage to film noir heralded the arrival of filmmaking brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen. Blood Simple was personally significant to me because, at 19, I was between colleges and jobs, and for the first time seriously exploring my Catholic faith. The Coens' film cooked up a little scheme in my brain that I could design a joint course of study to combine film studies and theology.

Send your short stories to: short story editor.

If you are in doubt as to whether your material is suitable for Word Catalyst
you will find that the best source of what we accept is our archives.
Please take the time to look through them and take note of our style
as well as what we have accepted in the past.

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Please consider the fact that we have writers and readers of all ages. If you use language that we feel is inappropriate to a literary magazine it will be edited out or will not be published.

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Prose Guidelines:

We are currently accepting:

Short stories of 1,000-3,500 words (longer stories may be accepted on merit)
Flash fiction up to 1,000 words
Creative non-fiction up to 3,000 words.

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