PUBLISHER'S NOTE

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Dear Weird Lit Readers,

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I’m elated to present our eighth and most representative issue yet. In this collection, we feature twelve stories and two bodies of artwork. From literary postmodern experiments and humorous absurdism to cosmic horror and existential speculative fictions, this issue spans a vast spectrum of weird. These stories explore themes of consumerism, authenticity, internalized stigma, human connection, existentialism, vacuousness.

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In publishing an issue of this size and boldness, it feels as though we’ve arrived—although I’m unclear about where exactly. Perhaps we’ve joined a throng of protesters, waiting to be devoured. Or maybe we’ve emerged from a cave, the light of day new and unfamiliar; or we’ve found safe harbor after a life-altering journey at sea. 

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Whichever metaphor, the cohesion of this issue taps into the zeitgeist of weird—a particularly rewarding feat. Finding the weird is a necessity for survival: the more we read and write weird stories, the more we strengthen our critical and creative thinking skills and the more clearly we can see past polarization and the politicization of every.damn.thing. 

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The stories in this issue speak directly to our weird, intuitive selves. They embolden us to refuse hopelessness and to take our reality into our own hands. To shape the human experience into new and fascinating ways. 

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As a platform for the weird and boundless, we aim to connect readers, writers, and connoisseurs of free thought in a space of boundless creativity that lies beyond the binary. Bigfoot as my witness, I think we’ve done it with this one.

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So, get weird with us, readers. Forget the powers that be, the status quo, the absolutists clamoring for your attention/mind/money: weird sets us free.

 

Yours in everlasting weirdness,

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September Herrin

Publisher & Editor in Chief

Weird Lit Magazine