Embark Literary Journal

STARVING WINNER, Summer 2025 The Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition BY ROBERT GARNER McBREARTY We were all starving. The Old Lady in charge was only serving a thin soup, twice a day, hardly more than wate…

Embark contributor Robert Garner McBrearty has won The Ghost Story's 2025 Supernatural Screw Turn Flash Fiction Contest, with his story “Starving”! Read it here: theghoststory.com/ghosts/starv...

Embark contributor @shielapardee.bsky.social has had a short story called "Exposure" published in the Ginosko Literary Journal! Read the issue here: ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/wp-content/u...

After the End - Lunch Ticket B. B. Garin's "After the End" is a story that uses memory to keep you in place, but also always on the precipice of a turn of events.

"After the End," a short story by Embark contributor B. B. Garin that was published in @lunchticket.bsky.social, has been nominated for Best of the Net! Read it here: lunchticket.org/after-the-end/

We Computers: A Ghazal Novel (The Margellos World Republic of Letters) Amazon.com: We Computers: A Ghazal Novel (The Margellos World Republic of Letters): 9780300272741: Ismailov, Hamid, Fairweather-Vega, Shelley: Books

Congratulations to Embark contributor Shelley Fairweather-Vega, whose translation of an Uzbek novel called WE COMPUTERS, by Hamid Ismailov, is a finalist for a 2025 National Book Award! Buy the novel here: www.amazon.com/We-Computers...

Casco Bay Check out Casco Bay - <p><strong><em>Shiloh Vail's return to her childhood home to settle her father's estate unveils a web of mysteries she could never imagine.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Set against...

Embark contributor Bill Mesce, writing under the name Aja Holland, has released a mystery called CASCO BAY with @btwnthelinespub.bsky.social. You can purchase a copy here! – bookshop.org/p/books/casc...

Manhattan Triptych Check out Manhattan Triptych - <p>Diane Daly, Nikki Barone, and Orla Nevins have been the closest of friends since they first played sisters in a summer stock production of "Fiddler on the Roof" in th...

MANHATTAN TRIPTYCH, by Embark contributor @cbutterfield.bsky.social, is a a fictionalized memoir based on her time as an actress living in New York, telling the stories of three women bound by friendship over the course of four decades. Pick up a copy here! bookshop.org/p/books/manh...

Young Thing Young Thing by Grace Bialecki Note: Physical books ship 10/6/25. Please select "eBook shipping" if ordering an eBook only. Sometimes when...

Embark contributor Grace Bialecki has had a poetry chapbook titled YOUNG THING published by the small press Rainbow Skull. Buy a copy here! www.rainbowskull.xyz/product/youn...

West County Check out West County - Dr. Jeff Taylor, now unmarried, has settled in the small city of Appleton, an hour north of San Francisco. He works at a rural community health care clinic and is romantically ...

Embark contributor Scott Lipanovich has released another novel in his Jeff Taylor mystery series with Encircle Publications! WEST COUNTY brings Jeff into contact with a homeless woman who is not what she seems, and who doesn't have long to live. Pick up a copy here! – bookshop.org/p/books/west...

Hey Pickpocket Check out Hey Pickpocket - <p><strong>Discover the enchanting world of <em>Hey Pickpocket</em>, the debut novel by Allison Cundiff.</strong> </p><p></p><p>Frances is on a journey to leave her past beh...

HEY PICKPOCKET, a contemporary novel by Embark contributor Allison Cundiff that's set on an island near the coast of Ireland, has been published by Jackleg Press! You can purchase a copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/hey-...

‘Les Misérables’ is 40 this year — and I’ve never loved it more Since I was a teenager, I’ve jumped at any opportunity to watch Jean Valjean break parole, Fantine dream a dream and Javert swear by the stars, Karen Wilfrid writes. She’s seen “Les Mis” 14 times, but...

Embark contributor @k-wilfrid.bsky.social has had an essay about the 40th anniversary of "Les Misérables" published in @wbur.org's Cognoscenti! Check it out here: www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...

Razed Check out Razed - <p>Lucy Wilson and her sister Ginny don't see eye to eye on anything, including whether or not their father is a criminal. In 1973, during their father's funeral in upstate New York,...

RAZED, by Embark contributor Thatcher Carter, has been published by The Inlandia Institute! The novel follows two sisters in upstate New York in 1973, who take opposite sides in the battle over their father's legacy. Buy a copy here! – bookshop.org/p/books/raze...

Street Brotherhood: Rise of the Underground Rise of the Underground

Embark contributor @admetcalfeauthor.bsky.social has published the second novel in her Street series, about a gang of urban youth in gritty 1970s New York: STREET BROTHERHOOD: RISE OF THE UNDERGROUND. Pick up a copy here! bookshop.org/p/books/stre...

#lasteuropeansummer - Tahoma Literary Review The day the EU announced its impending border closure, we let the news and its implications settle among us, casting a long, dark shadow over our imagined

Embark contributor Jillian Schedneck has had a story called “#lasteuropeansummer” published in the @tahomareview.bsky.social! Check it out here: tahomaliteraryreview.com/selections/l...

I Am Agatha: A Novel A Novel

I AM AGATHA, the debut novel of Embark contributor Nancy Foley, will be published by @avidreaderpress.bsky.social in March 2026! The novel, set in New Mexico, follows a painter whose devotion to a widow with dementia sparks a radical reckoning. Pre-order a copy here! – bookshop.org/p/books/i-am...

Issue 23, October 2025 Editor’s Introduction When reading the openings featured in this issue of Embark, I kept thinking of the ties and tensions between parents and children. As always, each of the ten openings featured…

We're thrilled to announce the release of our 23rd issue! Click below for the openings of ten riveting novels by some of the world's best up-and-coming writers! embarkliteraryjournal.com/issues/issue...

Submission Guidelines A submission to Embark should consist of two parts, the opening of your novel and an Author’s Statement.

There are only a few more days left before our next submission deadline, September 1st! Novelists, polish up the openings of your unpublished manuscripts and WIPs and send them in! We welcome subs in any genre. For more info, check out our guidelines here: embarkliteraryjournal.com/submissions

Submission Guidelines A submission to Embark should consist of two parts, the opening of your novel and an Author’s Statement.

Calling all novelists! There are only a few more weeks until our next submission deadline: September 1st, 2025! We're seeking the openings of unpublished novels in all genres. For more info, please see our Submission Guidelines: embarkliteraryjournal.com/submissions

The Golem Project Amazon.com: The Golem Project eBook : Bone, Elijah: Tienda Kindle

THE GOLEM PROJECT, a sci-fi thriller by Embark contributor Bill Mesce (using the pen-name Elijah Bone), will be released by Between the Lines Publishing on June 3rd! Pre-order a copy here: www.amazon.com/Golem-Projec...

108: An Eco-Thriller An Eco-Thriller

108, an eco-thriller by Embark contributor Dheepa Maturi, will be released in June! The novel follows a San Francisco reporter with a mysterious connection to an Indian forest, who must save the world from a corrupt agrochemical corporation. Pre-order a copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/108-...

Voices of the Elysian Fields: A Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery A Jonathan Gray, M.D. Mystery

VOICES OF THE ELYSIAN FIELDS, a gripping thriller set in New Orleans by Embark contributor Michael Rigg, has been published by Level Best Books! Pick up a copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/voic...

An unexpected life lesson from Garfield the cat I wasn’t aware that anyone had been asking about Garfield’s feline parentage, writes Karen Wilfrid. But when—in the opening flashback—the dad leaves kitten Garfield alone in an alley, his innocent car...

Embark contributor Karen Wilfrid has had an essay published in Cognoscenti, the ideas and opinions section of @wbur.org, Boston’s NPR station! Read it here: www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...

North of the Sunlit River Check out North of the Sunlit River - <p><b>From the author of <i>This Impossible Brightness</i> comes a heartrending trek through grief, hope, and the Alaskan wilderness as a young woman seeks the tr...

NORTH OF THE SUNLIT RIVER, a novel of grief, hope, and the Alaskan wilderness by Embark contributor @jessklagmann.bsky.social, will be released by Lake Union Publishing in September! Pre-order a copy here: bookshop.org/p/books/nort...

Our Brooklyn|Paperback When Bobby McDermott gets a phone call inviting him to a birthday party for his once best friend, Butch Kovalesky, a birthday party doctors believe will be his last, Bobby has to face the unforgivable...

OUR BROOKLYN, the debut novel of Embark contributor Ed McBride, follows the friendship of two young men as they grapple with the Vietnam War and the challenges of the late 1960s and '70s. Buy a copy here! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/our-brookl...

TBR Spring 25 Is Here By Sofia Topi We are bored. Bored of mainstream narratives, of ceaseless mumbling, of effortlessly click-and-publish words. Bored of opinion-sharing and provocation, of

Embark contributor S. P. Singh has had a short story called "The Bridge" published in the spring issue of @thebrusselsreview.bsky.social! Read the introduction to the issue here: thebrusselsreview.com/sofia-topi/t...

How to be Human After Evil Fae Possessio | Lorelei Signal Helena just wants to be human, even if it means having to wear shoes. She never thought it would be so difficult.

Embark contributor Monica Goertzen Hertlein has had a short story called "How to Be Human After Evil Fae Possession" published in The Lorelei Signal! Check it out here: www.loreleisignal.com/how-to-be-hu...

Prayers for the Lost & for the Living Prayers for the Lost & for the Living [Greenberg, Dina] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Prayers for the Lost & for the Living

PRAYERS FOR THE LOST & FOR THE LIVING, a collection of poems and stories by Embark contributor Dina Greenberg, has been released by Sligo Creek Publishing! Buy a copy here: www.amazon.com/Prayers-Lost...

The Wet Hen Society – Novel Excerpt My mother’s name was Emily Berrigan and she was a writer of fiction who aspired to be a best-selling author. She spent most of her days up at her desk in my parents’ bedroom, drinking black coffee,…

Embark contributor @jsc63.bsky.social has had an excerpt from his novel THE WET HEN SOCIETY published in Litbreak Magazine! Read it here: litbreak.com/the-wet-hen-...

*Your Actual Life May Vary Check out *Your Actual Life May Vary - Patty Grant, a faltering grad student in San Diego, learns that she needs to move out of her beloved rental with almost no notice. But she wonders: What should s...

*YOUR ACTUAL LIFE MAY VARY, a darkly comic novel by Embark contributor @lindalenhoff.bsky.social, will be released by @sfwp.bsky.social in August! It follows an out-of-work academic in San Diego as she rescues a child and searches for a new life. Pre-order a copy here! – bookshop.org/p/books/your...

Good Old Gals—Jo-Anne Rosen—Eclectica Magazine v28n4 Fiction by Jo-Anne Rosen, Eclectica Magazine v28n4

Embark contributor Jo-Anne Rosen has had a short story called "Good Old Gals" published in Eclectica Magazine! Check it out here: www.eclectica.org/v28n4/rosen....

Issue 22, April 2025 Editor’s Introduction This issue’s collection of novel openings include several that begin in one way, only to turn dramatically into something else later in the novel—as revealed by the Authors’ S…

EMBARK is thrilled to be joining Bluesky! To mark the occasion we're announcing the release of our 22nd issue. Click here to read riveting novel openings by ten of today's most promising up-and-coming writers! – embarkliteraryjournal.com/issues/issue...