Nichole L. Lightner

I think you should leave screen cap with Tim Robinson angrily pointing at the camera

I want to opt out! I want to opt out of all of it!! I've been reading books and watching DVDs and playing Diablo 2 in offline mode and going on walks and it's enough!! What are they doing to us! What have they done to us?!

we close for submissions in exactly 24 hrs

A PM announcement for Views from the Overlook, an anthology based on the Shining.

Sometimes cool stuff happens and you get to be part of it.

Very excited for this one!

when someone tells me im good at my job vs when someone tells me im good at something that isn't my job

THE WORKS OF VERMIN alongside a pale gold drink in a large coupe surrounded by greenery.

NEW VIDEO ALERT! Today on Bar Cart Bookshelf we're talking about THE WORKS OF VERMIN by Hiron Ennes. A entomological epic in a Weird city where art & revolution are intimately entwined, this queer puzzle box is TRANSCENDENT. Our drink is the Extemporist, for a perfume-soaked night at the opera.

Would you like to see inside the Editor Mind? Or more importantly, the Slush Mind?? These tiers are for YOU.

"Flash Fiction Critique: 5 left of 10 Affirmation Critique with Rebecca Treasure: 8 left of 10 Affirmation Critique with Nichole Lightner: 5 left of 5 Slush Reader Critique: Three of Apex Magazine's amazing first readers will critique your short story, giving you three different perspectives! Our amazing slush teams read hundreds of stories each and every month and have developed a great eye for what makes a story work. Let their experience elevate your next submission. Stories can be up to 5,000 words!"

A cow is floating through space in a UFO tractor beam. His two little ghost friends float alongside, wearing space helmets. The cow's thought bubble reads, "$6,996!"

It's Kickstarter Christmas! 🎁✅

We just added a TON of new tiers, including affirmation critiques with Violet Lichen Managing Editor Nichole Lightner and short story critiques from the most important Apex team members of all: our slush readers! ✨ Don't miss out!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

TRANSPLANT Father receives another transplant today. This time, it's a beehive. It feels good to drink the rain, he says, & better to eat the Aowers. He's been in the meadow for hours now, getting so big & brave.

Jon Boisvert

#smallpoemsunday
@tomsnarsky.bsky.social

Apex Magazine 2026 An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

The @apexmag.bsky.social 2026 Kickstarter is currently sitting at $6,717 of our $20K goal! That means we're a third of the way to funding four issues of Apex for next year! Can we hit 50% before the end of the week? www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

"Just Dropped: World Building from the Inside Out" with Apex Magazine Managing Editor Rebecca E Treasure. 60min class, including critique"

"Join Rebecca E Treasure as she puts her anthropology studies to use for once and talks about culture, creating worlds, and how to weave rich and unique environments and societies into your stories. Includes a 5 page critique with an emphasis on worldbuilding details, a 60m live class, and a PDF of the slides used for the class."

NEW KICKSTARTER TIER JUST DROPPED!! 🌍✍️

Take your worldbuilding to the next level with @retreasure.bsky.social, complete with a 5 page critique!

This tier is limited to just TEN backers, so make sure you don't miss it! ⏰⬇️

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

me: the moon looks beautiful tonight. I’m going to take a picture of her

the moon: like hell you are

The new issue is here!

Have you subscribed yet? CHM brings you the best of weird and cosmic horror EVERY month: https://bit.ly/3WmVbRP

obligatory sturgeon mention content

Photograph of a smiling Chinese American woman in a skull crown holding a copy of Demon Song by Kelsea Yu

DEMON SONG is out in the world today!! Thank you to everyone who preordered, blurbed, reviewed, library requested, shared, beta read, recommended, or otherwise supported this release!! With help from all of you, I get to continue in my dream career! 🥰

Available now in hardcover, ebook, & audio!! 🥳🥳

Seconding this!

LESLEY'S RULES: If you can take the speculative element out of the story, and the story doesn’t change, the speculative element isn’t strong enough. If the main character isn’t pushing the plot forward - ie, if the story would basically go on exactly the same whether or not they were there - pass. Beyond these, I hesitate to set hard fast rules because then you're setting the team up to exclude stories because they don't fit a specific mold. We want stories that push boundaries. Stories that don't follow rules.

Want to send us a story this month? Stand out from the slush with Apex Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lesley's Rules! ✍️✔️ We're looking for stories that blur sci-fi and fantasy, with that iconic dark Apex edge.

Ready to submit? Visit our submission portal here: apexbookcompany.moksha.io/.../apex.../...

THE BLADE BETWEEN by Sam J. Miller sits on a limestone hearth beside a rich red cocktail in a low stemmed glass.

THE BLADE BETWEEN by @sentencebender.bsky.social is a barbed harpoon of fury, a rage-fueled marvel of oily smoke, queer masculinity, and gentrifying communities. I had to think about the book for months, rolling it over in my brain before coming up with the Harpoon, bittersweet & sharp. LINK BELOW.

Art by • Valerie Valusek

Apex Magazine 2026 is A Project We Love on Kickstarter!! ❤️🍾🥂🎉

Thank you to everyone who's donated so far! If you haven't checked us out yet, don't be shy! There's room for everyone at the monster mash 👻🪦

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

It's time for our annual haunting of your social media to fund our future publications! Please share, boost, celebrate, cheer, and if you can, back.

The way I almost threw my phone...it's a new edition of the dictionary 🥳😆

Jane Goodall Ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall redefined what it means to be human and set the standard for how behavioral studies are conducted through her work with wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream Nat...

Goodnight, Jane 💚
Such a beautiful soul who changed so much for our fellow creatures. A true hero able to look beyond the small-minded human-centric world and lead the way for so many. RIP 🌿🐾
education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/jan...

Submissions for our next unthemed issue are now OPEN 📣
Tell a friend! Everything you need to know is here: fiyahlitmag.com/submissions/

Kudzu-covered telephone pole at a stoplight in Cecil county, MDx looks like a creature

And another! Harford county, MD. This one looks more Wispy and the vegetation is dead

Nothing pleases me more like a kudzu-covered telephone pole on a foggy day

a bald man wearing a scarf and a vest is sitting in front of a window and saying bye . ALT: a bald man wearing a scarf and a vest is sitting in front of a window and saying bye .

google has been trying for months to build a new data center not far from my house. tonight was the final city council meeting and they officially withdrew their proposal! the data center isn’t moving forward! public outrage works!!!

In early 2025, beaver activity in the Brdy Protected Landscape Area, Czech Republic, contributed to the restoration of a wetland ecosystem. A family of beavers constructed a series of dams that coincidentally accomplished environmental goals of the Czech government, which had delayed its proposed project since 2018 for bureaucratic and financial reasons. The beaver-built dams saved the Czech government approximately US$1.2 million,

imagine if a family of beavers randomly showed up right now and finished whatever thing you've been putting off

We don’t follow genre, we follow obsession. If it lingers in the mind, it belongs at Maudlin House...

A note that reads: You look great. Your teeth are sharp. Your eyes are luminous. The townfolk whisper your name in hushed tones.

Just going to have this as a daily affirmation stuck on my mirror.