Heidi Marjamäki

"Which House by Mariah Gese" written at the top in red on a background of translucent pencil lines. Overtop is a comic panel from the comic depicting four houses and trees all meeting in the center. Below is the full Rumpus logo in red.

"I think it's the house trying to get in. It's testing out the walls, trying to dream enough space to crawl in."

From "Which House," a new original comic by Mariah Gese.

➡️ buff.ly/6DlXGu2

13.1 Septillion Pounds by Emily Rinkema To help her sleep, we give the baby a basketball, a full-size regulation ball that my husband, CT, puts in her crib one night. He writes her name on it with a black Sharpie, bold letters like they …

I have a new story in @okaydonkeymag.com and I am so excited about it! I hope you like it as much as I do! okaydonkeymag.com/2025/09/19/1...

There is always a moment, writing in a second language, that we think we’re not ready, that we’re not ‘good enough’, as @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social explains in this last episode of Season 4. In the end, we realise there is no such thing as ‘good enough.’Language is always evolving, and so are we.

Had the pleasure to join the wonderful @norami.bsky.social on Chosen Tongue podcast. We had a great chat about writing in a second (or third!) language and all the feels that come with it.

New from me today. This one is close to my heart - a short fiction built around some artists & works that have lingered with me. Not straight ekphrasis but an attempt to write about some of the ways that art can work on us

My deep thanks to Heidi & Steve at OKD for all their care with this one ❤️

Two Stories by Linda Drach TRAVEL & LEISURE I’d see them in the cardiology waiting room. Not every time, but often. The man, shuffling behind an aluminum walker, his right foot dragging; the woman, slowing her gait to ke…

"It's time to see Joel, but Pat says he can't – he doesn’t want to see him this way, which is dead."

"Travel & Leisure" and "The Farm" by Linda Drach, new flash fiction out today at OKD. 📝

A Reading List for the End of the World by Julia Rose Greider Robin and I are coping well with the end of the world, by which I mean we usually wake up by eleven and agree that eleven is not bad at all. We start our day with reading: Robin prefers Plato, whil…

"Robin insists that we discuss our respective literatures to keep our minds agile. They say we'll need our problem-solving abilities when things get worse."

"A Reading List for the End of the World" by Julia Rose Greider, new flash fiction out today at OKD. 📝

Everyone who applied to be a Fiction Reader has been emailed with a decision! Check your spam folder if you don't see that in your inbox.

Thanks again for applying 🫶

Our Associate Fiction Editor has a piece out today in @ergot.bsky.social 👀

(cc: @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social)

ergot. innovative + experimental horror

“Ah,” he said, holding me at arm’s length. I gasped, out of breath.
His expression had changed. “I, the—”
I licked my lips. They’d gone dry. “What’s wrong?”
“Your back.”

Today on ergot.: 'Scorpion Eggs' by Heidi Marjamäki ( @heidimarjamaki.bsky.social )

www.ergot.press/authors/Heid...

Kicking off the weekend with this little beastie 🦂

Just over a week left to apply to be a volunteer Fiction Reader for Okay Donkey! In this role, you'll read and vote "yes," "no," or "maybe" on up to 10 submissions per week.

• Read what we publish: okaydonkeymag.com/flash/
• Apply by Friday, March 21: forms.gle/JPzvJMpKXf27GKXB8

We’re looking for volunteer Fiction Readers! Come join our lovely little team and get your hooves on some of the weirdest, bestest stories out there. We’re taking applications until March 21st 💖🫏

Two Stories by Lavina Blossom Slow Leak She mounts the first step up from the driveway, hand on the rail. She forgot to leave the front light on but her aging eyes can see well enough from the neighbors’ lights. Wait, had…

"Still, when she visits him, she does not want to look different, unfamiliar. He still has some recognition. He seems to know her even if he can't say who she is."

Two stories by Lavina Blossom, new flash fiction out today at OKD. 📝

I stand with Ukraine. Every decent person should. It’s not just a strategic interest. It’s a moral imperative.

Slava Ukraini. 🇺🇦

Shirley Jackson Tribute Submission Call - Cosmic Horror Monthly CHM is CLOSED FOR FICTION SUBMISSIONS for our special tribute issue to Shirley Jackson. We will open in March 2025. What […]

Our Shirley Jackson tribute issue opens tomorrow!

Read the guidelines here: bit.ly/4iA6H8u

Yessss! Great way to start a new year!

We're No. 12! We're No. 12! 🏆

So many great mags on here, not to mention a really intriguing methodology. Check this out:

A graphic that says, Meet OKD's Staff Readers, at the top. On a pink background with binder paper lines are seven photos with names and titles underneath: Eleanor Ball, Paul Ruta, Jeanette Smith, and Gina Thayer are fiction readers. Jessica Heron, Jingyu Li, and Jessica Nirvana Ram are poetry readers. Fiction readers are outlined in blue, while poetry readers are outlined in green.

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 4:

Meet our readers! Seven of them were generous enough to share a little more about themselves…

A graphic that says, Meet OKD's Social Media Team, at the top. On a purple background are two photos with names and titles underneath: Christine Salek, social media manager, a biracial person with curly hair smiling at the camera in front of a library, and Ashley McCurry, social media associate, a white woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera in a professional headshot.

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 3:

Meet our social media team, Christine Salek and Ashley McCurry! (Fun fact: They're both also longtime OKD Fiction Readers.)

A graphic that says, Meet OKD's Poetry Editors, at the top. On a green background are two photos with descriptions underneath: Carolene Kurien, poetry editor, a brown-skinned woman with dark hair smiling at the camera. Eric Lochridge, associate poetry editor, a white man with a beard smiling down at the camera. At the bottom is the text, and Jonah Meyer, associate poetry editor.

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 2:

Meet our poetry editors: Carolene Kurien, Eric Lochridge, and Jonah Meyer!

A graphic that says, Meet OKD's Fiction Editors, at the top. On a blue background are two photos with descriptions underneath: Steve Change, Fiction Editor, an Asian man wearing a baseball cap staring off-camera. Heidi Marjamäki, Associate Fiction Editor, a white woman looking at the camera slightly smiling.

OKD Staff Spotlight, Day 1:

Meet our fiction editors, Steve Chang and Heidi Marjamäki!

Hey there! May we have the honor of being your... community favorite? We'll even make it super easy -

Copy this: Okay Donkey
Paste into "Poetry" and/or "Flash & Micro": tally.so/r/mKPJ4A

Thanks for being part of our community! 🥇

Hi, all. This is a note from your friendly and long-serving Okay Donkey Magazine Founders and Editors, Eric and Genevieve. While Genevieve stepped down from her day-to-day OKD editorial duties about a year or so ago, Eric has recently stepped down from his day-to-day OKD editorial duties just a few months ago in September. After almost 7 years of running OKD Magazine, we’re pretty tired, yet grateful and fulfilled, and ready to move on to new projects and adventures. We want to send our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the many wonderful readers, contributors, and fans who have read and written all the terrific OKD stories and poems over the years, as well as all of those who have worked with dedication as OKD’s Volunteer Readers and Associate Editors on our small, but mighty staff. You might be thinking to yourselves, but wait, OKD has continued to publish a lot of great stories and poems over the past few months, and the artwork and social media presence have only gotten better. Instead of closing our doors, G and I have decided to hand over our once small, but now growing literary child to the set of incredible hands who have worked tirelessly side-by-side with us over the last few years, and we have every faith they’ll continue the amazing work they’ve already been doing.

We’re so excited to have Steve Chang, previous OKD Contributor and long-serving Fiction Associate Editor and Co-Editor finally take over the editorial reins as Fiction Editor of OKD Mag. We’re also equally thrilled to welcome aboard the wonderful and talented Carolene Kurien as OKD’s new Poetry Editor. In addition, we want to give a big thanks and shout out to our Volunteer Fiction and Poetry Readers and to those who have served on our terrific team of Associate Editors, both new and old, Téa Franco, Veronica Klash, Eric Lochridge, Heidi Marjamaki, Jonah Meyer, and Elizabeth Upshur. Finally, we want to welcome two of the newest members to our steadfast staff, Christine Salek as our Social Media Manager and Ashley McCurry as our Social Media Associate. They’ve already been up to many great and wonderful things to make OKD look even better. G and I know that this excellent new crew of literary rock stars will continue to carry Okay Donkey Magazine far into a fantastic future. All Best, Eric and Genevieve

A note from OKD’s founders, Eric and Genevieve, on some changes you may have noticed around here lately…

Hahaha YES! That’s my work here basically done 🤣

Ooooo this looks like such a cool workshop! And Steve is very wise and an amazing teacher 💖

Graphic with a notebook page on the left and a larger notebook page on the right. On the notebook page is a typewriter with a page coming out that says, Pushcart Nominees 2025. The nominees are written on the larger notebook page. Text reads, Fiction, Duck Girls by Nicole Hart, Sorry, but you’re mistaking me for her by Anita Harag (translated by Walter Burgess and Marietta Morry), Darryl by Rebekah Morgan. Poetry, Cancellations by Grace Marie Liu, How to Wash a Rabbit by Sara Eddy, A Poem Buried Under the Floorboards by Amanda Roth.

Meet OKD's Pushcart Prize nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

Graphic with a notebook page on the left and different colored post-its on the right. On the notebook page is a typewriter with a page coming out that says, Best Small Fictions Nominees 2025. Each nominee is written on a post-it: Boy Crazy by Brittany Ackerman, Mollusk by Didi Wood, Dadoo by Skyler Melnick, Stitch by Allison Field Bell, and The Machine by Dana Jaye Cadman.

Congratulations to OKD's Best Small Fictions nominees! Read the nominated pieces in the thread below.

We're officially on a publication break until 2025, but that doesn't mean we're going away! Stay tuned for our Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, and Pushcart nominations this week and a special OKD staff spotlight later this month. 🌟

2 Micros by Jeffrey Hermann The Voice of God Gives Up the Act This was years ago. God stopped speaking from the sky and admitted that there are actually many gods and they all shared the job of the voice of god. It got compli…

"If there's a heaven I hope it's me walking in our front door like normal. I hope it's my kids barely looking up from their phones to say hello."

Two new pieces of microfiction today by @jeffreyhermann.bsky.social! 📝