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Under the Porch
By Julia Patt Illustration by Adam Myers By turns eerie and poignant, “Under the Porch” is an oddly sentimental fable of eight young lives marked by the briefest encounter with strangeness and terror. Yet when seen over the span of decades, the supernatural horror at the heart of Julia Patt’s fine telling ends up being [...]
Bookstore Feature
Manic D Press helped spark a Dunsany revival with this essential anthology of weird fiction and fantastical narrative. Full of otherworldly exotica that inspired Lovecraft and others. Buy this book. 
Under the Porch
By Julia Patt Illustration by Adam Myers By turns eerie and poignant, “Under the Porch” is an oddly sentimental fable of eight young lives marked by the briefest encounter with strangeness and terror. Yet when seen over the span of decades, the supernatural horror at the heart of Julia Patt’s fine telling ends up being [...]
Four poems from “Ruins of a glittering palace”
By Maw Shein Win, art by Mark Dutcher San Francisco Bay Area poet Maw Shein Win arranges perceptions in fragments, like the pieces of a broken mirror — or perhaps, and not so jagged, like droplets. Each distinct but reflecting some greater whole, each filled with its own silence and implication — compelling absences for [...]
SUBJECT: Dragon Bones
Artwork by Philip Myers “Dear Charles; The codices become more exciting every day. This one should be of special interest to you in that it fits in with some of your previous theories. Apparent translation is as follows … ” So begins a scholarly missive from a researcher at work in the reaches of Patagonia. [...]
Ministry of Presence
By Leah Erickson In the mornings the wind would blow the ash in from the east. It would settle in soft drifts and mounds almost up to the windowsills of the old folk’s home. Malika began each day by lining up the residents in their wheelchairs at the windows facing west. They would never know [...]
Relaunch?!
Welcome to the relaunch of The-Fabulist.org! We’re thrilled to debut this new home for fables, yarns, tales and fantastical art, after many a long month of hacking away at cascading stylesheets and relatively esoteric HTML. Glitches? We got ‘em! There are still some glitches we’re ironing out, so thanks for your patience! Consider this the [...]
He Knew
by Nora Boydston (Inspired by a strange little fragment from Grimm, Nora Boydston’s “He Knew” plumbs the deep forest of European fairy tales to reveal an unsettling parable of love, loss, and what the modern reader may identify as abuse. Regarding his striking image of the rose-bearing changeling, Fabulist house artist Adam Myers notes: “I’ve [...]
Spoons
By Michael Plemmons “Spoons” is an odd and poignant little yarn about an affectionate old dog that’s been in the family since the Civil War. Writing in a naturalistic, conversational style, author Michael Plemmons follows this preposterous canine on a cross-country voyage that tests limits of love and memory. Fabulist house artist Adam Myers describes his four images for [...]
Remembrance of Things Past
It has been years since I last made this journey. I am slower and more easily tired. My footfall is not as sure as it used to be, but nor is it as bitter, as sad, as resigned. Up the slope, near the edge of the rock, they stand along the ridge. Waiting, without conversation, silhouetted against the late-afternoon sky.
The Bread Muse
By Masha Rumer A muse, aloft above the rooftops sprinkles packages of starter through gaping chimneys — little gifts of soul satisfaction for those who know how to knead it. Author Masha Rumer provides the recipe in her short yarn (really, a fable-as-vignette) ”The Bread Muse.” A writer and educator in the San Francisco Bay Area, Rumer’s work [...]
To Whom It May Concern
By Pam Benjamin In this issue we are pleased to bring you Pam Benjamin’s “To Whom It May Concern,” the dire fable of a good gal done (and gone) so very wrong. Secrets, lies, a bagful of My Pretty Ponies and a Greek chorus of talking flowers all converge for little Meggy Poo Poo’s ultimate downer. [...]
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