April’s Table of Contents

editorial by Camille Gooderham Campbell

From the Editors

Let’s pause for a moment for some reader appreciation — there’d be no point to writing or improving our craft, no point to publishing, no point to having magazines or blogs or chapbooks, no royalties for authors or jobs for editors or proofreaders or book designers without readers. So thank you for reading. Thank you for coming here to read the stories we publish. Thank you for being readers, for buying books, for seeking out magazines, and for bringing your own baggage and perspective to the business of reading, because every reader sees a story through their own lenses, so it’s a fractionally unique experience every time.

For Readers

For Passover, we’ll be featuring “Passover Voodoo” by Marc Simon on April 11th.

Although we don’t have any stories about Easter this year, we’ll be publishing “Earth to Earth” by Jeffrey Sommer on April 16th for its themes of renewal and rebirth and faith.

On April 22nd, Earth Day, it’s our pleasure to present “The Fox and the Desert” by Vashti Kashian-Smith.

For Writers

We’ve lost two of our slush readers this month — Emma Munro due to a wrist injury and John Paul Hernandez, Jr. due to a promotion at work; we wish Emma a speedy recovery and John a bright future in his new role.

We’re looking for new slush readers to start immediately: this volunteer position only requires a minimum three-month commitment (though lots of people think we’re fun and choose to stay longer) and provides a great opportunity to learn about flash fiction and get an inside view of EDF’s editorial process. Training provided, no experience necessary. Click here for position details and application instructions.

We’re now looking for stories for May and are considering special submissions targeting occasions such as May Day, Star Wars Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Victoria Day, the beginning of Ramadan, Memorial Day, and anything featuring spring or school exams — please submit your May-specific stories here so we don’t miss them (regular submissions should, as always, be submitted via our permanent portal here).

But you’re really here for the table of contents, aren’t you? Here it is:

April’s Table of Contents