I’m excited to share new stories now available at Still Life Fiction, the online genre fiction publication I founded and edit.
Our latest issue features two stories under the Freedom theme. Each story offers something different based on theme, and I’m thrilled that these writers are a part of the inaugural issue of Still Life Fiction.
Read the Stories
by John T. Biggs
A teenager working in his father’s business tells the story of the mysterious Candyman, whose hidden talent as a piano player reveals more to him than meets the eye in Junkyard Music. Category: Literary
by Kaitlyn Downing
A castle-bound royal longs to escape the confines of the palace, but it comes with a price in Escaping Shalott. Category: Fantasy
Here is your invitation to submit your stories in the next issue. The current submission theme is Masks. What do we hide behind the masks we wear?
For our next themed issue, we’re looking for stories about masks. They can be literal or metaphorical, familiar or strange, human or monstrous. Give us horror, dark fantasy, gothic fiction, supernatural tales, psychological suspense, or anything that explores faces we show the world and what lies beneath them. Maybe the mask protects its wearer. Maybe it hides a secret. Maybe, once it goes on, it can’t come off.
Your story doesn’t have to be about Halloween. We’re interested in the darkness, mystery, and transformation that a mask can represent.
All genres are welcome, including literary and cross-genre fiction.
Submission window: August 8 – September 20, 2026 (deadline at 3 am Eastern). Selected works will be published in our Fall issue around Halloween and will be promoted across our platforms.
Check out the Guidelines page for more details: https://still-life-fiction.com/submission-guidelines/
Gina N. Anderson 