Pulp Literature Summer 2024: Issue 43

A magical Yellow Moon by Joyce Harumi Kamikura shines on our stunning summer cover, while feature author Matthew Hughes brings ancient gods to modern Italy in ‘Forest of Shadows’.

Women of all ages rise to adventure in ‘Grandma Had Guns’ by Finnian Burnett, ‘Yakety Hex’ by KT Wagner, ‘Managing a Difficult Situation with Grace’ by Leslie Wibberley, and ‘The Golden Mare’ by JM Landels

Megan W Shaw in ‘All but Pink’, Alan Sincic in ‘The Scientific Method’, and Jodi MacAulay in ‘Girl of My Dreams’ serve up varied ingredients for a life well lived. But time slips quickly by in the poetry of Casey Killingsworth, Jesse Keith Butler, and Laura Vogt.

Reptiles and birds take centre stage in ‘Down Alligator Alley’ by Bridget Boland and ‘Aria of the Birds’ by EJ Nash, while ‘Take My Hand: Sleep With One Eye Open’ by Mel Anastasiou and ‘Footnotes to Wonder’ by Mark Budman give us time-lost ghosts and fairytale character.

Meanwhile ‘Fasteners’, a graphic short by Michaela Chan, invites us to spread a towel out across the sand, open this issue to whatever page calls, and enjoy a great read.

Matthew Hughes writes fantasy, space opera, crime fiction, and historical novels. He hassold 24 novels to publishers large and small in the UK, US, and Canada, as well as 100 works ofshort fiction to professional markets. Matt has won the Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada and has been shortlisted for the Aurora, Nebula, Philip K Dick, Endeavour (twice), AE van Vogt, and Derringer Awards. He was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association's Hall of Fame. His magnum opus, What the Wind Brings, is available through pulpliterature.com. Pulp Literature also published his short stories 'The Devil You Don't' and 'Fishface and the Leg' in Issue 13 and 'The Bicolour Spiral' in Issue 26. Find out more about Matt on Wikipedia at Matt_Hughes_(writer)

JM Landels is the author of the bestselling Allaigna's Song trilogy as well as the spy novel The Shepherdess, currently serialized in even-numbered issues of this magazine. 'The Golden Calf' and 'The Golden Bull' in Pulp Literature Issues 39 and 41 were set in a different corner of Allaigna's world of the Ilmar. 'The Golden Mare' completes this short trilogy, and finds Saoira Little at a new turning point in her life. JM herself stays away from ruminants, but does keep a small herd of horses on which she teaches mounted combat at her school, Academie Cavallo, in Langley, BC. You can find @jmlandels on most social media platforms, or at jmlandels.stiffbunnies.com.

Mel Anastasiou writes the Fairmount Manor Mysteries, the Hertfordshire Pub Mysteries, and the Monument Studios Mysteries. Winner of a Literary Titan Gold award and longlisted for the Leacock Medal, Mel is also the author of two illustrated thirty-day workbooks on story structure: the steampunk-themed The Writer's Boon Companion and The Writer's Friend and Confidante. For news on published and upcoming works, visit her website, melanastasiou.wordpress.com.