some slime inspo for you -- both pieces by artist Dan Lam
our submission window opens at the end of this month! more info/guidelines at surelymag.com/about
Issue 34 will be a themed issue! Inspired by some search terms that showed up in our site analytics, the theme for our next issue is "big slime falls down stairs"βthis is wide open to interpretation, but we want your prime slime, your sentient blobs, your gooey pratfalls, your fun fiction that leaves us gooped.
our next submission window opens March 29, and it will be for a themed issueβ"big slime falls down stairs"!
guidelines and more are at surelymag.com/about
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: Your adjectives got lost on my still-glued-together body. I wanted to break my leg to get even. You said if I did, I'd never want to stop. β Saher Iqbal, "Staticky"
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: That's the trick. It isn't our fault that we can't fit in, can't seem to give 100%, or even 75% some days. Even better than that, we will someday be rewarded for our pain here, as our species returns toβ The timer went off. β Kimberly Potthast, "Speed Dating for Cowboys and Aliens"
...Saher Iqbal's "Staticky," and Kimberly Potthast's "Speed Dating for Cowboys and Aliens"
βthey're all waiting for you at surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: On nights she could not sleep she sat on the back screened porch and listened to the waves. They carried with them empty plastic bottles and cans, lost sunglasses and tarnished jewelry, the living and the dead. β Courtney Ebert, "Every Town"
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: It was an expanse of gray scales with a pinprick hole in the middle. Like a gray wintry day, a barren field, a desert. Empty. β Judy Slitt, "Martin P"
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: So we slaughtered the quail there. They sat in a cardboard box on the floor behind us. The sink caught their heads. β Veith Coleman, "Slaughter Day"
Another few glimpses into issue 33 for your weekendβ
Courtney Ebert's "Every Town," Judy Slitt's "Martin P," Veith Coleman's "Slaughter Day"...
surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: Imagining us from the outside, I saw 4 as crazy, her voice too loud, her hands too fast, and I saw myself as bloodstained and pathetic, a kicked dog. I didn't even want to be here. But this was the most fun I'd had all night. β Kimberly Potthast, "Speed Dating for Cowboys and Aliens"
...and Kimberly Potthast's extraterrestrial γ°οΈ
Read each of them at surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: She makes tomato sandwiches with olive oil, mayonnaise, salt, pepper. The Husband and Wife's books become waterloggedβsand wedges between binding and spine. The tomatoes are big and juicy. The knife slides easily through delicate skin. β Courtney Ebert, "Every Town"
...to Courtney Ebert's selkie...
surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: When her mother and her father killed the chicken bitten by the fox the blood fell into the grass and it didn't stain like I thought. β Veith Coleman, "Slaughter Day"
...to Veith Coleman's animals...
surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: I was sure the sky was sizing you up. It's a good thing you kept slipping into the water, or the sun would've swallowed you whole, right on the beach. β Saher Iqbal, "Staticky"
...to Saher Iqbal's young humans...
surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: She grabbed the sides of her face with her hands and gaped, her mouth wide open, no teeth. I broke out in goosebumps. Then I realized she was imitating Macaulay Culkin. β Judy Slitt, "Martin P"
issue 33 contains many creatures, from Judy Slitt's martian...
surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: I looked up when I heard the crack, so lightning-like and impersonal. I thought kids' bones were soft. Not malleable, but not capable of such a stunning sound, either. β Saher Iqbal, "Staticky"
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: First, she looked in his heart, but it was not there. She ripped open his liver, spleen, stomach. She cracked open his skull with a smooth stone and searched there but found nothing. Then, deep in his bowels, covered in darkness, she found it. β Courtney Ebert, "Every Town"
...bones break with Saher Iqbal, and Courtney Ebert tells us every town has a selkie γ°οΈ
read it all at surelymag.com
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: Number 4 passed me her napkin to sop up the mess, but didn't stop talking; she was explaining the extraterrestrials to me. Look, she was saying, we were right, we really don't belong here. β Kimberly Potthast, "Speed Dating for Cowboys and Aliens"
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: You snip their skin at the soft part before the throat so you can take it off like a suit jacket on a doll. β Veith Coleman, "Slaughter Day"
dark brown text on an avocado green-colored background reads: She was naked apart from sequin pasties on her flat chest where her nipples would've been, had she been a human. She must've been eight feet tall. I was used to always being the tallest woman in the room, but she peered down at me with her gray oval eyes. β Judy Slitt, "Martin P"
a few glimpses into issue 33: things get extraterrestrial with Kimberly Potthast AND Judy Slitt, it's slaughter day with Veith Coleman...
issue 33 is out today, with stories from Kimberly Potthast, Veith Coleman, Judy Slitt, Saher Iqbal, and Courtney Ebert that explore the bounds of bodies both human and not. Dig in with us at surelymag.com γ°οΈ
issue 33 is out today, with stories from Kimberly Potthast, Veith Coleman, Judy Slitt, Saher Iqbal, and Courtney Ebert that explore the bounds of bodies both human and not. Dig in with us at surelymag.com γ°οΈ
a cream-colored background with cobalt blue text reading: issue 30 january 2025 surely Lucas Simone*Martha Hipley*Malory Antony*Kevin B
issue 30 has been moved to the archive (issue 33 is coming soon...!)
surelymag.com/archive
We'll be back in January with issue 33! Our submission window is open until 1/10/26βsend us something for your end-of-year submission goals or New Year's resolutions γ°οΈ Guidelines and more can be found at surelymag.com/about
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "We try the app on a Sunday because it's the scariest of days preceding the most sleepless of nights, heralded by the few and slipshod hours before I have to park myself behind the screen of a computer. β Salena Casha, 'A Story About a Fire' (Issue 32, 2025)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "Maureen was not surprised to see her late aunt Maude standing in line at Sbarro in the mall food court, because lately she had seen several of her deceased relatives at the mall... β R.K. West, 'Maureen at the Mall' (Issue 32, 2025)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Tom and Carol were on a walking date. It was like a regular date, only they were to spend it walking. β Robert Long Foreman, 'Walking Tom' (Issue 32, 2025)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "Before leaving for the show, I apply lipstick. The product is stumpy from overuse, the tube scarred from rubbing against the keys in my purse. β Amy DeBellis 'Fractures' (Issue 32, 2025)β
In issue 32, Salena Casha, R.K. West, Robert Long Foreman, and Amy DeBellis gave us 4 stories that twisted our expectations (we love when that happens!)βrevisit it with us at surelymag.com/archive
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The couple is led into a narrow room, with nurses clad in powder blue scrubs flanking them on their respective sides and a staff standing sentry by the door. β Ada Pelonia, 'Takeout Baby' (Issue 31, 2025)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "In the decade I've lived in this hundred-year-old apartment, the ghost has turned into my dead pets, dead school teachers, and dead relatives. β Ada Pelonia, 'The Ghost' (Issue 31, 2025)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The name of the show escapes you, but effortlessly you recall scenes from various episodes in vivid detailβthough curiously you can't remember anything about watching the show... β Soramimi Hanarejima, 'Cryptomnesia' (Issue 31, 2025)β
...Ada Pelonia, and Soramimi Hanarejima. Read all 7 strange stunners at surelymag.com/archive
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "My dog pees the bed, again, and I think about how hard it is to be a priest when you spend your days as a fulltime laundress. β Lizzie Rhys Derksen, 'Something New' (Issue 31, 2025)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "She'd start by taking out a large wooden cutting board and tossing flour on it as if preparing for a sacred ritual. Then, she'd lay me face up on the board and flatten me with a rolling pin until I was thin enough to cut. β Tom Busillo, 'Baking Cookies of Myself' (Issue 31, 2025)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "Last night, an insect crawled out of the stump of your leg and began chittering and growing until it reached the size of a cat. β Tom Busillo, 'One of the Chosen Chambers' (Issue 31, 2025)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "1314, March 18: Jacques de Molay, the last of the Templars, is burned at the stake. As the fire is lit, he casts a malediction on several generations of Kings. β Lucie Bonvalet, 'A Malediction' (Issue 31, 2025)β
Issue 31 was packed with work from Lizzie Rhys Derksen, Tom Busillo, Lucie Bonvalet...
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "He can go out when the kids are asleep. They're still young enough to be put to bed before ten. That'll change in a few years, and then he doesn't know what he'll do. β Kevin B, 'Potter Street' (Issue 30, 2025)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Acting class on Friday afternoon, lunch in our bellies. Imagine a beach ball. We're in a circle. We've just run our hands through soft cat hairβan exercise to meditate and unknot the bands building the sides of our necks. β Lucas Simone, 'Beach Ball' (Issue 30, 2025)β
...Kevin B, and another bookend from Lucas Simone.
See how we started the year at surelymag.com/archive
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "I'm working so I can't ask you. But you can ask me, he says. It's a rule he has. He gets off at 4pm, will I wait around? β Lucas Simone, '1987 Obituaries' (Issue 30, 2025)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "'How old are you?' the man asked the girl. It was the first thing he had ever said to her after a year of working the same hours in different sections of the same department store. β Martha Hipley, 'Soon Parted' (Issue 30, 2025)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Jackson Stentham sits at the edge of the bed. He's one week into the world, and he's spent it working out. β Malory Antony, 'Slipskin' (Issue 30, 2025)β
Our last look-back post for the year brings us to the presentβin 2025, we published 16 brilliant stories:
Issue 30 was took us to new territories, with stories from Lucas Simone, Martha Hipley, Malory Antony...
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Sometimes I spend hours starin at a tooth, thinking about the person who once had it in their mouth. What are they doing right now? Do they remember their tooth? β Nora Ray, 'Five Frequently Asked Questions About My Teeth' (Issue 29, 2024)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "He unconsciously holds the self-inflicted wound that ended his days, as he remakes these once-mortals into tiny versions of their best selves. Cato imagines his pithy incarnations will pave the way to their eternal salvation, and possibly his own. β Suzanne Miller, 'Purgatorio Redux' (Issue 29, 2024)β
...Nora Ray, and Suzanne Miller. Reread it with us, at surelymag.com/archive
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "He screams and blah, blah blah. Do you know what it's like to be the instrument of someone else's torture? It's not fun. β Zeke Jarvis, 'Liver' (Issue 29, 2024)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "There's a puddle on every tarpaulin, a frown on every face, and strong demand for the compactor. A queue backs out to the road, impatient folk with belongings to crush. β Joseph Clegg, 'Leverage' (Issue 29, 2024)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "She'd made a mistake that day, one of those asinine errors that are so stupidly inconceivable their discovery is like finding half a worm in your just bitten apple. β Jennifer Walker, 'The Scratch' (Issue 29, 2024)β
issue 29 featured 5 stories that peer into unfamiliar mirrors and corridors, considering life and myth from unexpected placesβby Zeke Jarvis, Joseph Clegg, Jennifer Walker...
mid-reading window reminder that surely mag is open for submissions through January 10! send us the beautiful & unsettling short fiction you've been conjuring up π
guidelines & more can be found at surelymag.com/about
![A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Her GP asks her about a trauma, which Sarah learns means a traumatic impact to the foot or body, not any of the other traumas of which Sarah sometimes talks in classrooms or other rooms. β Brendan Todt, '[Sarah has attached a bandage to her heel]' (Issue 28, 2024)β](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ddxqw5p37mmgamcugztsikt/bafkreicnzuf5ttcctsc5nfqtx753ztckebzgo7isz6rdhjlib3am743a4q)
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Her GP asks her about a trauma, which Sarah learns means a traumatic impact to the foot or body, not any of the other traumas of which Sarah sometimes talks in classrooms or other rooms. β Brendan Todt, '[Sarah has attached a bandage to her heel]' (Issue 28, 2024)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "You're a good patient. You keep all your hurts inside. You cover the scars on your belly with the hospital gown, the ones in your amygdala with a smile. β Jordan Dilley, 'Corpus Proelium' (Issue 28, 2024)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Both twins regarded her as though she spoke some strange language, their tired faces hauntedly pale. They looked like a pair of children starved of light and water. β Rory Say, 'Play Dead' (Issue 28, 2024)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "To check the connection, he yanks at the patient's ear and the bulb illuminates the inside of the head. Jack pulls back the sheet covering the patient's face and sees beams shining through the eyes like headlights. β Mario Moussa, 'Handyman' (Issue 28, 2024)β
the stories in issue 28 explored what it is to navigate the world in a body and the nuanced ways it may change (or decay) over timeβrevisit writing from Brendan Todt, Jordan Dilley, Rory Say, and Mario Moussa with us at surelymag.com/archive
the window is open!
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "As he did, to his relief, he heard the cries had changed, there were no sounds of despair or pain coming from the chamber anymore, instead it was as if a bull or cow had taken over the room, nay, something feral; a great feral force was at work in that room. β NoΓ©mi Kiss-DeΓ‘ki, 'The Cuckold' (Issue 27, 2024)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "You tell yourself you'll start practicing unscrewing the crank, just in case something like this happens again, but you get too wrapped up in your classes to really think about it. It stays tightened. There is safety in constriction. The danger is letting loose, is opening yourself up to something trying to burrow and shove its way inside you. β Kara Crawford, 'Chastity Crank' (Issue 27, 2024)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "When he stills, Denise uses two fingers to push his belly and out comes Miss Aquamarine Boom, still whole, her gills fluttering, as if inviting a slice of lemon or stick of herb inside. As if to say, I'm still here, and I hope you're hungry. β Billie Chang, 'You're a Werewolf' (Issue 27, 2024)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "By Monday morning, most of the plant's leaves looked deflated, like someone had pricked them with pins as she slept. She rummaged her purse for her Swiss Army knife. Maybe if she sliced off the dead parts, the plant would revive. β Sarah Terez Rosenblum, 'Hopscotch' (Issue 27, 2024)β
issue 27 of surely brought us stories of uncanny loneliness within one's own body or environment, with characters searching for ways out via connectionβby NoΓ©mi Kiss-DeΓ‘ki, Kara Crawford, Billie Chang, and Sarah Terez Rosenblum.
revisit it with us at surelymag.com/archive
the window opens soonβjust on the other side of this weekend!
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "The icy wind stings her skin, in a good way. Ah, the blankness of freedom! A shrill cry splits the air. A small girl stands on the walkway by the store, caterwauling at the van that has just driven away without her. β Laura Wolf Benziker, 'Pickup / Drop off' (Issue 26, 2023)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The surrender of consciousness is what troubles her, this feeling of slipping from the waking world to the dark, and that she is expected to trust this shift each night, no questions asked. Everyone is complicit in the propaganda of sleep. β Suzy Eynon, 'Gerbil Girl' (Issue 26, 2023)β
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "'Girl,' the weakest of my orgasms grabs the pillow from my bed and holds it between her legs. The others run out of my bedroom, all laughing, all excited and smelling like Cucumber Melon or Warm Vanilla Sugar. β Avitus B. Carle, 'I Keep My Orgasms to Myself' (Issue 26, 2023)β
issue 26 was made up of three stories with a mischievous take on ubiquitous life from Laura Wolf Benziker, Suzy Eynon, and Avitus B. Carleβread it at surelymag.com/archive γ°οΈ
surely will be open for submissions on november 17! surelymag.com/about
because time collapses over the next couple months, we're opening our reading window a little earlyβsend us your best strange fiction between November 17th and January 10th!
our guidelines and more about what we want can be found at surelymag.com/about
A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Cobwebs dripped from the rafters, the sinks were stained with years of filth, and one particularly revolting drawer was full of sunflower seed shells and scraps of dental floss. β Meghan Ritchie, 'Tenant' (Issue 25, 2023)β
A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The short peach fuzz under her nose sticks upright, glowing in the sunlight behind her. She has some zits near her ear and jawline. I reach for the spot under my ear, feel around for the familiar bumps, a slight raw pain when I touch them. β Alison L. Fraser, 'Close to Me' (Issue 25, 2023)β
Meghan Ritchie, and Alison L. Fraser.
it waits for you at surelymag.com/archive γ°οΈ
