Heartlines Spec, Issue 10 (Spring 2026)

The stories and poems in Issue 10 take place in the grey area between worlds. The line between reality and the speculative becomes blurred as characters dive into the ocean, robots tell stories, and a Sasquatch searches for a friend. Death and family are themes throughout, as characters grieve absences or choose to build a new structure. SHORT FICTION The Impossibility of Fall Prevention by Pauline Barmby, Cradle Root Rot by Isla Lader The Three Mothers You Will Never Meet by Parker M. O'Neill Of ember and dust by Anne Liberton Seashell Voicemails by Julia Raye Death is a God Who Wants His Laws Obeyed by Scott Payne A Sasquatch Story by Rachel Esser Fruit by Crystal Koo POETRY BeCause by Y.M. Pang Embodied Ancestors by K. T. Lyn Permission by Jordan Hirsch The Siren After a Meal by Jules Arbeaux Advertisement for Your BurdenBot by Sam Lesek NONFICTION The Grateful Dead by Lareina Abbott Coup de Coeur: Recent spec-fic reads by Lulu Vidal