The Town Drunk

The November 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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Assemble an Alien by Antha Ann Adkins

Exchanging toys with alien species is a great way to build interstellar friendships... or is it?

The Wingie by S. R. Gruber

A pinkish gold puffball nestled between the baby’s cheek and shoulder, covered in sparkly scales and wrapped up in rice paper wings... It raised its narrow head to look back at her, blinking slowly through thin lids... A dragon, no bigger than her fist. In the crib.

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Enjoy!

Hi Folks,

Well, between the wreckage of my office, travel, day-job business, and the ongoing situation with my mom and her house, I didn't manage to get an October issue out for you. I'm very sorry about that -- mortified, actually -- and it is my hope and expectation that the next twelve months will be much, much less traumatic for me. I know quite a few authors are waiting on feedback, edits, etc. from me, and my goal is to wrap up all that communication very shortly.

I'm putting the final touches on the November issue, so expect to see that soon. I'm also planning to work on subsequent issues this weekend and in the coming week. (No NaNoWriMo for me.) We have a lot of great material in inventory, and we look forward to sharing it with you!

Happy Halloween,
The Editor

Hi, Folks. I'm sorry the October issue is running so late. I had to basically dismantle my office for a renovation, and then *that* had to be postponed unexpectedly. This is making it difficult for me to get all the necessary paperwork in order and actually produce the issue. And now I'm about to go out of town on a trip that's been planned for six months. Is Mercury in retrograde or something?

Anyway, I'll get the issue online as soon as I can. Thank you for your patience!

The September 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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Squeak by Amanda Davis

The repairman insists there are rats in the basement, but the homeowner doesn’t hear so much as a...

I Think I Broke My Human by Craig Watson

A malfunctioning human is always a challenge for customer service.

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Enjoy!

The August 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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Self-Made Man by Nora Fleischer

In this period piece, a savvy country girl finds gainful employment—as a man—in old New York. But what’s the price of her ambition?

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Enjoy!

I'm afraid that our July issue, like our June issue, will be a bit delayed, but I'll be working on it this week -- barring more emergencies. I apologize profusely and thank you for your patience.

I had originally hoped to reopen the magazine to submissions today or tomorrow. However, one of our star submissions editors is attending Odyssey at the moment, and he won't be available for some weeks. I figure it's best to wait until his return before kicking off a new reading period. Anyhow, I'll keep you all posted.

I hope all our American friends had a wonderful 4th of July!

The June 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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The Bastard Saga by Abby Rustad

Bast is the Chosen One, commissioned by a doomed wizard to save the world from Rackshalok, Prince of Demons and Lord of the Underworld. But what's in it for Bast?

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Enjoy!

Just wanted to let you all know that there will be a June issue. It's almost ready -- just running a little behind schedule.

My husband was struck by a car recently while riding his bike. He's recovering, but I'm still contending with the aftermath. In any event, I'll be back in touch soon...

I regret to report that we won't be able to put together a May issue after all. Again, I am really the only bottleneck here, as I continue to deal with some challenging family issues; this past week was particularly difficult for me. Things should start getting better from here on out, though, at least for a little while. I will do my best to get caught up by the end of the month and have a brand new issue out the first of June.

Thank you for your continued patience -- I really apologize for the delay.

I just wanted to let you all know that the May issue is running a little behind schedule. This is my fault, since I haven't been able to devote the necessary time to editing over the past few weeks. My mother's health has begun to deteriorate, and that's shaken up the family quite a bit; I recently had to travel on the spur of the moment. Needless to say, it's been hard to concentrate on other matters.

Over the next couple of weeks, though, I'm hoping to catch up completely. I know some of you authors have been waiting a long time to hear from us; rest assured that we will be in touch soon.

Thank you for your patience and support!

We are closing to submissions for the time being, as previously announced. I'm not sure when we will reopen, but I'm thinking probably after the Fourth of July weekend. We certainly have enough to keep us busy until then!

Thank you all for your continued support!

Attention authors: We will be closing to submissions this Friday, April 17. We're a bit backlogged right now, and the slush readers need a break. I'm not sure when we will reopen, but I will let you all know. Thanks!

The April 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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Finnegan's Pig by Libbie Grant Ricks

Finnegan was a short and crabbed kind of feller who always wore a fancy felt hat and a tweed coat because he thought it made him look real sophisticated. He never put his hands into the earth if he could help it, on account of that fancy coat of his. Finnegan always had some excuse why he couldn’t help with the shearin’ of his neighbor’s sheep or the bringin’ in of the fall harvest. “My coat’ll stain,” he’d say, “and where will I get another one in Saskatoon?”

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Enjoy!

The March 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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A Natural History of the Pancake Badger by Matthew Bey

The pancake badger looked nothing at all like a badger. A multitude of segmented legs surrounded a disc-shaped body about the size of a bicycle tire... When it growled, its entire body split open like a clam shell, revealing one of the most powerful jaws ever discovered in a galaxy of fauna. It reminded Mike of a chattering teeth wind-up toy. It also reminded Mike of a rabid bulldog, his garbage disposal, the sound a city bus makes, a bandsaw, and his ex-boss at the Field Museum.

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Enjoy!

Our Reprint Query page is back up. Thank you for bearing with us, and let us know if you have any more trouble.

Our Contact Us page is once again operational. I will work on getting the Reprint Query page up and running later this evening. Thank you all for your patience!

For some reason, our "Contact Us" and reprint query pages are not working right now. Our web hosting service must've done something clever to cause this. Please be patient while we work on a solution. FYI, you can still submit stories -- just not questions, queries, etc.

Sorry about this!

The February 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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The God of Laundry by Tim W. Burke

Cleanliness really is next to godliness.

The Liberation of Roscoe White by LaShawn M. Wanak

What would aliens want with an ol’ black man? Plenty, as it turns out...

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Enjoy!

The Town Drunk is once again open to submissions. Please visit our Guidelines page for details. Also, please report any problems by commenting here or contacting us via the website.

We look forward to seeing your work!

The January 2009 Issue is now online. This month we feature:

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Super Hero, Uncensored by KJ Kabza

The diary of a disgruntled super hero reveals his efforts to turn his fortunes around.

Ragnarok Has Been Postponed by Margaret Ronald

Will the world end with a bang or a whimper? Told by one of Odin’s ravens, this story deftly weaves humor through intense drama as Norse mythology unfolds in the modern world.

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Enjoy!