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Serotonin Press

@serotoninpress.bsky.social

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Established in 2020, Serotonin publishes poetry and prose on mental illness and suicide prevention. Trigger warning: themes of trauma, abuse, and self-harm throughout. Visit www.serotoninpress.com

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Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · 27d

"I decide that it’s better if it remains repressed, tucked away beyond my acknowledgement. A self-made healing after all these years, or a wounding."

Read this incredible account of @pipkinsjoshua.bsky.social
experience with Two Spirit identity and psychosis.

serotoninpress.com/2025/09/17/s...

Spirit Papyraceus by Joshua C. Pipkins

A pastor in his early twenties. The Bible spread on a podium. Hallelujah! Roaring cheers. Music and swaying bodies all around. What are they doing? Going to the altar for healing, Mom says. Some of…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jul 26

"Does a tree during winter punish itself for losing its leaves? Does an iceberg in summer punish itself for turning to water? I’m not grieving who I used to be. That person doesn’t exist"

New prose by Bella Melardi up on our website. Give it a read!

serotoninpress.com/2025/07/26/i...

I Am Not Abandoning You, Just Moving On by Bella Melardi

I punish myself for not staying the same. Not being the person I used to be. Does a tree during winter punish itself for losing its leaves? Does an iceberg in summer punish itself for turning to wa…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jul 8

"there isn’t enough sky for heavy clouds
that won’t part or burst, no matter how hard i try."

New, profound poem up on the site by Indian writer, Rohit Karir,
...give it a read!

serotoninpress.com/2025/07/08/l...

Lived, unlived by Rohit Karir

Sometimes, i wake up relaxedthere’s no pain or rush to think, actacknowledged dreams lie dissolved on such days and momentsclear as azure skyanswers pierce the heart of questionsi ask myself before…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jul 3

Now available where books are sold: The Beast in the Pines is a psychological horror novel about a teenager who explores the New Jersey Pines Barrens in search of the Jersey Devil. This novel is described by readers as "very dark" and "captivating."

serotoninpress.com/the-beast-in...

The Beast in the Pines

Buy The Beast in the Pines on Ingram. In October of 2003, a 19 year old named Cody considers joining the Army to fight in the Iraq War so that he can escape the boredom of small town Woodville, New…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jun 25

"I had fire in my eyes.

Now there are merely embers.

My pupils, two worn-out wicks."

New poem up by Arshi Mortuza, inspired by Bertha Mason, the so-called “madwoman in the attic” from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

serotoninpress.com/2025/06/25/a...

A Text From the Attic by Arshi Mortuza

There’s no service in this attic—yet phantom vibrationsmake my heart skip a beat,thinking you’ve finally reached out. I pick up my phone and write youanother text:the last time you saw me,I had fir…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · May 23

We've updated our submissions guidelines! We're still open to individual submissions of poetry and prose on mental illness. Consideration of book length manuscripts are on a temporary pause due to volume of submissions. Please click the link to learn more

serotoninpress.com/contact/

Individual Submissions: OPEN Please submit previously unpublished writing on mental illness, neurodivergence, and suicide prevention. We want to read original work from the author’s perspecti…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · May 22

Hello everyone! Today we are publishing a prose poem on autism by Joshua Hammond called I’m Still Not Brave Enough, and according to the author, "intends to encapsulate some of what I feel during test taking periods at school."

serotoninpress.com/2025/05/22/i...

I’m Still Not Brave Enough by Joshua Hammond

I’m still not brave enough to ask for help. I know that the scritch-scratching of lead on paper will yank my attention like a chain. I know that the strong perfume will cloud my mind with sickly-sw…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · May 21

Please join us at Sueño Mexican Restaurant in Philadelphia on Sunday, May 25th from 5-7pm as we celebrate the release of Jane-Rebecca Cannarella’s poetry collection, Long Island Sad Poems. Our author will be reading her poetry and books will be available for sale. @anotherintro.bsky.social

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · May 13

"You never saw me administered applesauce with crushed Ritalin. You never saw me smushing my little face against a cold windowpane—a nighttime deluge of strobing blue & red." Two new, powerful poems up on the site by Zach Spruce. Give them a read! serotoninpress.com/2025/05/13/t...

Two Poems by Zach Spruce

Hydrayou love translucent amber ambrosia and drowning in the din of last call you love globes of ghastly lightyou love gilton tasting glasses sticky mahogany you love to hate allthese sticky endeav…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · May 6

Four new poems are now up on our website! Keti Shea's incredible poems focus on Autism, ADHD, OCD, and neurodivergent anxiety in a haunting display of how mundane objects like door knobs and kitchen appliances can torture the mind. Read these poems!

@ketishea.bsky.social

Four Poems by Keti Shea

//silent scream//my husband asked me what happens when two people talk to me at once andI said I become a caged animal who is backed into a cornerand the sweat falls in clear bullets andthat’s irra…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Apr 23

"It’s perfect for this strange & hurting world.
Beneath my new aluminum ribs, I will split
like an old stone."

Two new poems out by @chrissystegmanpoet.bsky.social that are devastatingly beautiful and will probably be the most impactful thing you read today.

serotoninpress.com/2025/04/23/t...

Two Poems by Chrissy Stegman

The FloodPregnant with my son, I dream of drivingthe car folding itself like a paper swaninto the cold mouth of the Chesapeake.A mother and child sleeping underwater,the sound of exhaustion’s lulla…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Apr 17

Great news everyone, today we published our first poetry book! Please consider buying a copy of Long Island Sad Poems by Jane-Rebecca Cannarella!
serotoninpress.com/2025/04/17/l...

Long Island Sad Poems Review

Long Island Sad Poems Serotonin Press has published its first poetry collection! Click the link above to buy your copy of Long Island Sad Poems by Jane-Rebecca Cannarella. Long Island Sad Poems nav…

serotoninpress.com

Reposted by Serotonin Press

john @johnamitchell.bsky.social · Apr 12

"I wouldn’t wish anxiety on anyone, but anxiety isn’t all bad."

One anxious person to another, true. But our own personal buy-in, how we "know" discordant energies and disordered thoughts are actually our secret survival superpowers (and sometimes they are), can make it so hard to transcend them.

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Apr 12

"Anxiety makes me write about my stresses, pushes me to create stories out of thin air, like I’m suddenly a magician, about what it’s like to endure and succeed despite one’s struggles."

New prose poem up by
@kellyesparza.bsky.social about anxiety!

serotoninpress.com/2025/04/12/y...

You Say I have Anxiety Like It’s Only a Bad Thing by Kelly Esparza

Anxiety is a phantom that’s been my shadow for years. You say I have anxiety like it’s negative, but anxiety is a coin toss. Some days, my mind is a prison, an escape room I can’t leave, a tower in…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Apr 12

"Anxiety makes me write about my stresses, pushes me to create stories out of thin air, like I’m suddenly a magician, about what it’s like to endure and succeed despite one’s struggles."

New prose poem up by
@kellyesparza.bsky.social about anxiety!

serotoninpress.com/2025/04/12/y...

You Say I have Anxiety Like It’s Only a Bad Thing by Kelly Esparza

Anxiety is a phantom that’s been my shadow for years. You say I have anxiety like it’s negative, but anxiety is a coin toss. Some days, my mind is a prison, an escape room I can’t leave, a tower in…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Apr 2

"I want to heal
my ancestors,
so their spirits feel
lighter on my bones."

Excited to announce the publication of two new poems, "Amid An Awakening, Grief Awakens As Well" and "Ideation To Do List" by Chicana warrior poet Rocío Franco.

serotoninpress.com/2025/04/02/t...

Two Poems by Rocío Franco

Ideation To Do List𝥷 September 1st—Back To School Night! Write in planner, so I won’t forget. Don’t know if I’ll make it.𝥷 (for poem) It’s August 25th, a day after her birthday. Her eyes sparkled l…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Apr 1

Hey everyone please welcome our newest addition to the Serotonin masthead, @axiopoeticus.bsky.social! Angel Rosen is going to be helping out with submissions. An experienced poet, her "...poetry exists in a realm of mental illness and hope - Plath spaces - and spaces inclusive of everyone."

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Mar 26

"I could not help but wonder if mass shooters felt this way. Whether their feelings of powerlessness drove them to their horrific acts. And I thought about their mothers. Whether they could have done anything differently." New prose by Stacie Dubnow! serotoninpress.com/2025/03/26/c...

Counting on You by Stacie Dubnow

November brought heavy downpours, erasing all traces of the fall foliage from the trees. I slipped outside during a break in the rain and inhaled the crisp late afternoon and fusty scent of wet lea…

serotoninpress.com

Reposted by Serotonin Press

Kelly Esparza Has a Pinned #DVPit Pitch! @kellyesparza.bsky.social · Mar 17

Got a prose poem accepted for publication by @serotoninpress.bsky.social about the positives of having anxiety. I think a lot of times, we can focus on anxiety being bad, but there are positives that can come out of hardship and struggles.
#mentalhealthawareness

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Mar 12

"Strands of hair fall one by one
light brown and brittle, delicate enough
to thread a sewing needle—
My hair? The thread.
My fingers? The needle."

Today we're sharing two new poems by Sarah Smith about self-harm and anxiety. Give them a read at the link!

serotoninpress.com/2025/03/12/t...

Two Poems by Sarah Smith

Trichotillomania (Trigger warning: anxiety disorders, hair pulling, self-harm) Strands of hair fall one by onelight brown and brittle, delicate enoughto thread a sewing needle—My hair? The thread.…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Mar 4

"Busy keeps the pull away that unravels
The sound of low bellows always distracting
A little ringing in my ear
Tapping your feet methodically
Tapping my fingers, restless"

New poem up by Rachel Turney. Give it a read! @rachelturney.bsky.social

serotoninpress.com/2025/03/04/p...

People Like Us by Rachel Turney

Busy is good for people like us Busy keeps the pull away that unravels The sound of low bellows always distracting A little ringing in my ear Tapping your feet methodically Tappin…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Feb 6

"It's no wonder, I finish a poem, and

I am shocked. And I cannot even recognize
the boy, his eyes of black staring back."

New work up by budding Nigerian poet Marvellous Igwe about destruction, disassociation, and writing poetry. Give it a read! serotoninpress.com/2025/02/06/v...

Viral by Marvellous Mmesomachi Igwe

“And now I am become death. Destroyer of worlds”— Bhagavad GitaFirst step in writing a poem is first fleshening it in the potters wheel of the mind. Like how they said their god said “let us create…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jan 30

"My body, slick like a baby sliding into a new world."

New poem up on the site: Edge by Yalda Al-Ani, (after Sylvia Plath's Edge). It's a chilling, insomniac reflection on the struggles of creation. Give the full poem a read!

serotoninpress.com/2025/01/30/e...

Edge by Yalda Al-Ani

After Sylvia Plath’s Edge The letters writhe as my fingertips tickle my iPhone’s keyboard. It’s 2:20 am. My pupils move in every direction, drawing circle-like shapes in the air, imploring my eyeli…

serotoninpress.com

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jan 23

"Bipolar Disorder is the receptacle in which you place your impermanence, the enormously skittish sense of self you’ve mistaken for actualized ego over the years."

Beyond excited to share this new, powerful essay by @marybuchanan.bsky.social about a psych hospital stay.

Serotonin Press @serotoninpress.bsky.social · Jan 14

"Mortality sits on the coffee table like a knick-knack."

Who else can relate to when physical pain leads to mental pain? How about financial difficulties? If so, read this new poem by Craig Kirchner!

serotoninpress.com/2025/01/14/e...

Entropy by Craig Kirchner

Every time I get up something new hurts,like a pinball bouncing to the next bellof pain, close to tilt, no lucky replay.I sit back down and rub the latest.It makes it difficult to enjoy all this en…

serotoninpress.com

Reposted by Serotonin Press

Amy Saul-Zerby @amysz.bsky.social · Dec 30

had such a great time reading at the Serotonin Anthology Release last night! TYSM to Sean Lynch of
@serotoninpress.bsky.social for having me 🙏

check out the magazine & purchase a copy of the anthology at serotoninpress.com ✨