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surely magazine

@surelymag.bsky.social

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surelymag.com formerly Shirley Magazine; still publishing bold, weird fiction writing three times a year; still edited by Colleen Burner and Lauren Perez. Next submission window: 11/17/25 to 1/20/26

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 15h

and Walking Tom by Robert Long Foreman. 〰️

issue 32 is waiting for you at surelymag.com

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: Carol took Tom's hand in hers as they continued walking, keeping up with the man and the dead man. She was so excited she apparently forgot the date wasn't going well. — Robert Long Foreman, "Walking Tom"

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 15h

A Story About a Fire by Salena Casha...

blue text on a cream-colored background 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. — Salena Casha, "A Story About a Fire"

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 15h

Maureen at the Mall by R.K. West...

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: ...it was obvious that they were exactly who they were, just like Maude, who turned around when Maureen touched her shoulder and smiled with a stranger's face as Maureen, her heart pounding, stammered an apology before dashing back to the promenade... — R.K. West, "Maureen at the Mall"

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 15h

one more look into our latest issue for your mid-week reading: with Fractures by Amy DeBellis...

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: My heart does its own little relevé into my throat. I almost rise, but there's nowhere to go—the seats are full on both sides of me, and in order to get out I'd have to fight my way through, wielding my cane in front of me. — Amy DeBellis, "Fractures"

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Reposted by surely magazine

Amy DeBellis @amykdebellis.bsky.social · 4d

New story "Fractures" out in @surelymag.bsky.social - about a ballet dancer after a career-ending injury. 🩰https://surelymag.com/fractures

Fractures by Amy DeBellis — surely

surelymag.com

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Reposted by surely magazine

Salena Casha @salenacasha.bsky.social · 4d

Another feature from @surelymag.bsky.social. do not sleep on this issue surelymag.com/a-story-abou...

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 6d

read A Story About a Fire by Salena Casha: surelymag.com/a-story-about-a-fire

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: I listen as they gather kindling, the type that the narrator snaps once, twice, three times, to show its dryness. I listen to the slow shuck of flint, tried once, twice, three times, until a flame is caught. — Salena Casha, "A Story About a Fire"

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 6d

read Maureen at the Mall by R.K. West: surelymag.com/maureen-at-the-mall

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: ...Mrs. Wallis, who wasn't related, but for whom she had always had a great deal of affection, who was standing outside the pet shop, gazing thoughtfully at some romping beagle puppies, but who turned out, upon closer inspection, to be someone completely different, which made Maureen question all those other sightings... — R.K. West, "Maureen at the Mall"

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 6d

read Fractures by Amy DeBellis: surelymag.com/fractures

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: It always felt like my hairs were being ripped out by the roots, although no blood ever showed. But memories are milk-teeth, and in their place grow the fangs of the present. — Amy DeBellis, "Fractures"

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 6d

read Walking Tom by Robert Long Foreman: surelymag.com/walking-tom

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: "I'm talking about walking corpses," said Carol. "But it's not so much a thing as an activity. Like, there's no walking corpse. It's not a kind of corpse. It's what you do. Walk the corpse." — Robert Long Foreman, "Walking Tom"

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 8d

Finally, Amy DeBellis brings us to the ballet—with rage and envy and heartbreak—with Fractures
surelymag.com/fractures

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: I know the location of every callus and taped-up toe on her right foot, because those are what she showed off in her latest social media reel, and I—a heavy lump in my bed, the mattress imprinted with the mold of my body, my body itself feeling like it was growing mold—devoured it all. — Amy DeBellis, "Fractures"

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 8d

Robert Long Foreman is back again, taking us out on a date with Walking Tom
surelymag.com/walking-tom

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: Daisy reached out and ran her fingers through Tom's hair. "Hair's not bad. Not thinning too much, at least."
"Good stride, too," said Carol. "I like walking dates because I can see if they walk in a healthy way. Check for gait problems." — Robert Long Foreman, "Walking Tom"

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 8d

R.K. West brought us a one-sentence wonder: Maureen at the Mall
surelymag.com/maureen-at-the-mall

blue text on a cream-colored background 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... — R.K. West, "Maureen at the Mall"

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 8d

issue 32 starts with the cozily surreal A Story About a Fire by Salena Casha
surelymag.com/a-story-about-a-fire

blue text on a cream-colored background reads: The screen is haunted by an emerald field or a bouquet of healed coral set somewhere none of us can afford to fly to and subsequently ruin (or maybe, maybe, what I see on the screen isn't even real, but I can't contend with that on a Monday. — Salena Casha, "A Story About a Fire"

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 9d

issue 29 has been moved to the archive
surelymag.com/archive 🚪

the cover page of issue 29 of surely magazine, september 2024. author names listed: zeke jarvis, joseph clegg, jennifer walker, nora ray, suzanne miller. all text is a muted sea green over a light clinical green background

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 9d

issue 32 is up today, with gleefully disorienting stories from Salena Casha, R.K. West, Robert Long Foreman, and Amy DeBellis 〰️
enjoy, at surelymag.com

surely

surelymag.com

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 11d

...Conor Barnes, and LaToya Jordan.
Read it with us at surelymag.com/archive 〰️

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Sonya thinks about it and concludes that once it breaks through the concrete the bowling ball will move quickly through the black earth underneath, and she isn't sure what will happen to her boyfriend after that. — Conor Barnes, 'Sonya' (Issue 23, 2022)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "By the end of the 1.5-hour delay, Johnna nursed 157 souls. She buttoned her blouse to the sounds of coos and snores. Was it mass hysteria? No, it was good leadership. Leading a team of 45 would be a piece of cake. — LaToya Jordan, 'The Commuter' (Issue 23, 2022)”

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 11d

issue 23 of Shirley Magazine met "what if" with magic in unexpected ways, with stories by Valerie Alexander, Daniel Allen Solomon, Andrew Martin...

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The casket was carved with roses on each end, lined with pale blue satin and airtight. No sunlight. Emily could sleep safely in it all day. — Valerie Alexander, 'The October Bed' (Issue 23, 2022)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "The dead man fixes his good eye, the one that wasn't halfway knocked from his skull, the one that isn't bulging, on the living man. Couldn't stand the waste, he says. — Daniel Allen Solomon, 'River' (Issue 23, 2022)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "Then the screws started spelling out words in cursive, like I had learned to do in school earlier that year. But the screws didn't seem interested in communication. Just in how words felt to write. — Andrew Martin, 'Misbehaving Screws' (Issue 23, 2022)”

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 17d

...Melissa Pumayugra, and Abigail Denton.
〰️ Flash back with us at surelymag.com/archive 〰️

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The sleek, gray creature had not only decided to nurse, but also release itself. I closed my eyes and feigned sleep, careful not to meet its giant eyes. — Melissa Pumayugra, 'Milkies' (Issue 22, 2022)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "The lonely pine on the hill was struck down by lightning last night, but still Jakob will not take my concerns seriously. There's no telling how long we may be here, then. — Abigail Denton, 'The Lake' (Issue 22, 2022)”

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · 17d

Issue 22 of Shirley finds surrealism in the body, in nature, and far-flung pockets of the universe with stories from Kyra Enby, Ashley McCurry, Jessica Wright...

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "The patient gulps and massages her belly. The doctor's office transforms into a park: pond, trees, sunlight. The color palette should contradict the office as best it can, which shouldn't be hard to do if the graphic designer chooses the inside of a colon for the office. — Kyra Enby, 'As Seen on TV' (Issue 22, 2022)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "The breathwork is intended to stimulate the vagus nerve and desensitize a trauma response, taking my body out of "fight or flight." What she doesn't yet know is that I never actually make it to these crossroads. — Ashley McCurry, 'Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy' (Issue 22, 2022)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "He chuckled like a river breaking on rocks and threw her mind back to a childhood spent on-planet. Social climbers everywhere. Gravity sucking her feet like iron filings to a magnet. — Jessica Wright, 'A Pair of Shoes' (Issue 22, 2022)”

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surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Sep 8

📣 one more week! send us the stories you found growing in the back of the closet! 📣

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Aug 1

the window is OPEN! send us your stories from now until Sept. 15 〰️ guidelines and more can be found at surelymag.com/about

about — surely

surelymag.com

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Sep 6

issue 21 of Shirley has four stories of monsters, hauntings, and the shimmering donkey in your kitchen 🐴 Read the work of Jasmine Sawers, Sarah Batista Pereira, Yael Grunseit, and Christopher Fuller over at surelymag.com/archive 〰️

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "In Khun Yai's stories, the yaks disguise themselves as beautiful women who ensnare human men or adopt human daughters. They can pretend for a long time, but at the first scent of betrayal, the yaks unhinge their jaws and devour those who love them before the phra-aek arrives to save the day. — Jasmine Sawers, 'The Anchored World' (Issue 21, 2021)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Everyone wants to live here and only a few people are meant to, so you tear down an old building. Put up a new one. You put people in their places, but you don't think about it—not enough to make it last. — Sarah Batista Pereira, 'Please Understand: the People Before Me Were Bringing the Property Value Down' (Issue 21, 2021)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "Once disassembled she wanted me to fry her in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. She made me picture myself slobbering while gnawing on her leg, letting her greasy light drip down my chin. She instructed me to consume all of her, to let my stomach balloon and growl from fullness. — Yael Grunseit, 'Life: the Abstract Donkey' (Issue 21, 2021)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "His nose, hitherto a vestigial mass of cartilage and half-dead nerves clinging to his face, had awakened. He could smell through the miasma of hot slime in the bag and into the very substance of the building: wood glue, dust, mice. — Christopher Fuller, 'The Wild Hunt' (Issue 21, 2021)”

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Aug 31

this weekend we're time-warping back 4 years to issue 20 of Shirley, with some hot and haunting stories from C. Michael Mincks, Laura Vincent, Richard Helmling, and Jessica Hatch. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

go back in time with us at surelymag.com/archive

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "Maybe somewhere on Earth there was a shadow the size of a country in our shapes, so vast you could only maybe see it from an airplane or a satellite. — C. Michael Mincks, 'Advent Daybreaks on the Rockabye Pridelands' (Issue 20, 2021)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "I was stuck. Forcibly paused by the horror of it all. Unable to swivel and leave, or to move forwards with intent. Her bloody fingers appeared around my neck with impressive deliberacy. — Laura Vincent, 'Beach Festival' (Issue 20, 2021)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "A smudge of dark brown was dried blood. A gelatinous blob was a swollen eye. The blue bunting was a shirt. And the whole thing was a human body. — Richard Helmling, 'Bloom' (Issue 20, 2021)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "She showed up when and where her agent told her to, focused solely on conducting the way a puppeteer manipulated strings, pulling music from the bows and reeds of a great, human instrument. — Jessica Hatch, 'Toscanini in the Plague Year' (Issue 20, 2021)”

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Aug 20

the submission window is still open—won't you throw your story through it, like a soft breeze or perhaps a nice rock? there's just under a month left to show us your strange fiction for issue 32 🪨💨

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Aug 1

the window is OPEN! send us your stories from now until Sept. 15 〰️ guidelines and more can be found at surelymag.com/about

about — surely

surelymag.com

surely magazine @surelymag.bsky.social · Aug 17

...and Michael Chin!
flash back with us at surelymag.com/archive

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "Ingrid knelt by the vampire, trying to determine how she could tell if he were really dead. Big Todd had made clear to her the undead had no breath, no pulse to check for. — Michael Chin, 'Thrall' (Issue 19, 2021)”

A black background with two thin white outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, white text reads: "There was a sense of importance and vigilante justice upon Ingrid, Big Todd, and Gabby's shared discovery they were not only having the same dreams, but those dreams were coming true. — Michael Chin, 'Visions' (Issue 19, 2021)”

A white background with two thin black outlines of circles overlapping. Inside the circles, black text reads: "You've been given a great gift," he repeated. Ingrid understood him to be broken. Maybe broken by this circumstance an angel wasn't equipped to process. maybe an old model of angel, expiring. — Michael Chin, 'Gift' (Issue 19, 2021)”