Editor’s note
Happy new year! We at the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable are starting off the year with our annual short story award contest. The submission period runs through March 30. The winner will be included in Illusive Worlds, our 2026 anthology due out this fall.
In this issue you’ll find an interview with this year’s contest judge, award-winning author and podcaster Susan Kaye Quinn, by BWG member Marianne Donley. Did you know Quinn holds a PhD in environmental engineering?
This issue’s theme is ordinary people. What you’ll find are some extraordinary tales about these ordinary folks. Our featured story is “Numbed to Death,” by M.R. Lehman Wiens, about loss and grieving. Our featured poem, “The Accident,” by Nancy Wheaton, shares the worry of a parent about an adventurous child.
In our &More section, Adam Stemple’s “Old Man, with Axe” shows us the grit of an aging loner. Poet Sunayna Pal, in “I Cut My Toe,” depicts the often significant way an adult and a child view the same situation. Likewise, Georgene Smith Goodin, in “Behold,” tells a story about looking—and truly seeing. And returning Roundtable author Marie Anderson gives us reason to smile in “Hallmarked.”
Literary Learnings takes us on a deep dive into the world of science fiction, with BWG member D.T. Krippene sharing some of his favorite novels in that genre.
We hope you find this issue an entertaining way to usher in the new year.
The 2026 Short Story Award is Open!
We are seeking stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction (tales of science fiction and fantasy, broadly interpreted). The winners receive cash and publication, with the first-place winner being considered for our upcoming anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, forthcoming in 2026.
Our guest Judge is Susan Kaye Quinn. You can read our interview with her here in this issue.
Featured Story
“Numbed to Death” by Matt Lehman Wiens
The parking lot was empty. Angie took in one breath of fresh, spring air before locking the front doors. The metal bolt clicked softly inside the heavy oak. In the silence of the Owen Family Funeral Home, she felt all the tension release from her lower back, her jaw, her temples. It had taken hours, but she’d finally shooed away the last of the mourners, sending them out with the firm, compassionate tone that was a tool of her trade. At last, she was alone.
Featured Poem
“The Accident” by Nancy Wheaton
I recall the magazine rack, issues neatly arranged
on four shelves, a sense of order like learning the A B C’s.
My son proudly sang the letters with a shuffle of his feet
under the dining room chair. On the top shelf People next to Popular Mechanic.
Also in this issue
“Old Man, with Axe” by Adam Stemple
“I cut my toe” by Sunayna Pal
“Hallmarked” by Marie Anderson
“Behold” by Georgene Smith Goodin
Interview with author Susan Kaye Quinn
Literary Learnings by D.T. Krippene
Betty’s Tips and Mixed-Up Words