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Introducing the Vol. 4 authors

The Conium Review: Volume 4 is currently slated for a mid-November, 2015 release. We’ve finalized the table of contents for this lean, mean fiction machine. Pre-orders for the paperback version go on sale soon, and we’ll unveil some sneak previews of this year’s collector’s edition as the release date nears.

This issue’s stories and authors are:

  • “The People Who Live in the Sears,” by Emily Koon (winner of the 2015 Innovative Short Fiction Contest)
  • “Butterbean,” by Emily Koon
  • “Camisole,” by Tamara K. Walker
  • “Passing,” by Rita Bullwinkel
  • “Dictator in a Jar,” by Marina Petrova
  • “Chiroptera,” by Kayla Pongrac
  • “Shampoo,” by Ingrid Jendrzejewski
  • “Apples,” by Theodora Ziolkowski
  • “The Eating Habits of Famous Actors,” by Zach Powers

About the Volume 4 Authors

Emily Koon is a fiction writer from North Carolina. She has work in Portland Review, Bayou, Atticus Review, and other places and can be found at twitter.com/thebookdress.

Tamara K. Walker dreams of irrealities among typewriter ribbons, stuffed animals and duct tape flower barrettes. She resides near Boulder, Colorado with her wife/life partner and blogs irregularly about writing and literature at http://tamarakwalker.wordpress.com. She may also be found online at http://about.me/tamara.kwalker. Her writing has previously appeared or is forthcoming in The Cafe Irreal, A cappella Zoo, Melusine, Apocrypha and Abstractions, Gay Flash Fiction, Identity Theory, a handful of poetry zines, and several themed print anthologies published by Kind of a Hurricane Press.

Rita Bullwinkel lives in Nashville, Tennessee where she is a fiction MFA candidate at Vanderbilt University. Her writing has appeared in many places including NOON, Spork, Joyland,The Atlas Review, Paper Darts, and the book Gigantic Worlds: An Anthology of Science Flash Fiction. She is a graduate of Brown University, a Vanderbilt Commons Writer in Residence, a Sewanee Writers’ Conference Tennessee Williams Scholarship Award winner, and a Helene Wurlitzer Foundation grantee. Read more about her at ritabullwinkel.com.

Marina Petrova lives and writes in New York City. Her work has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Underwater New York, and Calliope Anthology. She received an MFA from The New School in May 2014.

Kayla Pongrac is an avid writer, reader, tea drinker, and record spinner. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Vinyl Poetry, Split Lip Magazine, Oblong, HOOT, KYSO Flash, and Nat. Brut, among others. Her first chapbook, a collection of flash fiction stories titled The Flexible Truth, is available for purchase from Anchor and Plume Press. To read more of Kayla’s work, visit www.kaylapongrac.com or follow her on Twitter @KP_the_Promisee.

Ingrid Jendrzejewski studied creative writing and English literature at the University of Evansville before going on to study physics at the University of Cambridge. She has soft spots for go, cryptic crosswords, and the python programming language, but these days spends most of her time trying to keep up with a delightfully energetic toddler. Once in a very great while, she adds a tiny something to www.ingridj.com and tweets at @LunchOnTuesday.

Theodora Ziolkowski’s poetry and prose have previously appeared or are forthcoming in Glimmer Train, Prairie Schooner, and Short FICTION (England), among other journals, anthologies, and exhibits. A chapbook of her poems, A Place Made Red, was published this year by Finishing Line Press. She is originally from Easton, Pennsylvania and currently lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Zach Powers lives and writes in Savannah, Georgia. His debut book, Gravity Changes, will be published in spring 2017 by BOA Editions. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Black Warrior Review, The Brooklyn Review, Forklift, Ohio, Phoebe, PANK, Caketrain, and elsewhere. He is the founder of the literary arts nonprofit Seersucker Live (SeersuckerLive.com). He leads the writers’ workshop at the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home, where he also serves on the board of directors. His writing for television won an Emmy. Get to know him at ZachPowers.com.

 

“Senior Superlatives: All Seniors MUST Vote!” by Kayla Pongrac

Graduation Cap

Dear Class of 2015,

            ALL STUDENTS in our graduating class are REQUIRED to vote for senior superlatives this year. Only a few people from last year’s class participated in the voting process, and the people who did ended up voting for themselves (SOOOOOO NOT cool). This year, it is MANDATORY that you vote so that our yearbook is way better than the one produced by the class of 2014. Also, we’ve added new categories to our friendly competition, so don’t skimp out on those new ones. Remember that you can only vote for yourself ONCE.

Now get to it (and don’t forget to vote for me!).

Sincerely & with LOTS of <3 and hugs,

Stacie Hollan

2015 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief

@ILoveUStacieLoo15

 

 

SENIOR SUPERLATIVES ’15 OFFICIAL BALLOT

RULES: VOTE FOR ONLY ONE PERSON. YOU CAN VOTE FOR YOURSELF ONLY ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

YOUR NAME:________________________________________ (all ballots will be kept confidential)

 

Old Categories

 

Nicest Eyes:

 

Nicest Hair:

 

Nicest Smile:

 

Coolest Tattoo:

 

Weirdest Piercing:

 

Class Clown:

 

Biggest Flirt:

 

Most Likely to Succeed:

 

 

Newbie Categories

 

Most Technologically Inclined:

 

Nicest Facebook Page:

 

Most Interesting Twitter Feed:

 

Most Likely to Invent a New Form of Social Media:

 

Best Dressed Hipster:

 

Most Impressive Vinyl Collector:

 

Most Likely to Own Stock in Starbucks One Day:

 

Most Likely to Drop His/Her iPhone or iPad in the Toilet:

 

 

PLEASE RETURN YOUR BALLOT TO ME BY EIGHTH PERIOD ON FRIDAY. OTHERWISE, I WILL REPORT YOU TO THE YEARBOOK ADVISOR.

 

About the Author:

Kayla Pongrac is an avid writer, reader, tea drinker, and record spinner. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in theNewerYork, Split Lip Magazine, Oblong, The Bohemyth, DUM DUM Zine, and Mixtape Methodology, among others. When she’s not writing creatively, she’s writing professionally—for two newspapers and a few magazines in her hometown of Johnstown, PA. To read more of Kayla’s work, visit www.kaylapongrac.com or follow her on Twitter @KP_the_Promisee.

Image Credit: © Konovalov Pavel / Dollar Photo Club

“New Perimeters,” by Kayla Pongrac

Cafe Sketch

On Monday I showed you around town like any good friend would do; I pointed to massive structures and historical landmarks that I thought might make your insides hum with familiarity.

As we dipped triangle-shaped slices of pita bread into red pepper-flavored hummus at a table inside a crowded café, I explained that all my friends have officially escaped, just like you did five years ago. Nowadays, I’m forced to picture everyone miles away, building new perimeters in different cities across the United States. But what I didn’t tell you is that when I picture them (including you, back in your new home state), I do my best to read their lips. They usually say things like this:

This morning I sprayed myself with silly string . . . I wish you could’ve been there to see me standing in front of my bedroom mirror, mummifying myself with those wet threads of blue. When I finished, I had never looked happier, or more appropriately attired.

This afternoon I plan to tie a dozen helium balloons to my mailbox so that passersby on cars and bicycles will know that the party is here, and it’s staying. Where are you? Did you get my invitation, or did it get lost in the mail again? 

Tonight when I take a bath, I’m going to add food coloring to the water. I’ll soak myself in blue before adding a few drops of red: maybe it’ll help me decide if purple is my new favorite color should it give me a nicer, more saturated hue. By the way, I must admit that I forget what your favorite color is. Forgive me for this.

We finished the hummus before we finished the pita bread—a rare occurrence for the two of us. Before wiping your mouth with a monogrammed napkin, you told me not to worry, that maybe I, too, will escape this town once I feel its dimensions shrink. You said that is the only variable that will suggest to me that it’s time for company upkeep.

On Wednesday morning, I sat alone in my favorite coffee shop daring the walls to closet me.

About the Author:

Kayla Pongrac is an avid writer, reader, tea drinker, and record spinner. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in theNewerYork, Split Lip Magazine, Oblong, The Bohemyth, DUM DUM Zine, and Mixtape Methodology, among others. When she’s not writing creatively, she’s writing professionally—for two newspapers and a few magazines in her hometown of Johnstown, PA. To read more of Kayla’s work, visit www.kaylapongrac.com or follow her on Twitter @KP_the_Promisee.

Image Credit: © Isaxar / Dollar Photo Club