The current issue · June 2026

Slow Water

Stillness is also a current.

Issue two moves at the speed of a wide, flat river. Four stories about patience and its costs — a town that floods politely, a mapmaker's daughter who refuses the family trade, a field guide for people who are already gone, and the long art of staying put.

In this issue

  1. 01 Slow Water Annick Laurent A town that floods every spring, politely, and the woman who refuses to call it a disaster.
  2. 02 The Cartographer's Daughter Quits Dot Kowalczyk Four generations of mapmakers, and the one who put down the pen.
  3. 03 A Field Guide to Leaving Sam Whitlock Identifying marks, habitat, and seasonal range of the recently departed.
  4. 04 The Patience of Floods Pilar Reyes ✦ members A dam inspector, a drowned town, and a bell that still rings under the reservoir.

From the archive

For writers

We read year-round and answer within six weeks. Send us a story.

The Shallows Prize 2026 is open — Flash fiction under 1,000 words on the theme of "shallow water" — taken however you like. Deadline August 31, 2026. Enter →

For readers

The zine exists on paper, where it is happiest. Browse the store for print issues and subscriptions, or become a member to read everything we publish online.