Vast Chasm Magazine

She Says, “I Look Good” Whenever someone asks Where do you get your fashion inspiration from? without hesitating, I say, My momma. And, boy, you best believe it. See, my momma knows fabrics. She knows a pattern when she s…

“Whenever someone asks Where do you get your fashion inspiration from? without hesitating, I say, My momma.”

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- @poetrybyemma.bsky.social, "She Says, 'I Look Good'" in Issue 17

Diamonds i would rather notwake with arms of glue and legs of blue numb,drowsy, reaching for hairy chest and crusted eyelashes,swishing my palms across empty sheets i will pick him up, drive him to his plac…

"i would rather not / wake with arms of glue and legs of blue numb, / drowsy, reaching for hairy chest and crusted eyelashes, / swishing my palms across empty sheets"

- Orly Berkowitz-Henkin, “Diamonds” in Issue 17

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King Breaker Wake before the sun. Slip unnoticed past the hiss of your father’s snore. Past the mildew smell inside the closed-up caravan, the floor cold under your socks. Pull the curtain aside. Fog sticks to …

“The skateboard’s your ticket out of morning silence. Bearings whining. Wind slicing your eyes.”

Mathieu Parsy, “King Breaker” in Issue 17

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@marcie-roman7.bsky.social

Terminal Alice’s mother looked at the airport monitor and cursed. It was under her breath, but still loud enough for Alice to hear over the bumping wheels of luggage carts, the clickity-clack of high-heeled…

“Alice had made a bargain the night before, whispered in the dark to whatever invisible force controlled her fate, that if she didn’t talk before she boarded the plane, she would make it to her dad’s place safely.”

- Marcie Roman, "Terminal" in Issue 17

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Swamp Pie Daddy always said our house was a lemon: all waxy and yellow out front but rotten in the back. We had mold on the porch, black widows under the stairs, and water moccasins in the yard where my brot…

“...my brother and I played alligator, slithering through the overgrown weeds with both hands poised like jaws, ready to snap at any second.”

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- Ruth Joffre (@ruthjoffre.bsky.social), “Swamp Pie” in Issue 17

Restrained The bite marks on the man in Room 614 were too large for a pitbull. Wendolyn could feel the current of excitement as she clocked in for her shift. Two nurses had already texted her about it; three …

“Restrained” by Stephanie Bucklin (she/her)

“The bite marks on the man in Room 614 were too large for a pitbull.”

- Stephanie Bucklin, "Restrained" in Issue 17

vastliterarypress.org/2026/01/17/b...

26Q1 Editor’s Note Especially during times of uncertainty and unrest, I yearn for a simplicity often associated with childhood, a time when joy and wonder wait around every corner and imagination …

Despite what rabbit-themed cereal commercials would have you believe, Issue 17 isn’t just for kids.

Better check it out for yourself!

vastliterarypress.org/26q1/

26Q1 Editor’s Note Especially during times of uncertainty and unrest, I yearn for a simplicity often associated with childhood, a time when joy and wonder wait around every corner and imagination …

Issue 17 is live! Whether your resolution is to cultivate a childlike sense of wonder or not, don’t miss these great pieces!

vastliterarypress.org/26q1/

And give her some love with a new account! @marcie-roman7.bsky.social. Maybe go wild and buy her book too?! www.marcieroman.com/home

Marcie Roman - TELEPHONE View Marcie Roman's artwork in the TELEPHONE exhibition. Marcie Roman is a writer and arts administrator. Her work has appeared in Eleventh Hour, On the Premises, Toronto Journal, Driftwood, CALYX, Sp...

Devote a few threads of your attention to this ensnaring piece by upcoming contributor, Marcie Roman.

You might even get sucked into the concept of TELEPHONE, but you'll definitely be counting down until you can read her forthcoming fiction in Issue 17.

telephonegame.art/artists/marc...

a close up of a diamond with blue spots on it Alt: A close up of a diamond, sparkling.

We've got a gem of a poem from Orly Berkowitz-Henkin to share in this month's issue. Coming soon!

Your Body Is a Wolf | Your Impossible Voice By Mathieu Parsy — "It starts with a tearing—quiet at first, like silk splitting in the dark—and then the howl builds in your spine, in your teeth, in the wet hinge of your jaw."

Before you head down to the breakers for Mathieu Parsy’s new flash in Issue 17, sink your teeth into his stunning (and bite size) piece from @yourimpossiblevoice.com

yourimpossiblevoice.com/your-body-is...

Brain

Giddy with excitement for Emma McCoy’s upcoming flash CNF in Issue 17? Us too. For now, open your heart and mind to “Brain,” her poem from Thimble Mag. @poetrybyemma.bsky.social

www.thimblelitmag.com/2023/10/15/b...

Stephanie Bucklin

We have fiction from Stephanie Bucklin coming your way later this month. If you can’t restrain yourself until then, get to know another side of her writing life by checking out her articles in Everyday Health.

www.everydayhealth.com/authors/step...

We’re excited to have new flash fiction from @realruthjoffre in our next issue. Get a feel for her work by reading “Woodpecker, Warbler, Mussel, Thrush” @podcastle.org It’s transformational.

podcastle.org/2025/11/04/p...

This week, get hyped to meet the contributors for our upcoming issue! These folks have heart and know how to spin joy and ache into a seamless dream.

By My Own Hand Three facts. One: when researchers leave a man alone in a room for fifteen minutes, with a button they can press in order to shock themselves, two-thirds will—bzzt—press the button. Two: while I wa…

If you missed it in Issue 16, don't feel defeated. Here's another chance to read "By My Own Hand" by Zach Edson.
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This might be just what you need today: "what spirits need on lonely nights" by Issue 16 contributor @ianli.bsky.social in Abyss & Apex

www.abyssapexzine.com/2025/06/what...

I Am the Twitch in the Family Line they said my great-grandmothertaught herself to read by whisperinghymns backward into a jar.kept snakes in the stove,sucked pennies clean for luck.the men said she was feeble.the women said, nervou…

In case you missed it, check out Carrie Farrar’s image-rich poem in Issue 16!
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Why not a lawn chair? On indulging the inexplicable want

I know you also love Issue 16 contributor, Sara Sherburne. So you should absolutely check out her substack, More Human, starting with Why not a lawn chair?
After all, "you can just do things because you want to"

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“What Are You, and Where is Burma?” by Juliet Way-Henthorne - The Los Angeles Review “What are you?” A question, posed by strangers, that has followed me for as long as I can remember. On subways, in classrooms, on the street. People only mean to ask about my ethnic makeup, but to use those words—what are you—leaves a sting that mixed-race people know well. “What am I?” I want to […]

Feel the sting in “What Are You, and Where is Burma?” by Issue 16 contributor Juliet Way-Henthorne @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

losangelesreview.org/what-are-you...

Be brave and check out “The Beast” by @mattroywriter.bsky.social in Just Keep Up Magazine:

www.justkeepupmagazine.com/the-beast-by...

We’re giddy with child-like joy because our first issue of 2026 comes out later this month! But before that, we want to spend a few days celebrating work from our Issue 16 contributors.

Both lovely and aching in their own ways. Grateful to read them. All the best in the year ahead, Sara!

Best Lit Mag Awards - Chill Subs Welcome to Chill Subs' 3rd annual Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards! Vote for your favorite literary magazines and celebrate the publications that make our community thrive.

Love the folks at Chill Subs! They've put out a poll for people to spotlight their favorite lit mags. It closes Dec. 7, so take a look and consider exercising those voting muscles for all your favs.

www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...

Issue 16 Interactive by Vast The world is a whole lot less lonely when you’re making connections. Create groups of four using some important words from the pieces in this issue. With this Connections game, we wanted you to get…

Feeling disconnected? Have we got a remedy for you!

Sink your crab claws into the interactive NYT-style Connections game from our latest issue
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@ianli.bsky.social so good!

When the Sky Tumbled Down First came the birds, flapping in the same futile way I do when I swim—unable to make headway against the inexorable pull of a strange, incomprehensible physics. I ached to help them, but my manage…

"First came the birds, flapping in the same futile way I do when I swim—unable to make headway against the inexorable pull of a strange, incomprehensible physics.”
— Ian Li, “When the Sky Tumbled Down” in 25Q4

vastliterarypress.org/2025/10/18/2...

By My Own Hand Three facts. One: when researchers leave a man alone in a room for fifteen minutes, with a button they can press in order to shock themselves, two-thirds will—bzzt—press the button. Two: while I wa…

“I don’t have to tell you that I was the younger brother, or that after that birthday I always got a present on Luke’s birthday.”
— Zach Edson, “By My Own Hand” in 25Q4

vastliterarypress.org/2025/10/18/2...