By Alex Carrigan

Mouse Magazine is a new literary website that premiered earlier this spring. The About page says it was started "as a way of getting friends to finish their projects." The first issue of the publication features a mix of poetry, fiction, nonfiction essays, art (comics and videos), and "reportage," short nonfiction pieces that recount specific moments and conversations the authors had. These pieces are an eclectic mix of creative writing that the Editors' Letter says was made "in order to memorialize, to put in one place, the works and ideas of all the strange people we knew."
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By Suzanne Cottrell

By Melissa Schack

Lisa Braxton is an essayist, short story writer, and now, a novelist. Her debut novel, The Talking Drum, is scheduled for release on May 30th. Based in the Boston, Massachusetts area, she has published numerous stories and essays in publications such as the Vermont Literary Review, Black Lives Have Always Mattered, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.
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She believes “the arts are a form of ‘health food’ for our brains.” If that’s the case, we should devour her book. Check out her publisher’s website and her author page. You can also follow her on Twitter @LisaReidbraxton and Instagram lisabraxton6186.

By Ghia Vitale

Taco Bell Quarterly is the quirky, fast food-themed literary zine we all needed in our lives. Learn more about this indie publication and the editor who runs it through this exclusive interview.

By Lavi Picu

*Editor's Note: This piece was previously published on the author's blog.

From a Young Girl to a Global Figure
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How did she transform from a young girl into a globally known advocate for female education? Her story starts with her as a young girl in the Swat Valley, Pakistan, who was denied an education. She was a seventh-grade school girl who wrote a diary about her feelings regarding the possible closure of her school. The diary appeared on the BBC Urdu online. She had it published under a pen name.
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By Jennifer Clements

By Mary Clements Fisher

By Ghia Vitale

I’ve been waiting a long time for the release of What’s Michael? Fatcat Collection Volume 1 by Makoto Kobayashi. This manga lived up to my standards, but there’s some stuff in it I wish more people were talking about. Warning: Light spoilers and suicide mention/description ahead.

By Lindsey Danis

Allen Berry is a poet and teacher living in Huntsville, Alabama. Like so many creatives, Berry is adjusting to working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

While Berry notes that “there is a sense of panic” in his community, with the local Sheriff’s department warning campuses they will arrest students for trespassing, he finds much to celebrate. It’s still spring, and it’s beautiful, as he shared in a recent poem published on Facebook. “The thing that I was most influenced by was the way that people care coming together and taking advantage of the time away,” he said. 

Berry is the author of a book of poems (Travel for Agoraphobics) and the chapbooks Distractions and Illusions and Sitting Up with the Dead. 

We chat with Berry about the healing powers of nature, teaching poetry, and his writing practice.
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By Danielle Arze