Beastly
by Madeleine Armstrong

As I cut the raw meat into chunks I think of my boy, who used to love watching me cook, waiting patiently at my feet for scraps – of food, or love. […]

Tricks of the Light
by Jo Clark

Sold the RAM yesterday. Guy got a bargain. I mean. It’s perfect, not a scratch. Been valeted like a thousand times, but that smell still lingers. […]

LISTEN IN THE BIN

Spread Your Wings and Swim
by Chris Clemens

It’s possible I’m not understanding correctly, but I do know that a raccoon doesn’t belong in this rooftop garden. […]

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Orcas
by Mairead Fagan

When the orcas first learned how to swim up out of the ocean, we thought it a wonder. Any sign of precipitation and they’d scud from the spuming waves…[…]

Atypical Mole
by Rebecca Field

Shelley slips on a once-white blouse in front of the mirror, examines the yellowing patches under her armpits. […]

All Hail the Earwig
by Frances Gapper

Me to the earwig who lives under the soap dish in my bathroom: ‘I love our tiny chats.’ Earwig: ‘Why so?’ […]

Shopping for Two
by Jenny Hart

The shopping list says bears. I wonder if it’s a typo and Georgia meant to text pears. On the one hand, the letters p and b are quite distant on the keyboard…[…]

Trespasser, Singular
by Alex Herod

We’re two minutes out of the service station – long enough for you to spill coffee in the footwell and squash my croissant in the process – when I see it. […]

Selected for Best Small Fictions 2025

Oh Give Me a Home
by Scott MacLeod

The bison stood outside the Smithsonian. Note I did not say buffalo. Buffalo is some made up word that means something like steak in French. […]

Mammals
by Fiona McKay

It gets dark earlier in Italy, and Kate feels a cognitive dissonance: going out for dinner on a warm evening, the sun already long gone. […]

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Baboon
by Allan Miller

Apprehension turned to amusement as they sat picking fleas and scratching their privates. But while our attention was taken with their monkeying around…[…]

Francine
by Andrew Monge

I’m so proud of myself.
Seems odd, given the circumstances.  After all, my actions tonight have made me a criminal. […]

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Home is Not a Place
by Romy Morreo

I’m not often thankful to be a goat, but today is an exception. I descend the rugged cliff face with ease, dancing down a route of imperceptible footholds. […]

Barney’s Howlers
by B.D Watson

When Barney reaches the edge of Acorn Woods, there’s not just one howl but a cacophony of shrill screaming. His heart races. […]

Ferocious Infidelity
by John Weagly

I was parked at the corner of Clark and Ridge, sitting in my car in the middle of the night, listening to the Tom Waits album Blue Valentine. […]