Bess Winter

Fiction Special Feature: “Self-Care,” by Brett Hymel Jr.

Posted by Bess Winter | Jul 18, 2025 | Special Features

Only an elite few stories take up residence in your memory as visceral reading experiences. Brett Hymel Jr.’s “Self-Care” is one such story.

From Our Contributors: Malcolm Friend Shares a Plátano Purchasing Playlist

Posted by Bess Winter | Jul 4, 2025 | From our Contributors

22.1 contributor Malcolm Friend shares a playlist to fill your earbuds on those lonely trips to the grocery store.

“Plátano Purchasing Theory” by Malcolm Friend

Posted by Bess Winter | Jul 4, 2025 | Samples

On the occasion of a Giant Eagle employee double-checking to make sureI rang the right item up at...

miCRo: “A Village Tries On Her Skin,” by A. A. Balaskovits

Posted by Bess Winter | Jun 11, 2025 | miCRo

In this Shirley Jackson-like fable, A. A. Balaskovits gives us a glimpse into collective cruelty and our age-old fear of, and fascination with, difference.

miCRo: “The News” by Laurie Blauner

Posted by Bess Winter | May 28, 2025 | miCRo

From the very first line of “The News,” we’re plunged into an absurdist reality that we slowly come to realize is just reality as we know it.

From Our Contributors: Erika Gallion Velasquez Shares a Playlist to Accompany “Paradise is Ours”

Posted by Bess Winter | May 23, 2025 | From our Contributors

Robert and Adele Schiff Award winner Erika Gallion Velasquez shares a playlist to accompany her prize-winning essay.

Folio: Family Secrets

Posted by Bess Winter | May 12, 2025 | Family Secrets, Special Features

In this folio to accompany issue 22.1, five writers explore family secrets.

Video: “Your Inbox Is Too Much With Us—a correspondence,” by Jaye Kranz

Posted by Bess Winter | May 9, 2025 | From our Contributors

Jaye Kranz shares this haunting excerpt of her poem, that takes us on journeys through email exchanges and ASCII landscapes that feel both déjà vu-like and oddly tranquil.