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The Moon as Her Mother
by Hira Amir It all started the day when a team of doctors, wearing masks and lab coats, from the Institute of Animal Health came to their part of the village to announce the development of the new vaccine that fights various cattle diseases. All the village cows were to be injected immediately, the senior doctor said, no emotion behind his eyes; it is a government order. They had prepared in advance for the collective rebellion from the villagers. “We’re not letting these go
Hira Amir
5 hours ago
Reading the Squeak Times
by Christopher Dabrowski Boar Albert ate and read The Squeak Times. -Loretta -he grunted animatedly. -Did you know that Earth's inhabitants eat pigs? -Oh -quipped his wife. -Barbarians! Albert adjusted the bathrobe belt and went back to reading. Yet he couldn't concentrate. Too much anxiety cost him what he read. -I will avenge them! I will eat a human! I'll buy one from the greyhounds -he decided. -They sell humans? -asked Loretta. -Yeah, th
Christopher T. Dabrowski
Feb 18
The Star Signs of Sceptics
by Gary Welsh She was an Aquarius; he didn’t give a shit about astrology. He told her there were no stars in the sky the night he was born, and hence no constellation to stereotype him with. He didn’t believe there were only twelve types of people in the world, so she read her horoscope out loud to him from the morning paper. She was convinced it would come true. He told her that back when he was an intern journalist, he spent a week working at the lifestyle section of the lo
Gary Welsh
Jan 21
Night Nineteen
by Virginia Elizabeth Hayes Eleanor looked out the crooked bedroom window wondering about the law of averages. Nineteen days ago, she rented a house that was really a collection of added-on rooms, that passed for a structure, out in rural Alaska. She hadn’t traveled here for the architecture. No. the house was conveniently positioned under the zone in the sky called: the Aurora Oval. This was the part of the world that enjoyed more visitations from the Northern Lights, on ave
Virginia Elizabeth Hayes
Jan 20
The Silence of Wings
by Malkeet Kaur It takes off from the runway, a thundering metal bird let loose into the twinkling night sky, its landing gear crunching before folding in. Inside the long, seemingly secure tube, hundreds of souls prepare to cross distant lands and oceans. Some are simply answering the call of home. Its nose climbs higher and higher, slicing through air and wind until it becomes a speck of flickering light to the awe-struck denizens below. Inside the cockpit, the twinkling pa
Malkeet Kaur
Jan 13
Kaiju Summers
by Logan Noble Lead the Defenders of EARTH PRIME against the KAIJU HORDES – 14 cards per pack, one RARE and one HALO-FOIL HERO guaranteed! Copy on booster pack of Defenders v. Kaiju (base set) Whenever we had a spare $3 to our name, my brother Rog and I would buy a booster pack of Defenders v. Kaiju. The nearest place that sold them—at the time, this being rural Michigan, this being the early 2000s—was the Wal-Mart two towns over. Allowance, birthday money, the mythically rar
Logan Noble
Jan 11
One More for the Essex
by James Callan She rose from her ocean bed, roused from the dark by her need to breathe. Like stars, like Cetus in the night sky, she brought light to the world off the glint of her back. She was silver in the moonlight, the surf churning pearls, a rich foam and salted spray that stirred the lookouts from the masthead. Larboard, starboard, rise ye sleepers and roustabouts! Leeward! Captain Pollard cried. Leviathan! Thar she blows! Breaching the horizon, the sun raked the sea
James Callan
Jan 6
A Small Glass of Sherry
by Owen Townend Winter’s early dark and sudden chill often sets me in search of comfort. Familiar ground for better or worse. That December night brought me to the tired town of Feldon, one of four places I grew up in. For a little over a year in my mid-teens, Feldon was home and a happy one. I had friends who led me through its streets, just watching the comings and goings of everybody else. We always ended up at the car park of the local wine bar, Your Excellent Sherris. A
Catalina Bonati
Dec 28, 2025
Anthropophagy for the Urban Hipster, Or, What to Do With Your Hands at Pretentious Parties
by Elissa Hunter Rebecca can tell Mickey’s a douchebag from the moment he introduces himself. Not just because he goes by Mickey instead of Mike or Michael or even Mikey. He’s also wearing too much cologne and has an unfortunate soul patch that looks like a bunch of blond pubes glued to his chin. Normally, even in her most desperate of dry spells, Rebecca would have run as soon as she saw him coming. But here they are, at a holiday party in a too-small apartment in Brooklyn,
Elissa Hunter
Dec 22, 2025
Chimney Surprise
by Christopher Dabrowksi Something rattled and fell, raising a billowing cloud of black dust. I was sure it was a burglar, but... it's Christmas, maybe it's Santa Claus. However, it wasn't him, even though the characteristic colors, hat, and gift bag matched. It was a stunning woman instead—yes, a little soot-stained and coughing because she had inhaled it, but even without that, her beauty knocked me out. "Hey, I am Snowflake" she finally spoke up. "I'm a Santa substitute. H
Christopher T. Dabrowski
Dec 21, 2025
A Puzzle
by Fran Schumer Rachel and her mother, Sarah, are sitting in the living room of Rachel’s parents’ apartment. Light floods the apartment, which is on the 31st Floor. A golf course and beyond it, a carpet of green. No people. No noise. Perhaps her parents are preparing for the next stage: heaven. Rachel’s father is asleep in his remotely operated Lift chair, when her mother, turning toward Rachel, comes out with this: “I never really understood you.” Rachel is surprised. Consid
Fran Schumer
Dec 2, 2025
Scrapped
by E.C. Traganas “Go and feed the hens,” my Thea Popi bids, “and fetch me a couple of eggs.” There is a faint lazy clucking in the chicken coop across the stone walkway. The late morning sun is burning overhead. Suffocating warmth envelops me like a brick oven. I watch where I tread. The ancient pavers are well-worn and slippery; the angle is steep. One misstep and I am sliding down a perilous slope towards the village square. With plastic tote in hand, I maneuver the jagged
E.C. Traganas
Nov 30, 2025
Quit Horsing Around
by Susan Duffield-Lodge From the moment our eyes met I knew in my heart that he was the one. I’d never been a believer in love at first sight. Until now. Destiny can be funny like that; sneaking up on you when you least expect it—one of those magical, memorable moments when love gently taps you on the shoulder. I was immediately transfixed by the sheer beauty and magnificence of him as he began slowly ambling toward me. I found myself assessing his physical bearing from afar—
Susan Duffield-Lodge
Nov 25, 2025
Almost a Schrödinger
by Anne M. Carson His cat is both alive, hovering at the moment of simultaneity, and also dead. The cartoon vet puts a sympathetic hand on the client’s shoulder, says, “About your cat Mr Schrödinger, I have good news and bad news.” My cat wasn’t dead and alive, but in two places at once, almost a Schrödinger cat. One version of Charlie was hiding from the new cat sitter, safe in the cupboard at home. The other was in hospital comforting me. Doped up with opiods, my calves wra
Anne M. Carson
Nov 23, 2025
Helpful Dog
by Christopher Dabrowski Human worked again, at a glowing rectangle—he called it a laptop. He looked tired, so Ozzy offered to help: - Get some rest, I'll pat the keyboard for you - he barked. Human stroked his head and moved away. The dog glanced at the device. - I won't even write a "woof, woof". Difficult stamps... However, he decided he wouldn't give up and enthusiastically pawed at random buttons. What is happening? The letters grew! Human came and went pale, reading: -
Christopher T. Dabrowski
Nov 11, 2025
Shards of a Lost Life
by Gary Beck I had trouble containing my excitement on the bus ride from my house to my new summer workplace, the Neighborhood Community Center. Just before my sophomore year in high school ended I saw an ad on a bulletin board for junior counselors at a day camp. I called, got an appointment for an interview, went, made a good impression and got the job. This was important to me for many reasons. The biggest was it got me away from the gang five days a week. In my early chil
Gary Beck
Nov 6, 2025
Leaving Room
by Onyinyechi Anyalenkeya He began with the bedroom. She had smashed everything that could be smashed and shredded anything that could be shredded. He wasn’t particularly bothered, they were just things. He never had much property anyway. He had returned to the apartment exactly three weeks after the incident. He got a mop and a bucket of water from the bathroom (thankfully, these had been left out in her destruction-spree). There was no laundry soap so he added lemon-scent
Onyinyechi Anyalenkeya
Nov 4, 2025
How the Mouse Got Big Ears
by Sarah Reynolds Have you ever heard the story of how the mouse got his big ears? As all the animals were formed, some were made bigger and others smaller. As the years passed, the animals forgot why, and so did I. One of the smallest animals that I’ve seen living on a farm was Mouse. Now Mouse didn’t always have large ears. It all started one day, when Mouse was eating seeds in the barn. That’s when Horse stepped on his tail. Mouse yelped out, “eeeekkk, eeeeekkk.” Several m
Sarah Reynolds
Nov 3, 2025
Fetching Fish
by Kelli J. Gavin When I was a child, I was quite close with my Grandma Collova. Grandma and I enjoyed games of rummy at her kitchen table and T.V. dinners watching Wheel of Fortune. She would doze after finishing her meal and wouldn’t rouse again until her show had finished. If it was terribly warm, we would sit outside under her shade tree and she would fill a small pool with water where we could cool down until mosquitoes drove us in for the evening. When I received an inv
Kelli J. Gavin
Oct 27, 2025
The Empty Chair
by Malkeet Kaur The café was always too bright, the kind of light that made you squint even on overcast days. She sat by the window, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee that had long gone cold. The steam had stopped rising minutes ago, but she hadn’t noticed. Outside, the rain tapped against the glass in uneven rhythms, like a song someone had started but forgotten how to finish. He was supposed to meet her at three. The clock on the wall, its hands chipped and yellowed,
Malkeet Kaur
Oct 23, 2025
Articles
Dreaming of Kalbarri
by Meredith Stephens “Wake up! If we don’t get going now it will be too hot!” urged my fiance Alex. I couldn’t understand why we had to leave for Kalbarri National Park at 5:30am in darkness. Was it really going to get that hot? We quickly arose and headed to the car for the long drive. By the time we arrived, the day was breaking and we were among the first tourists to arrive at the famed Nature’s Window. We made our way along the trail to the window where international tour
Meredith Stephens
Nov 2, 2025
Between Two Skies: An Egyptian Heart in Albany
by Walid Abdallah When I first arrived in Albany, New York, in the winter of 2014, I felt as if I had stepped into a painting. The air...
Walid Abdallah
Oct 13, 2025
A Little Bundle of Fur/ A Not So Little Bundle of Fur
by Charles Stott I go for a walk most afternoons, and this Saturday in June was no exception. I felt good so I thought that I would go...
Charles Stott
Sep 22, 2025
Reviews
Refugium Book Review
by Catalina Bonati 3.75/5 stars ★★★⯪☆ Refugium by Eric Nicholas (2025) is a novel set in the Pleistocene, where several different types of pre-humans co-habitate as they take refuge from the Toba super-eruption aftermath in Sumatra. Set in an unspecified area of lower Asia, an Homo Erectus named Last is the lowest-ranking person in the tribe who must make do with scraps but who is sustained by the love of his little brother. The Erectus tribe is beset by a tribe of Homo Deni
Catalina Bonati
Jan 5
The Cold Visitor Book Review
by Catalina Bonati 3.75/5 stars ★★★⯪☆ Jonathan Butcher’s The Cold Visitor (published October 4, 2025) is a haunted house and cosmic horror novel that centers on the marriage of Sally and Herbert, who have reached their twilight years and now live in the retirement village of Heaven’s Sent. Sally comes from an accursed family who every half a century must complete a gruesome ritual in order to keep a demonic cosmic monster at bay, and the time has now come for the ritual to be
Catalina Bonati
Nov 16, 2025
Willow Rose Book Review
by Catalina Bonati 3.25/ 5 stars ★★★☆☆ Willow Rose by M. Kevin Hayden (to be published October 28 2025) is a short novel of...
Catalina Bonati
Aug 26, 2025
Short Stories
The Moon as Her Mother
by Hira Amir It all started the day when a team of doctors, wearing masks and lab coats, from the Institute of Animal Health came to their part of the village to announce the development of the new vaccine that fights various cattle diseases. All the village cows were to be injected immediately, the senior doctor said, no emotion behind his eyes; it is a government order. They had prepared in advance for the collective rebellion from the villagers. “We’re not letting these go
Hira Amir
5 hours ago
Reading the Squeak Times
by Christopher Dabrowski Boar Albert ate and read The Squeak Times. -Loretta -he grunted animatedly. -Did you know that Earth's inhabitants eat pigs? -Oh -quipped his wife. -Barbarians! Albert adjusted the bathrobe belt and went back to reading. Yet he couldn't concentrate. Too much anxiety cost him what he read. -I will avenge them! I will eat a human! I'll buy one from the greyhounds -he decided. -They sell humans? -asked Loretta. -Yeah, th
Christopher T. Dabrowski
Feb 18
The Star Signs of Sceptics
by Gary Welsh She was an Aquarius; he didn’t give a shit about astrology. He told her there were no stars in the sky the night he was born, and hence no constellation to stereotype him with. He didn’t believe there were only twelve types of people in the world, so she read her horoscope out loud to him from the morning paper. She was convinced it would come true. He told her that back when he was an intern journalist, he spent a week working at the lifestyle section of the lo
Gary Welsh
Jan 21
Poetry
Eating Close to Home
by John Paul Caponigro The old goat down the lane looks like the man who makes cheese. The mother of the farmstand skin’s orange as the carrots she grows. The tongue of the oyster farmer’s as salty as the sea. I see colors sown in all seasons. Flowers in friends’ gardens seed mine. Neighbors are my daily bread, I devour the places they offer, they become us.
John Paul Caponigro
1 day ago
wasn't art
by Geoffrey Aitken some people still can’t grasp it. can’t make head nor tail, in the unfathomability of a cold concrete urban block. do not know, how to ask if the street sweeper’s okay on days when the leaf blower goes on and on as if every single one is a page from a book of instructions targeting the gutter. some people fail to see why passengers don’t have tickets on public transport to the city. awkwardly notice they’re wondering what was under the stark, grey-scale cou
Geoffrey Aitken
2 days ago
While Listening to the Evening News
by Alex Sy The sky, the sudden flare— the sky, vast, immeasurable. The glare—see how we dare to risk falling off the cliff high up where the distant stairs declare allegiance to this world. We claim to pull our hearts open, to bear— The highway lights in rows like aisle angels in heaven melt in the eye. The mullahs in Iran convene like crows. Meanwhile, my people swarm the floating Nazarene as if everything depended on it.
Alex Sy
3 days ago
Art & Photography
Submission Guidelines
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We do not publish homophobic, transphobic, racist, or misogynist works of any kind.
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If the piece you wish to submit has italics or an image attached, please email us your submission at ultramarineliteraryreview@gmail.com rather than using the submission form.
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Prose must be less than 3,000 words.
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Poetry must be less than 3 pages, single-spaced.
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We respond to submissions within the span of two weeks.
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