Our largest book to date! With stories by Alix E. Harrow, Sam J. Miller, Sheree Renée Thomas, Cassandra Khaw, and many more, Apex Magazine 2021 is a collection of darkly beautiful tales appearing originally in Apex Magazine January-December 2021. From a spaceship in the far-flung reaches of space to a cozy living room where a detective interviews a killer, this anthology explores the good and the ugly. It dissects what makes us human versus what makes us monsters. Within these pages, you will meet a golem that doesn’t know how to save its family, a group of robots debating whether they are alive, and a woman striving for that social media-perfect life. From parasitic twins to a hospital dreamscape, to a town full of people wearing masks, this anthology will take you on journeys you never could have expected. Come with us and discover the 48 surreal, strange, shocking, and beautiful stories in Apex Magazine 2021. Table of Contents “Root Rot” — Fargo Tbakhi “Your Own Undoing” — P H Lee “Love, That Hungry Thing” — Cassandra Khaw “Mr. Death” — Alix E. Harrow “The Niddah” — Elana Gomel “All I Want for Christmas” — Charles Payseur “Gray Skies, Red Wings, Blue Lips, Black Hearts” — Merc Fenn Wolfmoor “Barefoot and Midnight” — Sheree Renée Thomas “The Amazing Exploding Women of the Early Twentieth Century” — A.C. Wise “Black Box of the Terraworms” — Barton Aikman “If Those Ragged Feet Won’t Run” — Annie Neugebauer “A Love That Burns Hot Enough to Last: Deleted Scenes From a Documentary” — Sam J. Miller “The Life and Death of Mia Fremont: An Interview with a Killer” — A.K. Hudson “This Is the Moment, Or One of Them” — Mari Ness “Throw Rug” — Aurelius Raines II “Mishpokhe and Ash” — Sydney Rossman-Reich “All This Darkness” — Jennifer R. Donohue “DEMON FIGHTER SUCKS” — Katherine Crighton “Eilam Is Forever” — Beth Dawkins “Without Wishes to Bind You” — E. Catherine Tobler “How to be Good” — R. Gatwood “Osu” — Kingsley Okpii “Survival, After” — Nicole J. LeBoeuf “What Sisters Take” — Kelly Sandoval “Cottonmouth” — Joelle Wellington “Next to Cleanliness” — Rose Keating “Discontinuity” — Jared Millet “Candyland” — Maggie Slater “Gift for the Cutter Man” — D. Thomas Minton “Wake Up, I Miss You” — Rachel Swirsky “Security Breach at Sugar Pine Suites” — Pamela Rentz “Happy Trails” — Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr. “Marked by Bears” — Jessie Loyer “Spirits of the Broken Lands” — Kevin Wabaunsee “When Evening Arrives” — Tiffany Morris “An Incident at Hellpoint Prime” — Norris Black “To Seek Himself Again” — Marie Croke “This Shattered Vessel, Which Holds Only Grief” — Izzy Wasserstein “In Haskins” — Carson Winter “Whose Mortal Taste” — Erin K. Wagner “Hank in the South Dakota Sun” — Stephanie Kraner “I Call Upon the Night as Witness” — Zahra Mukhi “Soil of Our Home, Storm of Our Lives” — Renan Bernardo “Robin’s Last Song” — Nina Munteanu “Godmother” — Cheryl S. Ntumy “The synchronism of touch” — Gabriela Damián Miravete “Dreamports” — Tlotlo Tsamaase “Samsāra in a Teacup” — Lavanya Lakshminarayan

"26 new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction, selected by Lavie Tidhar. The Best of World SF draws together stories from across the spectrum of science fiction - expect robots, spaceships and time travel, as well as some really weird stuff - representing twenty-one countries and five continents."--Provided by publisher

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released on the first Tuesday of every month. EDITORIAL Words from the Editor-in-Chief -- Jason Sizemore FICTION Professor Strong and the Brass Boys by Amal Singh All Votes Will Be Counted (We Promise) by Paul Crenshaw Face by Veronica Brush A Fool's Baneful Gallantry by Derek Lubangakene NONFICTION Interview with Author Amal Singh by Andrea Johnson Interview with Cover Artist Marcela Bolivar by Russell Dickerson The Pros and Cons of Stage Directions by Alethea Kontis

Apex Magazine publishes genre short fiction, nonfiction, interviews, and reviews. Our short fiction has won many of the genre's top literary awards including the Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish bi-monthly. Apex Magazine Promo 2020 is a special mini-issue to promote the relaunch of the magazine proper (coming in January, 2021). This mini-issue contains two original works and a round table discussion with our hardworking slush reader team. TABLE OF CONTENTS SHORT FICTION The Legacy of Alexandria by Maurice Broaddus Small Hopes and Dreams by Beth Dawkins NONFICTION A Round Table Discussion with the Apex Magazine Slush Team by Lesley Conner

Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal. APEX MAGAZINE is a digital dark science fiction and fantasy genre zine that features award-winning short fiction, essays, and interviews. Established in 2009, our fiction has won several Hugo and Nebula Awards. We publish every other month. Issue 125 contains the following: EDITORIAL Editorial by Jason Sizemore Words from the Honorary Special Editor by Jeffery Reynolds ORIGINAL FICTION COTTONMOUTH by Joelle Wellington Next to Cleanliness by Rose Keating Discontinuity by Jared Millet Candyland by Maggie Slater Gift for the Cutter Man by D. Thomas Minton Wake Up, I Miss You by Rachel Swirsky CLASSIC FICTION Deep Night by Tenea D. Johnson The Ever-Dreaming Verdict of Plagues by Jason Sanford The Rat by Yohanca Delgado INTERVIEWS Interview with Author Joelle Wellington by Andrea Johnson Interview with Author Rose Keating by Andrea Johnson Interview with Cover Artist Marcela Bolívar by Russell Dickerson NONFICTION Alone? Or, How a Survivalist Reality TV Show Defangs Publishing's Narrow Definition of Agency by Maria Dong Flesh Eggs by Ken MacGregor REVIEWS Review of Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest Review of Malefactor by Robert Repino Words for Thought: Short Fiction Reviews by A.C. Wise

Apex Magazine is an online short fiction zine of fantastical literature. TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial by Jason Sizemore ORIGINAL FICTION Root Rot by Fargo Tbakhi Your Own Undoing by P H Lee Love, That Hungry Thing by Cassandra Khaw Mr. Death by Alix E. Harrow The Niddah by Elana Gomel Gray Skies, Red Wings, Blue Lips, Black Hearts by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor HOLIDAY HORRORS FLASH FICTION WINNER All I Want for Christmas by Charles Payseur CLASSIC FICTION The Ace of Knives by Tonya Liburd Roots on Ya by LH Moore INTERVIEWS Interview with Author Fargo Tbakhi by Andrea Johnson Interview with Author P H Lee by Andrea Johnson Interview with Cover Artist Vicki Be Wicked by Russell Dickerson NONFICTION Story-less: A Forethought by Usman T. Malik Trapped in Stories by Malka Older Words for Thought: Short Fiction Review by AC Wise

Apex Magazine is a digital zine of dark short fiction. TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL SHORT FICTION "A Monster in the Shape of a Boy" by Hannah Yang "Shevitsa" by Koji A. Dae "Americana!" by Sam Asher The Fruit of the Princess Tree" by Sage Tyrtle "Hoodie" by Tonya Liburd "In the Monster's Mouth" by Tim Waggoner CLASSIC FICTION "Simbiyu and the Nameless" by Eugen Bacon "As the Sun Dies" by Jaym Gates NONFICTION "You in Your Headmeats" by Errick Nunnally "Mysterious Island" by Jeffrey Ford Book Review: Wendy, Darling by AC Wise (reviewed by Marie Croke) Book Review: Inheriting Her Ghosts by SH Cooper (reviewed by Tracy Robinson) INTERVIEWS Interview with Author Hannah Yang by Andrea Johnson Interview with Author Sam Asher by Andrea Johnson Interview with Cover Artist Reza Afshar by Bradley Powers