books
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Review — ‘Verity Guild’ by Mai Corland
What do you think of when someone says the word “romantasy”? Medieval worlds full of castles? Dragons and magical creatures? Warriors and queens? The popular subgenre that combines fantasy and romance has slowly become a monolith that promotes a singular aesthetic vision; yet, Verity Guild veers away and paves its own path. Written by Mai…
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REVIEW – ‘Mantras of the Moon’ by Srijana Mitra
Srijana Mitra’s collection of poems, Mantras of the Moon, reflects an appreciation and longing for one’s culture and past heritage. Mitra herself is a writer based in India who has spoken at many literary festivals (Mangalore Lit Fest and Shoolini University Literary Festival, to name a few). She’s been published previously in publications such as…
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In conversation with Kay E. Bancroft: examining generational ties and identity through pop horror in ‘Bloodroom’
“I think that I view the page as a playground,” Kay E. Bancroft said, describing their writing style. “And what I mean by that is I seek to understand what the limitations of the page are.” This writing approach has sustained Bancroft’s work since they embarked on their MFA in creative writing with a poetry…
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In conversation with ‘the little things: literary magazine’: fostering community and spotlighting the beauty of the ordinary
Most people can articulate the significant events of their lives: graduations, weddings, funerals, birthdays. Those usually stand out. But much of our humanity is captured equally, and for some even more so, in the seemingly small experiences that make up our day-to-day lives. “Sometimes it’s not about the insanely dramatic [moments]—the tragedies and the comedies…
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REVIEW — ‘Orange Island’ by Vanessa Frances
In the world we’re living in today, we can all relate to the feeling of doom we get from watching the news. We’re surrounded by endless reports of the devastation felt around the world, and then we turn to social media, drowning out the noise with our favorite influencer’s newest vacation vlog. We watch the…
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REVIEW — ‘Shield of Sparrows’ by Devney Perry
Over the course of this decade, the subgenre of “romantasy” has soared in popularity. Specifically on BookTok, novels that fall under the fantasy-romance hybrid category are pushed to the forefront of viewers’ feeds and social media doomscrolling. Despite the mainstream quality of romantasy, the style itself is uniquely beloved by indie writers and young artists. …
