July Smoke

Hello, friends.

Our newest issue has arrived, and this one feels deeply, unmistakably human.

These stories span centuries, countries, and circumstances, but each one invites us into someone else’s life for a little while. They ask us to sit with longing, regret, tenderness, shame, beauty, survival, and the strange ways people keep moving through the world.

Inside this issue, you’ll find an enslaved woman caring for her owner’s daughter while longing for her own. A former Nazi wrestling with regret while once again taking up arms. A woman watching another mother move through the world with an ease she herself does not know. A beautiful woman unexpectedly drawn into conversation with the ugliest man she has ever met.

And that’s only the beginning.

We’re grateful to every writer and artist who trusted us with their work. Their pieces remind us why we built Neon & Smoke in the first place: to make room for stories that linger, unsettle, surprise, and burn a little after the page goes dark.

We’re also proud to share that Women Who Burn, our first anthology, is available in print through Amazon. This collection means a great deal to us, and we’re thankful to every contributor who helped bring it to life.

As always, thank you for reading, submitting, sharing, and helping us build the kind of literary community we dreamed Neon & Smoke could become.

Half genre / Always lit 🔥

T & J