Editor’s note
Welcome to a new year! It’s too early to say how 2025 will ultimately unroll, or perhaps unravel, but here at the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, we have a new issue ready for you. So, draw up your chair by the hearth (if you’re in a climate where the temperatures are dipping for winter) and prepare to be entertained.
The first news is that our 2025 short story award submission window is now open. We’re looking for stories of speculative fiction with a maximum word count of 2,500. Check out our contest page for more details. Our esteemed judge Andre Tchaikovsky will select the winners later this spring.
Now let’s take a quick look at this issue’s contents. Our featured story, “Room Service” by Lisa Finch, tells of travel plans that don’t yield the anticipated results. The featured poetry is “From the River to the Lake,” by Anne-Marie Martin, an exploration of love. We also present two more poems, “Excalibur” by Les Bernstein and “In the Quiet Spaces” by Ari Florkey, as well as a short story, “The Janitor,” by Carla Damron, about a janitor who works in an ME’s offices—and makes a discovery.
This issue also features an interview with mystery author Valerie Burns, done by one of our BWG members, Debra H. Goldstein. In Literary Learnings, A.E. Decker discusses Spiderlight by Andre Tchaikovsky and what makes that novel so surprising and satisfying.
We hope you enjoy this issue. And consider submitting a spec fiction story for our contest!
The 2025 BWR Short Story Award is now open.
We are seeking never-published stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction (tales of science fiction and fantasy, broadly interpreted).
The winners receive cash and publication, with the first-place winner being considered for our upcoming anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, forthcoming in 2026.
The Contest opens January 1, 2025, and the deadline will be March 31, 2025. The 2025 contest judge is science-fiction and fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
For more information on the 2025 Short Story Award and for information on how to enter, click here. You can also read an interview with Mr. Tchaikovsky here.
Featured story
“Room Service” by Lisa Finch
Sharon followed the long, blue-carpeted hallway to her husband Luke’s hotel room. One rather gloomy black and white photograph, matted in an ugly, ornate gilt frame, dominated the wall.
Featured poem
“From the River to the Lake” by Ani Martin
You suspect it’s over
that rush that happens
when you’re young
and happy to get naked.
Read More . . .
Also in this issue
A poem by Les Bernstein
A story by Carla Damron
A poem by Ari Florkey
Interview with author Valerie (V.M.) Burns
Literary Learnings by A. E. Decker
Betty’s Tips and Mixed-Up Words