Editor’s note
Welcome to the Spring issue of the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. The daffodils are in bloom, and lawns are shading to green. This issue is one of two members-only issues this year.
I have two pieces of important news to share before we plunge into the issue contents:
- This year’s short story award deadline has been extended to April 30. See our contest page for more details. We encourage you to submit a story!
- Related to the short story awards, with this issue we unveil the Spotlight, a feature that introduces readers to authors whose stories have earned high marks in our contest. In this issue we talk with Avery Other and Natalie Bucsko.
You’ll also find entertaining stories by four of our members. In the murder mystery “Pig-Lickin’ Good” by Debra H. Goldstein, the icing takes the cake. The lure of a well-stocked fishing hole has undesirable consequences in “Earl’s Lake” by Peter J Barbour. In “That Which Was Lost” by Christopher D. Ochs, a jilted boyfriend is befriended by a stranger who has certain plans for him. And finally, a self-centered actor reveals the details of her crime to an attorney with her own designs on fate in “Method for Murder” by Carol L. Wright.
This issue’s interview, by Christopher D. Ochs, is with famed Clarkesworld editor and publisher Neil Clarke. And we wrap up things with Literary Learnings, in which author Peter J Barbour shares the writing path for his latest novel, Fifteen Keys.
The 2026 Short Story Award deadline has been extended!
Writers now have until April 30 to submit entries for the 2026 Short Story Award.
We are seeking 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.
Our guest Judge is Susan Kaye Quinn. You can read our interview with her here. To enter the contest click The 2026 BWR Short Story Deadline has been Extended!
Featured Story
PigLickin’ Good by Debra H. Goldstein
Pig Lickin’ cake is a traditional Southern treat. Mama’s were always a huge hit at the annual fundraiser, even if the making of them brought back memories of a tragedy . . .
My mama knew how to make a cake. You could guarantee if there was a church bazaar or potluck where desserts were going to be auctioned off, Father Horst would stop by our house a few weeks ahead of time to ask Mama to donate two of her cakes. Normally, he didn’t care what kind of cakes Mama made, but for the annual Ladies Auxiliary Fourth of July Potluck fundraiser, he’d come, hat in hand, sweet talking her to bake two of her Pig Lickin’ cakes. He’d tell her there wasn’t anyone else in the whole county who made a cake as light and moist as her Mandarin orange specialty.
Also in this issue
Earl’s Lake by Peter J. Barbour
That Which Was Lost by Christopher D. Ochs
Method for Murder by Carol L. Wright
Interview with author Neil Clarke
Literary Learnings by Peter J Barbour
Spotlight on Avery Other and Natalie Bucsko