Edition 11 / Fiction Edition / Winter 2023

Josephine Florens is a professional oil painter who was born in Ukraine, but who now resides in Germany. She started painting in 2017 and is a member of the National Association of Artists and Sculptors of Ukraine, member of the Odessa Marine Union, Ukraine, and an honorary member of the Union of World’s Poets and Writers. She creates oil paintings in various genres, such as portraits, landscapes, still life, genre paintings, animal paintings, and marina. The painting styles used in the work are realism, impressionism, and mixed styles. https://josephineflorens.com/

Special thanks to our guest readers for this edition, Molly Alexander and Michael Finley. Their careful consideration of each submission was immensely appreciated. Their expertise and insights helped glean the pieces you are reading, and for that we are grateful. Thank you also goes out to all of you, for your patience with us as we worked to publish our first all fiction edition, as well as host our first fiction contest. We were humbled by the amount of wonderful work we received. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place (honorable mention) stories are within this edition:

1st prize: “A Break From the Sky” by Chip Houser

2nd prize: “The Knitter” by Allison Xu

Honorable Mention 3rd: “Visions of Women in Long Dresses” by Ken Wetherington

Thank you for your stories. Stories truly do sustain us. All the best to you this winter… Laura, Leslie & Mary