The Arcana Issue

No. 19, summer 2023

This issue of F(r)iction was written in the stars. The stories within coexist in the past, present, and future, linking ambitions to loss and opportunity to bygone moments. There is magic here, and horror, and hope that’s welled deep within ourselves or discovered in the vast, inky darkness of space. In these pages, we explore the powerful knowledge in the Tarot, and the sublime terror of the unknown, revealing time and time again that there is something truly supernatural and extraordinary lighting our way on this journey of life.  

Join us for our Pioneering Writer Feature with the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction author Rebecca Roanhorse, who brings us a truly stunning graphic short about finding one’s meaning among the stars. Dig into K-Ming Chang’s tale “Divination” about looking into the future and Charlie Claire Burgess’s tarot-infused creative nonfiction “Fools and Believers.” For poetry, relish the vibrant language and divine diction of “Toward Light,” our Community Feature with Writers Without Margins, and a suite of poetry by Taisia Kitaiskaia. And there’s even a cheeky otherworldly quiz by Holly Black to kick the issue off. 

Arcana is anything mystical, paranormal, or uncanny. This issue exists to bear witness to events that defy explanation, to catalogue experiences that deny objectivity, and to illuminate the unknowable.

Please Note: 

  • We may split large print orders into multiple packages. We are not responsible for any import tax you may be charged to receive your order.

All proceeds support our nonprofit mission to change lives through the power of storytelling! For more information about our parent nonprofit, please visit BrinkLit.org.

In this issue: