“Pleased as punch” barely begins to scrape the surface of how pleased we are, here at Scene Magazine, to present to you our Second Annual Fiction Issue.
Last year, to kick off what we hoped would be an annual tradition, we solicited work from some of the region’s biggest literary celebs, its quote unquote “hottest talents.” We were equally scorched by the quality of the work and the eagerness with which contributors volunteered their words to make the issue a reality: Writers like Dan Chaon, Alissa Nutting and Mary Doria Russell all appeared in that inaugural installment.
This year, capitalizing on what we can’t resist calling feverish interest, we opened submissions to you, the quote unquote “general public,” readers and writers of all stripes from Cleveland and beyond. Overwhelmed by the quantity and breadth of the work we received, we expanded our page count and accepted six stories, four of which you can read in full in the upcoming pages.
You’ll find Pete Beatty’s portrait of a berserk downtown Cleveland road race, with language as effervescent and unexpected as its plot. You’ll find Sarah Marcus’ careful and carotid piece about divorce, and the fragility of emotion in its aftermath. You’ll find Kevin Tasker’s wickedly funny, and also deeply probing, office satire. And you’ll find Krystal Sierra’s potent, often discomfiting little story-grenades which capture moments and mysteries with precision and grace.
Here on Clevescene.com, you can find two more triumphant works of fiction, Scott Ondercin’s “My Brothers’ Keeper,” about a Jesuit priest and the funeral of a former classmate; and “Everywhere Stars,” by Laura Grace Weldon, centering on an unflagging young woman in an uncertain Cleveland work atmosphere.
All of these pieces, and those we weren’t able to accept for publication, suggest to us the profound and ever-burbling creativity among Cleveland and its arsenal of weirdos. We can’t wait for you to read this issue and we look forward to many more to come.
Laugh or Die/ Or/ Portrait/ Secrets by Krystal Sierra
My Brothers’ Keeper by Scott G. Ondercin [bonus online content]
Everywhere Stars by Laura Grace Weldon [bonus online content]
This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2015.
Thank god, Sam Allard finally found his niche. Please do us all a favor and stick to the world of creative writing and fiction. Leave the non-fiction and important stuff to the big boys.
Yeah, like the POS cover story that slams Joe Tait. Funny how it hasn’t been posted on this site, even though the print version of SCENE hit the streets a couple of days ago.
He pestered Joe for weeks on and asking him why he no longer follows the Cavs…then makes fun of a 77-year-old, award-winning ex-sportscaster with health issues and a wife with Alzheimers. Calls him an old grandpa and a technological dinosaur and a hoarder, among other things. He doesn’t like the noise and the bells and whistles at the Q…can’t say I blame him. It’s just a pinball machine with a sporting event in the middle of it.
Wassamatta, guys? Afraid all the negative and hateful comments will overrun your site and cause it to crash? If this Medilldo is what Northwestern’s J-school is cranking out these days, the whole campus deserves to slide into Lake Michigan.
I’m probably one of the only Early Boomers who still bothers to read SCENE to find out what’s going on in this town…but it’s all foodies and gastropubs and shit bands…and yellow journalism from punks. Why do I bother? Guess it’s because I’m still a print junkie and because Cleveland is a one- half-newspaper town.
Sam, you’re an asswipe.
Chuckles the Clown