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He once said: I’ll be Juliet. The gorgeous party of fall was strained to the end. The lonesome star imbibed Blue Hawaiian moon,  fallen into the river’s delirious embrace.  to retaste tartness of insouciance, he'd never known, but -perhaps- upon Eden. In the pockets of his coat; helpless and sleepless pills, having a feverish fête.  "On one glorious night, finally, I shall depart,"  euphoric Juliet sighed. His dream; a seamless stream of midnight smokes,  a shower of transient pleasure;  forerunner of collapse’s sickening scent.  He rolled his own solitude and innocence  into the alienation paper, and dragged it, with a ravenous appetite. He hoped to gather and heal  the shards of his broken flesh and soul, to keep himself from scratching the old wound. Whoever heard his voiceless plea, strived to revive him  through time and space's impassable chasm. Though, reality's fragile twist never fell apart.  The sleepwalker headed straight toward his compelled, tragic finis.  Thereafter, the fallen star went supernova. And heaven sneezed his sniffed frozen tears  across the somber sense of the town. Left behind: blackout, oblivion, within a nuit blanche. Sarah Samarbaf, with a background in art and historical studies, writes to make sense of the world and to remain in touch with it.

The snake got me on the ankle. I was alone in the bush, so the implications were clear. It was a mamba. He struck more than once, but I only saw him slithering away. The two essentials when faced with a snake bite were car keys and a cell phone. That’s what my instructor always said, but cell phones are really just distractions, so I was one short. Half wasn’t bad. I grabbed my keys and trudged through the grass to the Land Cruiser. Another crucial element of the snakebite was to remain calm . Too much excess moving or panicking would mean faster spread of venom. The snake did me a favor by going at the ankle. It would take a while to hit my organs. I’d move urgently, but not recklessly, and if I drove fast, there was a good chance I’d be in town before anything severe happened. I opened the door, and things were already looking up. I almost smiled and took one last second before turning on the engine. Breeze rustled through the dry grass and acacia branches. I closed my eyes and listened to the cicadas sing from every direction; when my eyes opened, their hum glistened under the midday heat. The bush always fell quiet around noon. It was hot. Birds sang in the mornings, and there were the frogs or hyenas in the evening, but the midday was still. Whatever happened, that moment was good.  I put my key in the ignition and turned. The loud mechanical drone pumped a smell of petrol that made me feel dirty. I should’ve brought my phone. Rachel always told me I should carry my phone more often. I put the car in drive and went.  “Africa?” she asked.  I told her yes, Africa was my choice. Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically. We could see lions, giraffes, elephants, and even gorillas if we made it up to the Congo.  “For how long?”  Well, that’s a question you can never be too sure of. It could be a month, but it’s also possible it would be a year. Who knows what you’ll fall in love with?  She kept up her smile, but it wasn’t entirely happy. We were in New Zealand when I brought up the idea. Waikato, I think.  “Sometimes, I miss my family,” she said.  It’s easy to say someone else is all the family you need. I was always quick to say it, but she was really close with her parents. Maybe that makes it harder. I told her this was a good idea. Schools for safari guides were cheap, and it would be an incredible experience. Africa was the wildest place, the origin of all other places. How could we be satisfied if we didn’t spend some of our time in Africa?  She didn’t like that last bit. Rachel tended to take walks when she got upset, so I was left alone in the hotel room.  “I love your adventure,” she said, “it inspires me. But I don’t enjoy feeling like a passenger.”    I’m confident it was a dry bite. No pain had come on yet. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but the sun was a little lower. Sweat covered my face, but that’s because of the heat. Not all bites contain venom; this one was an example. I hit an absolutely lucky break, but these things happen. I’ve heard that over half of all venomous snake bites are dry. Some people say that number is higher.  Rachel always liked snakes. I wonder what she would think if she saw me. She’d be worried, of course. We once saw a taipan while in the outback. Now that would've been a rough bite.  Wind rushed past my head. The Land Cruiser made light work of dirt roads, so it was easy traveling. I kept up the pace, just to be cautious. My eyes were drooping, but that’s because I kept thinking of Rachel. My mind wanted to slip into memories. Even without phones, there are distractions. The African sun lit up lands I’d never seen, but I kept thinking of all that was behind me.  A clock waited in the corner of the room where the seconds glided by. They did not tick. The second hand did not jerk as it broke from one moment to the next. It swept continuously in a circle, leaving no gaps between the present.  Rachel went for another walk and they were getting increasingly long. I got drunk because I didn’t know what else to do. We were in Vietnam.  The clock hung in the corner with the door. I could lie in bed and watch the seconds sail past.  “I want to go home for a while,” she said, “I’d like to spend some time with my brother’s son. He’s turning two this month, did you know that?”  It didn’t feel like a real question, so I told her once we go home it will be very hard to want to go elsewhere. She asked me why that’s such a bad thing, but I shrugged it off. That’s when she went out.  The problem with most watches or clocks is they give a false sense of control. A single glance at the wrist and now you know:  8 hours, 13 minutes, and 10 seconds into the p.m.  How convenient. Everything may be crumbling, but I certainly knew the time. However, looking at the clock in the corner, the one with the second hand that doesn’t tick, made me feel in motion. A second is not a calculable ticking moment. A second is an ongoing experience.  I sat in that Vietnamese bedroom, ignoring the foreign plants and birds just outside. I wanted to watch the clock. I wanted to lock the door so Rachel might never finish her walk. I’d watch the second hand float into the ever-extending future. I felt myself running in circles. Sometimes, I’d get dizzy, but that’s only when I forgot to keep moving. Around and around I’d go. I hit something. Maybe it was a rock or tree. My vision turned poor and I lost sight of the road. It wasn’t a dry bite. Breaths became tighter and I felt myself twitching. I put the car in reverse, stepped on the pedal, but it wouldn’t go anywhere. Tourniquets were useless against snake bites, but I thought about giving it a go. I tied my belt around my calf. Some people say that a tourniquet can do more damage for a snake bite, but I wasn't so sure. Maybe it will buy some time.  The car churned its engine but wouldn’t budge. I climbed out and fell to the dirt. Everything was hot. Saliva accumulated and thickened in my mouth; I couldn’t swallow so it started draining from my lips. I pressed myself on the door, but my legs were stiff. I couldn’t stand up. My face reflected off of the cruiser’s door and I looked pale, covered with sweat and spit. I thought I could see Rachel behind me. I turned around, but there was only the African plains. The horizon line quivered and I felt my body do the same. I turned back to the door, tried to stand up one last time, but collapsed back to the dirt. I could definitely see Rachel in the reflection of the door. She was crying.  The surface of the car door burned, but I didn’t care. I could feel Rachel’s hand. Hard tears fell from her face onto mine like diamonds. The saliva trapped in my mouth grew briars, and I couldn’t speak. Rachel’s reflection said something, but her muffled words faded through a dense atmosphere. Everything fell to a hush.  I looked up. Wispy clouds spiraled overhead. My stomach told me to pray, but I couldn’t speak past the thornbush in my mouth.  But you should pray, my mother always told me. I never did. She used to tell me about Jesus but I never believed God could be a man. I’ve been to enough countries and seen enough animals to know humans weren’t here first.  You should talk to your mother more, Rachel would tell me. But we didn’t have anything to discuss. She wasn’t interested in my travels and I wasn’t interested in her God. She always had her screens and her church. Phones, hymns, computers, sermons, whatever. That couldn’t be me.  I’m glad I attempted the drive. Even with the bite being so low on my leg, I never would’ve made it back, but I tried. At least now there wouldn’t be doubt. I can see myself dying by the river where the mamba got me. But that wouldn’t be peaceful. I see myself vomiting and seizing by the Mamba River , wondering if I made the right call.  Now, I had certainty. I would still die, but I knew nothing would’ve prevented that. Death can’t be peaceful if there are doubts.  But I doubted myself with Rachel and now that was over. Rachel was over and everything else would soon be over.  Rachel is looking at a body by the Mamba River. It’s a cold body. It’s a body that’s been dead for a long time. She has no warmth for this body.  “Emmet,” she says.  And that is all. She doesn’t cry, but merely acknowledges.  My Rachel wasn’t standing by the Mamba River. She was reflected in the door, crying diamonds atop me. My Rachel prayed through her thick Jupiter atmosphere, her words like tsunamis breaking on the Galilean moons. She prays for me because I got in the car and tried to do something. But I left my phone, so she offers me only prayers and nothing else.   I wanted to live in the woods. Survive off the land. I wanted to become some primal thing that existed for nothing more than existence’s sake. Rachel didn’t understand that. No one understood that, least of all myself. It wasn’t a dream, but an image. Not meant for understanding, only for observing.  I worked in Tanzania while Rachel still circled along her forever walk.  Mt. Kilimanjaro stood above the earth as a great tidal wave, pondering over its early morning vista. I sat small and delicate before the destruction.  “Why don’t you run?” asked Kilimanjaro.  Because there is nowhere to go.  The snake donned a contemplative stare. I wanted to cock my head to the side and express some confusion over his question, but my neck was stiff. My chest rose and I started convulsing, lost in a great flood, tumbling around the arbitrary knick-knacks of an arbitrary life. Cool air burst into my lungs when I broke the surface and Rachel stood there with clasped hands. Why won’t you come home with me?  She kept asking and asking, but it never changed. The second hand is in motion, Rachel. Do you see it? Look there, in the corner of the wall. Do you see how it doesn’t pause? It’s all endless. My Rachel still prayed, but no answer could come. She had forgotten that God was made from the sounds of her cries.  Do you see the snake eating his own tail? Does he ever stop? A sea of snakes traverse the plain, slithering between ankles, briars, and poisons. A mosaic of everything. My Rachel still cried. Somewhere behind her, my mother cried as well. They’re both praying, but Vishu was a mamba who struck me on the ankle. Everything was precious. He asked me: And just how was that?  But all I could think of was my family in tears.  He heard my answer and I was the water in a drought. I was a boy dancing naked in the rain and a little girl tending to fields of rice. I was Rachel, staring down the cold body by the river. I was the collapsing lungs of an old man.  Small became everything and everything thinned to a single line.  I felt myself plunge into the great sea of eternity and recognized it was always silly to think of a drop and an ocean as separate things. Garrett Alexander is a wilderness guide and writer currently living in North Carolina. He finds passion in traveling and has lived throughout the U.S., South Pacific, and Southeast Asia. His work is currently unpublished.

Metempirics: study of concepts and relationships conceived   as beyond and yet related to knowledge gained empirically.  A concept barely construed––  conjugation of roses  essence redolent as champac  the fragrance sacred to Vishnu  protector of the world  A being like you   awash in my consciousness so long  then flesh and bone of presence  enigmatic florescence of conflux  out of angle, stance, sound, and movement   We crush  to that essence  so many bruised petals  from an urgency sprung from strata  bedrock built for years  Like ooze of oil the novel flow  of self out of self into other  returning to self––  a conjugation related to  and yet beyond  our separate understandings  of self and other  Breathing into each other  we know intuitively to protect   our nighttime world   of roses    We murmur  our mysterious incantations  Jacquelyn Shah is an iconoclastic pacifist. Obsessive, she has written 563 centos (form dating back to Homer & Virgil) using lines from 4,494 different poets (20 have been published). Publications include: poetry chapbook, small fry ; full-length poetry book, What to Do with Red ; poems in journals; hybrid memoir Limited Engagement : A Way of Living (2023 contest winner). She was awarded Third Special Merit in the 2023 Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest and was nominated by Gleam: Journal of the Cadralor for a Pushcart Prize in 2023. Her education: A.B. (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude), Rutgers U; M.A. English, Drew U; M.F.A. & Ph.D. English literature/creative writing–poetry, U of Houston. One love-of-her-life is Zadie Quinn Atwood, a super beautiful, smart calico cat.

Cards 7th-Circle Pyrite features six tarot-style cards on its site. Click each card below to learn more about its significance in relation to our journal's mission. (TIP: Use the search terms "alien," "ghost," "minotaur," "gorgon," "baphomet," and "harpy" in the Archives to find works related to the themes each card represents.)

Submissions What We're Looking For 7th-Circle Pyrite accepts poetry, short fiction, essays, and visual art whose content explores spirituality, the arcane and macabre, horror, paranormality, magic, religion, occultism, or whose style embraces dark and/or gothic imagery. These themes include — but are not limited to — the following: Religious/spiritual beliefs and practices Death and the afterlife Astrology, tarot, and magic Paranormal or extraterrestrial experiences Mythology, folklore, and urban legends Demonology, spirits, and the supernatural Cultural tales and traditions Dreams, signs, and omens Write about your relationship with God. Write about that haunted, dilapidated house you and your friends visited as kids. Write about your astrological insights. Write about your thoughts on death, Heaven, and Hell. Write about that one unexplainable event that happened to you that no one seems to believe. If you can travel beyond the material and mundane, we want to hear from you! Submission Guidelines Please review the guidelines below that correspond to the type of submission you're looking to present. Additionally, please take a few quick moments to fully review the FAQ that follows. [Note that you must be 18 or older to submit work.] Submit 1-3 original poems for publication consideration. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. You do not need to notify us if your poetry is accepted elsewhere. Previously published works may be submitted. Maximum of 100 lines per poem. Submit your poems as an email attachment to 7thcirclepyrite@gmail.com as a PDF (.pdf) or Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) file. Include the following in your attachment: Your full name (exactly as you would like it to appear on the site) A brief author biography (150 words or fewer) written in the third person An author picture; can be a selfie or professional headshot, but must include your face and modest attire One poem per page A title for each poem Use the subject line " 7th-Circle Pyrite Submission: Poetry " for your email. Essays Submit 1-2 original essays for publication consideration. NOTE: "Essay," as used by 7th-Circle Pyrite , refers to informative and/or argumentative pieces, as well as creative nonfiction. Creative nonfiction pieces may detail experiences and information that is autobiographical. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. You do not need to notify us if your essay is accepted elsewhere. Previously published work may be submitted. Maximum of 2,500 words per essay. Submit essays as an email attachment to 7thcirclepyrite@gmail.com as a PDF (.pdf) or Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) file. Include the following in your attachment: Your full name (exactly as you would like it to appear on the site) A brief author biography (150 words or fewer) written in the third person An author picture; can be a selfie or professional headshot, but must include your face and modest attire Essays separated by a page break A title for each essay Use the subject line " 7th-Circle Pyrite Submission: Essay " for your email. Submit 1-2 original pieces of short fiction (short story or flash fiction) for publication consideration. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. You do not need to notify us if your stories are accepted elsewhere. Previously published work may be submitted. Maximum of 2,500 words per story. Submit your fiction as an email attachment to 7thcirclepyrite@gmail.com as a PDF (.pdf) or Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) file. Include the following in your attachment: Your full name (exactly as you would like it to appear on the site) A brief author biography (150 words or fewer) written in the third person An author picture; can be a selfie or professional headshot, but must include your face and modest attire Stories separated by a page break A title for each story Use the subject line " 7th-Circle Pyrite Submission: Short Fiction " for your email. Artwork Submit 1-3 original pieces of visual artwork (drawings, paintings, photography, or digital art) for publication consideration. Simultaneous submissions are permitted. You do not need to notify us if your artwork has been accepted elsewhere. Previously published work may be submitted. Submit artwork as individual email attachments to 7thcirclepyrite@gmail.com as a PDF (.pdf), PNG (.png), JPG/JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg), or TIFF (.tiff) file. (Each image should have its own attachment.) Include the following in the body of your email: Your full name (exactly as you would like it to appear on the site) A brief author biography (150 words or fewer) written in the third person An author picture; can be a selfie or professional headshot, but must include your face and modest attire The titles of each of your art pieces; these titles should also appear in the file names of your attachments A blurb to accompany each of your pieces that explains the theme it represents; each blurb should be 200-500 words. Use the subject line " 7th-Circle Pyrite Submission: Artwork " for your email. Poetry Short Fiction Submission FAQs Q: Who is encouraged to submit work? A: Everyone! Both emerging and established writers and artists 18 and over are encouraged to submit their work for publication. Q: Is any form of payment issued to contributors whose work is accepted? A: At this time, no, there are no payments issued to contributors whose works are selected for publication. Q: What rights do I have as an author/artist if my work is accepted for publication? A: Authors and artists whose work is selected for publication remain the copyright holders of and retain full rights to their work. 7th-Circle Pyrite does not restrict authors and artists whose work is published on our site from doing as they wish with their work elsewhere. Your submission to 7th-Circle Pyrite authorizes our journal only to publish your work on our site. Q: How long does it take to hear back about the status of a submission? A: We strive to follow up on poetry and artwork submissions within 30 calendar days, and fiction and essay submissions within 45 calendar days. We ask that any inquiries into the status of a submission be sent only if you have not received an acceptance or declination email within the number of days relevant to your submission type. Q: How much work can I submit at a time? A: You may submit as many pieces as are allowed in the ranges referenced in the guidelines above for each submission type, but please refrain from submitting additional pieces of that submission type until you hear back about its status. For example, you may submit two poems and three pieces of artwork at once, but we ask that you not resubmit any additional poetry or artwork until you hear back about your original submissions. Please be sure to thoroughly review any acceptance or declination letter you receive, as it may reference a time window during which a resubmission would be unreviewable. Q: Is there a fee required to submit my work? A: Submission to 7th-Circle Pyrite is free of charge. Fees are neither incurred nor collected at any time, for any reason. Q: If a submission is accepted for publication, is it edited first or published as is? A: If a piece is selected for publication but contains a small number of minor grammatical errors, the errors will be outlined in an email to the author. The author will then be given the opportunity to make the requested corrections prior to publication. Q: How often is new material published on the site? A: We publish quarterly (every three months). Q: In what mediums is 7th-Circle Pyrite distributed? A: 7th-Circle Pyrite is an online publication only. We do not circulate or distribute print-based content at this time.

7th-Circle Pyrite is an online literary journal celebrating worlds beyond our own: all that transcends the physical and mundane. 7th-Circle Pyrite A literary journal celebrating worlds beyond Issue 13: Feb. 21 2026 "We have to do something with all this sulfur ." 7th-Circle Pyrite is a celebration of all that transcends the physical or mundane. Spirituality and religion, paranormality, magic, horror, occultism, and the macabre all have a home here. The 7th Circle of Hell as represented in Dante's Inferno is reserved for those who have committed acts of violence. In the world we live in—where violence runs rampant—sometimes we may feel Hell is already here. And if that's the case, let's take the dregs of life—sulfuric as they may be—and turn them into something more beautiful. We are an inclusive publication. Diverse viewpoints are always welcome, and we do not discriminate based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, spiritual ideology, health, physical appearance, or any other aspect of a person's identity. We publish original poetry, short fiction, essays, and artwork. You are invited to submit your work! Click here to view our submission guidelines. News & Updates Newest 08/16/25 06/21/25 04/19/25 02/15/25 11/16/24 09/21/24 07/20/24 05/18/24 03/16/24 01/20/24 11/18/23 10/15/23 Submissions are open! October 15, 2023 7th-Circle Pyrite is a brand-new online literary journal and anthology. We're looking for dedicated authors and artists to become early contributors to the journal, helping shape our foundation! If you have reviewed our content specializations and would like to make a submission, please visit the "Submissions" page for more details. Issue 1 of 7th-Circle Pyrite has arrived! November 18, 2023 We are excited to announce the publication of the inaugural issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite ! Due to the overwhelmingly positive support of a wide range of talented contributors, we have been able to achieve this milestone for those who have been following our developments. To view the content in Issue 1, click on the cover art in this announcement. We are continuing to accept submissions of poetry, short fiction, essays, and visual art for upcoming issues slated for March 2024 and May 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 2 of 7th-Circle Pyrite is now live! January 20, 2024 The second issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite has arrived! We are excited to begin 2024 by sharing an eclectic assortment of works created by our skilled and dedicated contributors. To view the content in Issue 2, click on the cover art in this announcement. We are continuing to accept submissions of poetry, essays, and visual art for upcoming issues slated for March 2024 and May 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Additionally, be sure to check out 7th-Circle Pyrite 's appearance in a recent installment of the New Lit on the Block series hosted by NewPages! Click here to view. Issue 3 of 7th-Circle Pyrite and new Gorgon card added March 16, 2024 The third issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is now available! We want to extend our warm and sincere thanks to all of the contributors who have helped build this wonderful issue. To view the content in Issue 3, click on the cover art in this announcement. Also, take a moment to check out our new Gorgon card , which represents a category of submissions that supports fantasy and adventure. A big thanks to Nyx for her artistry! We are continuing to accept submissions of poetry, essays, and visual art for upcoming issues slated for May 2024 and July 2024. Short fiction submissions will reopen on April 1, 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 4 of 7th-Circle Pyrite is now live! May 18, 2024 The fourth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is now live! April 1st marked the date our short fiction submissions reopened and also the start of National Poetry Month in the US, so the submissions we received for this issue showcased a tremendous amount of talent from writers all over the world. We thank all of those whose work appears in this issue, as well as those who have continued to support our journal with their wonderfully creative submissions. To view the content in Issue 4, click on the cover art in this announcement. If you feel inclined, we also encourage you to read an editor interview with Keiraj M. Gillis, featured here on Duotrope . We are continuing to accept submissions in all categories for upcoming issues slated for July 2024 and September 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 5 of 7th-Circle Pyrite is available now! July 20, 2024 The fifth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is now available! We continue to assert that our contributors are the most important element of our operation, as without them, we would be unable to provide our readership with our favorite works from around the globe. We also are honored to be one of the first publication credits in many of our contributors' portfolio! It is a privilege to give a platform to the spirited works of writers at all stages of their respective careers. To view the content in Issue 5, click on the cover art in this announcement. We are continuing to accept submissions in all categories for upcoming issues slated for September 2024 and November 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 6 of 7th-Circle Pyrite and 2025 literary award nominations September 21, 2024 The sixth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is here! We hope you enjoy the vibrant assortment of gems that is our latest curated collection. And for those who celebrate, we'd love for you to find a few pieces in this issue that complement the lead-up to Halloween! To view the content in Issue 6, click on the cover art in this announcement. We also want to take the opportunity to notify our readers and submitters that 7th-Circle Pyrite is a nominating publication for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize . These awards are designed to recognize exceptional contributions that have been published in smaller, independent literary publications and presses. Nominees submitted this fall have the potential of being awarded through publication in the Best of the Net and/or Pushcart Prize anthologies slated for 2025. We plan to share our nominations in the announcement for our next issue, but if your work is nominated, you will receive an email from us ahead of that announcement. To learn more about these awards, please follow the links above! We are continuing to accept submissions of poetry, essays, and artwork for our November 2024 issue. Short fiction submissions are temporarily closed as of the date of this announcement, but will be reopening on December 21, 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 7 of 7th-Circle Pyrite and Best of the Net + Pushcart Prize nominees November 16, 2024 The seventh issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite —our last issue of the 2024 calendar year—is available now! Our journal's first issue was published in November 2023, making this month's issue somewhat of an anniversary offering. We have had the pleasure of enjoying a year's worth of submissions from our talented readers, and for that, we are incredibly thankful. We have resolved to continue featuring the work of the vibrant literary community we're so honored to be a part of. To view the content in Issue 7, click on the cover art in this announcement. Additionally, as announced in September, we want to extend our congratulations to our Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominees! Those authors and their works are as follows: Best of the Net Nominees (Short Fiction) Isabella Frederick - Anthemusa James C. Bassett - Regodless Best of the Net Nominees (Poetry) Evan Burkin - Polaroid in South Light Heather Sager - In the name of the decayed leaf Wallace Truesdale II - I Should've Been an Astronaut Glen Armstrong - Philosopher's Stone Ken Goodman - in the equipoise Jaymee Thomas - The Silent Alchemy of Evening Light Pushcart Prize Nominees (Short Fiction) Isabella Frederick - Anthemusa Ken Foxe - The Falling People Dani Arieli - Across the Marsh Another sincere congratulations to all of this year's nominees! We are continuing to accept submissions of poetry, essays, and artwork for our February 2025 issue. Short fiction submissions are temporarily closed as of the date of this announcement, but will be reopening on December 21, 2024. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 8 of 7th-Circle Pyrite and a (belated) Happy New Year! February 15, 2025 The eighth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite has arrived! But, more importantly, we want to wish all of our readers and contributors a Happy New Year. With the quick pace of the holiday season leaving many with their schedules filled, it was a heartening experience to see so many members of the writing community making time to share their work with us. We simply can't overstate our appreciation for your continued support as we move into 2025. To view the content in Issue 8, click on the cover art in this announcement. We are continuing to accept submissions in all categories for upcoming issues slated for April 2025 and June 2025. (Note that short fiction submissions may be subject to a brief pause during this time.) Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 9 of 7th-Circle Pyrite and opportunities for writers of longer-form works April 19, 2025 The ninth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite (and second issue of 2025) is available to read now! Issue 9 is a short-and-sweet release containing many of our favorite works submitted of late. We hope you enjoy these talented writers' creations! To view the content in Issue 9, click on the cover art in this announcement. Additionally, many have noted that our short fiction submissions have temporarily closed, with a reopening date slated for July 1, 2025. However, writers of longer-form works like short fiction, novellas, and full novels have many opportunities to create and share their work. A well-known event in the literary community is National Novel Writing Month (often abbreviated as "NaNoWriMo"), which is a month-long challenge held in November that tasks writers with completing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. However, NaNoWriMo also hosts more open-ended challenges in April and July, supported via the Camp NaNoWriMo arm of their nonprofit. If you're looking for a good way to exercise your writing talents, check it out! We are continuing to accept submissions of poetry, essays/creative nonfiction, and artwork for our June 2025 issue. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 10 of 7th-Circle Pyrite and a note on short fiction June 21, 2025 The tenth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is now available to read! We extend our thanks to all of our Issue 10 contributors as well as the many thoughtful submitters whose work we had the privilege of reviewing. We always want to emphasize that, whether a work is selected for publication or not, the courage required to submit work at all is not lost on us. To view the content in Issue 10, click on the cover art in this announcement. Additionally, short fiction submissions will reopen on July 1st. Due to the volume of submissions we typically receive in this category, we want to share that there may be a slight delay in receiving a response for your short fiction submission, though we do try to get back to all of our submitters in a timely manner. If there will be a delay in responding to your work that exceeds our normal 30-day turnaround, we'll reach out to you to make you aware of it. We are continuing to accept submissions for poetry, essays/creative nonfiction, and artwork for our upcoming August issue. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 11 of 7th-Circle Pyrite is available to read now! August 16, 2025 The eleventh issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is here! This issue is the first to follow our short fiction submissions reopening, so we want to offer a sincere thanks to all of our fiction writers who granted us the privilege of reading their work. We thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to explore the many "worlds beyond" conjured by such exceedingly vast artistries. And, of course, all poets, artists, and creative nonfiction writers deserve a thanks for so consistently sharing work that features depth and dimension. To view the content in Issue 11, click on the cover art in this announcement. We are continuing to accept submissions in all categories for our upcoming November issue. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Issue 12 of 7th-Circle Pyrite , 2025 Best of the Net nominees, and changes slated for 2026 November 15, 2025 The twelfth issue of 7th-Circle Pyrite is available to read now! This is a particularly special issue for us, as it marks the two-year anniversary of the journal. 7th-Circle Pyrite launched in October of 2023 and published its first issue just one month later, so we remain grateful to have such a dedicated readership inclusive of exceptional writers and artists willing to share their work with us. To view the content in Issue 12, click on the cover art in this announcement. We are continuing to accept submissions in all categories for our upcoming February 2026 issue. Please see our submission guidelines for more details. Additionally, we have the pleasure of announcing this year's Best of the Net nominees! As many of you know, the Best of the Net Anthology invites smaller publishers and presses to present published work first appearing online for consideration of inclusion in their yearly anthology. Per the Best of the Net guidelines, our nominees were chosen among works published between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025. Check out the nominees' works by clicking their names below! Poetry Tyler King, "Virgo" Gayeng Makinang, "Apastron (Cain and Abel)" Larry Kilman, "Skywards" Nicholas Alti, "Mythos Kinetics" Sierra B. Jameson, "MY CAT GIVES ME TAROT READINGS" Short Fiction Dani Arieli, "Across the Marsh" Ken Foxe, "The Falling People" We want to extend our congratulations to each of these amazing writers! As a final note, we'd like to make our readers and any potential submitters aware that, starting in 2026, 7th-Circle Pyrite will be published quarterly rather than bimonthly . This will reduce our yearly issue count from six to four, allowing us to dedicate more time to the thoughtful review of each submission. Thank you again to our amazing readers and contributors, and we hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!