The Winter 2023 edition of Black Fox Literary Magazine has arrived! We express our deepest gratitude to all the talented contributors who have entrusted us with their exceptional work, enabling us to sustain our commitment to publishing excellence. We also…
2022 Pushcart Nominations
Congratulations to our nominees for the 2022 Pushcart Prize! It was such an honor to publish these talented writers! Prose “Blank Speech Bubbles” by Theresa Sylvester (Issue 23) “Crossed Lines” by Michele Wolfe (Issue 23) “Breaking Kayfabe” by Melissa Grunow…
On Styles by David Massey
I’ve been thinking about styles in writing. Narration, dialogue, description, syntax—all these things. By far my favorite American fiction writer is William Faulkner, and if I had it in me, I would probably write like him; but I like sparer styles,…
Writing Advice from the Murder Hornet by PS Nolf
I look at the newspaper photo of the latest invader of the Pacific Northwest, where I live. The yellow ruler with its black calibration documents the two-inch “Murder Hornet.” A thing of nightmares, the Asian Giant Hornet sports huge, black, demon…
Character Fill-In-the-Blank by Rod Martinez
Our love for the written word may have been generated from any number of avenues growing up. We, as artists and students of our beloved art, yearn to learn as much as possible about our craft. That is where the…
What Do Writers Need? Sitzfleisch! by Lev Raphael
That’s the term my European-born mother used about doing anything and seeing it through. It comes from German and means the “power to endure or to persevere in an activity.” Literally, though, it’s your butt: the flesh that you sit…
Issue #22 (Winter 2022) is Here!
The Winter 2022 issue of Black Fox Literary Magazine is upon us! Thank you to our contributors for allowing us to continue to publish great work! We’d also like to thank our loyal readers and the Black Fox community. We wouldn’t be…
Novel excerpt from Hockey Moms by Eric Rasmussen
On screen the audience sees an empty gravel lot behind the metal wall of a municipal sports arena. Where the crushed stone stops a line of arbor vitae protects the no-man’s-land strip of grass and the handful of buildings farther…
The Anniversary Issue (#21) is Here!
Happy Birthday to us! Issue #21 is officially our anniversary issue. Ten years of publication history and twenty-one issues! We are still standing! BIG thank you to our contributors, the BFLM community, and everyone who has supported us throughout the…
A Review of Johannes Anyuru’s They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears by Linnea Gradin
One of the biggest literary awards for Swedish literature is the August Prize (Augustpriset). It takes its name from one of Sweden’s most famous authors — the fin de siècle playwright and novelist August Strindberg (known for works such as…
Arabesques by David Massey
I have read critics who referred to Henry James’s syntax as involute and to William Faulkner’s as convolute. I do not know that there is any real distinction to be made between the two descriptions; both styles are arabesque; and…
The Sun Also Rises: An Appreciation by David Massey
An old friend of mine dismissed Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises as a period piece. Let’s examine that a bit. In the first place, all novels are period pieces. The Tale of Genji, Don Quixote de la Mancha, and…