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Haven Spec Magazine
@havenspec.bsky.social
3.9K followers 180 following 380 posts
Online SFF magazine featuring stories for the 21st century! We publish six issues a year, two of which are focused on the climate crisis. Editor: Leon Perniciaro.

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Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 13d
Our ✨January 2026 issue✨ is ready at last!

Subscribers will get it January 26th, and everyone else can read it February 2nd!

It's taken a long time to get the issue ready, but take a look at that 😍TOC😍! The wait was well worth it!

Subscribe through Patreon:
www.patreon.com/c/HavenSpecM...
Haven Spec Magazine, Issue Twenty-One, January 2026. Cover and table of contents. The issue will be available to subscribers on January 26th, and its contents are as follows: Cover Art by Aimee Cozza. Fiction: Magical Girl: Corporate Failure by Lia Lao. Demon In Repose by J.A.W. McCarthy. A Beginner’s Guide to Summoning Demons by Cynthia Zhang. Bootcut by Allison Pottern. Branches by Matt Tighe. And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must by Elou Carroll. A Tree is not a Home by Diana Dima. Poetry: A Party, A Party! by Faith Allington Queercoded Villanelle by anaum sajanlal last psalm by P. H. Low Rainmaker by Olumide Manuel Nonfiction: Letter from the Editor, Ya Herd? by Leon Perniciaro. Little Fiction Reviews by the Editors of Haven Spec Magazine.
havenspec.bsky.social
Our general submission window is now open!

We want stories and poetry with a strong voice and a sense of adventure, stuff that makes us feel things, stuff that lets us use our hearts and our brains and leaves us wanting more!

For our full guidelines and schedule, visit:
www.havenspec.com/submit/
Haven Spec Magazine, Submission Page
Fiction and Poetry for the 21st Century!
www.havenspec.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
lima-zulu.bsky.social
I am very excited to announce that, at the age of forty-eight, I just received my first ever acceptance for a short story!

The fine folks at @havenspec.bsky.social saw something in a little story of mine and said yes!

“We are the Giants We Fear” will be published in their next issue!

#writing
a man wearing headphones stands in front of a sign that says yes
ALT: a man wearing headphones stands in front of a sign that says yes
media.tenor.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
eggandcressida.bsky.social
After 348 days and 3 rounds of edits, I'm overjoyed that my queer coming of age shapeshifter story, "Skin Deep," will be in the next issue of @havenspec.bsky.social!!! Many thanks to @leonp.bsky.social for accepting it and working through the revisions with me--I can't wait to share this one!
January 31, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"last psalm" is a poem by @ph-low.com about skeletons and harpists and how systems of power can sanctify cruelty and exploitation. Read this one for its strong voice and spooky ambience.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the poem "last psalm" by P.H. Low, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: that you might be appeased by one such as me. that, smug on your garnet altar, you would unhinge your jaws and drink wetly of my fear, as a thousand mahogany harps tremble beneath your altar [...] The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 29, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"Rainmaker" is a poem by Olumide Manuel about the language and sound of water. Read this one as an invocation.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the poem "Rainmaker" by Olumide Manuel, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: Rivers above and below, hear my voice. A ripple is how you speak. A pour is how you sing. I sing with both feet in vestigial bodies. By the stitch of the skies in me, I call you forth to this dance. In the epigenesis of silence, you forged the ways. The womb of the world was sedentary until you fed its first seed, broke it to light with your wet voice. You raised the first song to the dawns. The thunderbirds harvested it from there. The winds scrapped their leftover screams. The trees mothered the first mother—clay-skinned, sea-eyed. She disgarnished the grief... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"Rainmaker" is a poem by Olumide Manuel about the language and sound of water. Read this one as an invocation.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the poem "Rainmaker" by Olumide Manuel, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: Rivers above and below, hear my voice. A ripple is how you speak. A pour is how you sing. I sing with both feet in vestigial bodies. By the stitch of the skies in me, I call you forth to this dance. In the epigenesis of silence, you forged the ways. The womb of the world was sedentary until you fed its first seed, broke it to light with your wet voice. You raised the first song to the dawns. The thunderbirds harvested it from there. The winds scrapped their leftover screams. The trees mothered the first mother—clay-skinned, sea-eyed. She disgarnished the grief... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"A Tree is not a Home" is a short story by @dianadima.com about seeking refuge wherever you might find it. Read it for the quiet grief and pain embodied by its birch tree narrator.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the short story "A Tree is not a Home" by Diana Dima, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: A tree is not a home. But you, twelve years old and bony, dragging a suitcase behind a gray mother into the gray building where you were now going to live, looked back at me as though it was all wrong. As though the building should have been me. You came out soon afterwards, walked across the parking lot and over the low wire fence into my patch of land. (I saw you, in a manner of speaking, like an arrow rushing at me in the dark.) I could tell that you had never seen a birch before. You pressed your cheek... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 30, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
mktighewrites.bsky.social
Very happy to have this coming out, and in such great company! This Haven Spec issue goes hard
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 3d
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"Branches" is a short story by @mktighewrites.bsky.social about how sometimes every path you take can lead to loss. Read this one for its bittersweet multiverse and the impossibility of letting go.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the short story "Branches" by Matt Tighe, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You smile when you see her across the street again. She laughs when you ask her the way to the station. It is right there behind her, South Entrance in huge letters, people bustling in and out of the oversized doorway. She asks where you are from—don’t they have trains there—and you smile and shrug. A version of you exists in almost every branch of reality, but part of you, the part that hurts, that knows how she holds your heart, has only just... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 30, 2026 at 1:52 AM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"last psalm" is a poem by @ph-low.com about skeletons and harpists and how systems of power can sanctify cruelty and exploitation. Read this one for its strong voice and spooky ambience.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the poem "last psalm" by P.H. Low, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: that you might be appeased by one such as me. that, smug on your garnet altar, you would unhinge your jaws and drink wetly of my fear, as a thousand mahogany harps tremble beneath your altar [...] The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 29, 2026 at 5:12 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"Branches" is a short story by @mktighewrites.bsky.social about how sometimes every path you take can lead to loss. Read this one for its bittersweet multiverse and the impossibility of letting go.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the short story "Branches" by Matt Tighe, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You smile when you see her across the street again. She laughs when you ask her the way to the station. It is right there behind her, South Entrance in huge letters, people bustling in and out of the oversized doorway. She asks where you are from—don’t they have trains there—and you smile and shrug. A version of you exists in almost every branch of reality, but part of you, the part that hurts, that knows how she holds your heart, has only just... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 29, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
apottern.bsky.social
"... (can you believe it?) they only cost you $6.66 plus tax. The cashier even offers you a band-aid for your finger, which is welling with ruby droplets of blood. You hadn’t noticed. You hope you didn’t get any stains on the denim.
(Don’t worry, with a little ice water, blood washes right out.)" 😈👖
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 4d
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"Bootcut" is a short story by @apottern.bsky.social about women finding solidarity and battling back against their abusers (and also a particularly well-fitting pair of jeans). Read this one for its mighty vengeance and rage.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the short story "Bootcut" by Allison Pottern, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: Running your hand along the clothing rack, your finger catches on a Goodwill miracle: a pair of jeans that actually fits. They have no tag—no name brand—just a questionable stain below the left front pocket, no big deal. It’s like maybe these jeans have lived a more exciting life than you have. Maybe if you put them on, a bit of that excitement could rub off on you. The flared, dark-washed jeans look like once upon a time they were very expensive. Now that they’re in your broke hands, they’re merely “vintage.” But... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 28, 2026 at 5:31 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"Bootcut" is a short story by @apottern.bsky.social about women finding solidarity and battling back against their abusers (and also a particularly well-fitting pair of jeans). Read this one for its mighty vengeance and rage.

Subscribers can read it now!
An excerpt of the short story "Bootcut" by Allison Pottern, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: Running your hand along the clothing rack, your finger catches on a Goodwill miracle: a pair of jeans that actually fits. They have no tag—no name brand—just a questionable stain below the left front pocket, no big deal. It’s like maybe these jeans have lived a more exciting life than you have. Maybe if you put them on, a bit of that excitement could rub off on you. The flared, dark-washed jeans look like once upon a time they were very expensive. Now that they’re in your broke hands, they’re merely “vintage.” But... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 28, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
havenspec.bsky.social
Our ✨January 2026 issue✨ is ready at last!

Subscribers will get it January 26th, and everyone else can read it February 2nd!

It's taken a long time to get the issue ready, but take a look at that 😍TOC😍! The wait was well worth it!

Subscribe through Patreon:
www.patreon.com/c/HavenSpecM...
Haven Spec Magazine, Issue Twenty-One, January 2026. Cover and table of contents. The issue will be available to subscribers on January 26th, and its contents are as follows: Cover Art by Aimee Cozza. Fiction: Magical Girl: Corporate Failure by Lia Lao. Demon In Repose by J.A.W. McCarthy. A Beginner’s Guide to Summoning Demons by Cynthia Zhang. Bootcut by Allison Pottern. Branches by Matt Tighe. And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must by Elou Carroll. A Tree is not a Home by Diana Dima. Poetry: A Party, A Party! by Faith Allington Queercoded Villanelle by anaum sajanlal last psalm by P. H. Low Rainmaker by Olumide Manuel Nonfiction: Letter from the Editor, Ya Herd? by Leon Perniciaro. Little Fiction Reviews by the Editors of Haven Spec Magazine.
January 19, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
marisca.bsky.social
"Consider the nature of evil. In books & movies, it is always so simple: here are the orcs & the creatures of the dark, who must be destroyed."

Read "A Beginner’s Guide to Summoning Demons" by @czwrites.bsky.social in @havenspec.bsky.social 🧂
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 13d
Our ✨January 2026 issue✨ is ready at last!

Subscribers will get it January 26th, and everyone else can read it February 2nd!

It's taken a long time to get the issue ready, but take a look at that 😍TOC😍! The wait was well worth it!

Subscribe through Patreon:
www.patreon.com/c/HavenSpecM...
Haven Spec Magazine, Issue Twenty-One, January 2026. Cover and table of contents. The issue will be available to subscribers on January 26th, and its contents are as follows: Cover Art by Aimee Cozza. Fiction: Magical Girl: Corporate Failure by Lia Lao. Demon In Repose by J.A.W. McCarthy. A Beginner’s Guide to Summoning Demons by Cynthia Zhang. Bootcut by Allison Pottern. Branches by Matt Tighe. And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must by Elou Carroll. A Tree is not a Home by Diana Dima. Poetry: A Party, A Party! by Faith Allington Queercoded Villanelle by anaum sajanlal last psalm by P. H. Low Rainmaker by Olumide Manuel Nonfiction: Letter from the Editor, Ya Herd? by Leon Perniciaro. Little Fiction Reviews by the Editors of Haven Spec Magazine.
January 27, 2026 at 3:27 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
Our limited demographic window ends soon! Of course, you can still submit in the general window next month, but it's our goal to publish more authors of historically marginalized backgrounds, so send us your stories and poems!

For our full guidelines and schedule, visit:
www.havenspec.com/submit/
Haven Spec Magazine, Submission Page
Fiction and Poetry for the 21st Century!
www.havenspec.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
apottern.bsky.social
Guys, it looks *so good*. Can’t wait for you all to read my story in here and the other fictional and poetical delights. The extra cool thing is all the pieces in this issue are in 2nd person!
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 6d
Our January 2026 issue has gone out to subscribers!

The free-to-read public version of the issue will go up February 2nd, but don't miss out! You can read it now by subscribing through our Patreon!

www.patreon.com/HavenSpecMag...
January 26, 2026 at 9:58 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
Our January 2026 issue has gone out to subscribers!

The free-to-read public version of the issue will go up February 2nd, but don't miss out! You can read it now by subscribing through our Patreon!

www.patreon.com/HavenSpecMag...
January 26, 2026 at 9:31 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"Queercoded Villanelle" is a poem by anaum sajanlal about how memory itself can serve as sacred practice. Read it for its grief and survival.

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the poem "Queercoded Villanelle" by anaum sajanlal, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: Build an altar to memory. Do not forget. Dot ancestors all over, then kneel down and pray to all the joys you do not think possible, yet. And once you have swallowed the moon of your grief, get up and run. Leave your eye-silver flowing. Though they burn altars to memory, we do not forget. [...] The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 23, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
keychild.bsky.social
And if you must read stories, you must. This one in particular.

New story by yours truly, coming very soon from @havenspec.bsky.social.
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 9d
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" is a short story by @keychild.bsky.social about being forced to outsource your anger. Read this one for its refusal of the patriarchy and its embracing of all the right kinds of wicked.

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the short story "And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" by Elou Carroll, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You are looking right at her when it happens. When your hands clench around his throat—his skin bright and warm beneath your fingers. It should be her with her nails sharp and her knuckles paling. She is behind him with her mouth hanging open. She cannot hold your stare—she looks away and bites her lip. For the first time, you are reversed, as if you were born in the mirror all along. She hunches her shoulders and squeezes her eyes shut. Then, she looks up. She watches. She must. [...] The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 23, 2026 at 6:36 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" is a short story by @keychild.bsky.social about being forced to outsource your anger. Read this one for its refusal of the patriarchy and its embracing of all the right kinds of wicked.

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the short story "And If You Must Be Wicked, You Must" by Elou Carroll, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You are looking right at her when it happens. When your hands clench around his throat—his skin bright and warm beneath your fingers. It should be her with her nails sharp and her knuckles paling. She is behind him with her mouth hanging open. She cannot hold your stare—she looks away and bites her lip. For the first time, you are reversed, as if you were born in the mirror all along. She hunches her shoulders and squeezes her eyes shut. Then, she looks up. She watches. She must. [...] The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 23, 2026 at 5:20 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"A Beginner’s Guide to Summoning Demons" is a short story by @czwrites.bsky.social about growing up a target but finding ways to fight back. Also, summoning demons. Read it as a ritual of transformation.

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the short story "A Beginner’s Guide to Summoning Demons" by Cynthia Zhang, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: 1. Buy two cartons of salt: one for the actual summoning, the other for practice. Don’t worry about iodized versus sea salt, fleur de sel or pink Himalayan—as long as it’s not low-sodium, any brand will do. 2. Candles, too—your mom has some around the house, but she will notice if you take them all. Even if she doesn’t, you doubt the scent of Ocean Rain and Vanilla Sugar will impress any demons you want to bind. Votive candles are best, though tealights will do in a pinch, a pack of twenty for one ninety-nine... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 23, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
faithallington.bsky.social
Still swooning over how my werewolf sanctuary poem ended up with this amazing wolf pile artwork by @aimeecozza.com!!! 🥰 🥹
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 10d
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"A Party, A Party!" is a poem by @faithallington.bsky.social about finding community among those who get labeled *monster*. Read this one as a sanctuary and join the party (a party!)

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the poem "A Party, A Party!" by Faith Allington, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You don’t choose vampires and ghouls any more than they choose you, but you find consolation in each other, all the unloved and objectified strata of myth. Everybody wants to fear you The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 22, 2026 at 10:45 PM
havenspec.bsky.social
👀January 2026 Poetry👀

"A Party, A Party!" is a poem by @faithallington.bsky.social about finding community among those who get labeled *monster*. Read this one as a sanctuary and join the party (a party!)

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the poem "A Party, A Party!" by Faith Allington, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You don’t choose vampires and ghouls any more than they choose you, but you find consolation in each other, all the unloved and objectified strata of myth. Everybody wants to fear you The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 22, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
mruthrobinson.bsky.social
HI YES HELLO “Handsomest Gentlest” is on the BSFA Awards longlist!!! Huge thanks to @havenspec.bsky.social for publishing it, to whoever suggested it for the longlist, and to the handsomest gentlest himself, Wilf, who will be getting an extra treat today to celebrate.

www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-...
A black and white dog sitting on a snowy porch, giving the camera a very sweet look. His black cheeks have started to go white with age. A black and white dog sitting on a snowy porch, giving the camera a very sweet look. Almost identical to the other picture, his head is just slightly tilted.
January 22, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Haven Spec Magazine
jawmccarthy.bsky.social
This is what happens when I write about my experiences with sleep paralysis. Maybe it’s that no one appreciates what she’s trying to do? 😈

Thank you @havenspec.bsky.social for giving my demon a home 🖤
havenspec.bsky.social Haven Spec Magazine @havenspec.bsky.social · 10d
👀January 2026 Fiction👀

"Demon In Repose" is a short story by @jawmccarthy.bsky.social about the demon projectionist guiding your dreams and nightmare. Read this one for its sleep paralysis and its nightmare vibes.

Subscribers get it Monday!
An excerpt of the short story "Demon in Repose" by J. A. W. McCarthy, in Issue 21 of Haven Spec Magazine (January 2026). The text reads: You know this elevator well. You’re leaving the room that was never really your room, another transient visitor in a transient space, but something nips at the back of your neck as you wait for the cables to pull the elevator car up to your floor. What did you forget? Blue and grey and beige carpet squares point endless forking paths towards doors sheltering lost things and lost people, but you’re not among them anymore. Last night’s haven has spat you out despite its warm welcome. What did... The background is the issue's cover art, titled Pile, by Aimee Cozza. It shows a figure with blood around their mouth and on their neck and chest, cuddling a pack of wolves.
January 22, 2026 at 6:45 PM