#8: Fiction by Jane Snyder
HILLSBORO Before the final bell on Ruth’s last day of school, the boys and girls gathered around her desk to sing “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” Miss Cooper, laughing at Ruth’s surprise, handed her a shoebox filled with popcorn balls, told her to serve her classmates. As she placed a popcorn ball wrapped in […]
#5: Fiction by Sophia Ihlefeld
CRACKED AND POURED The girls wanted to look like their mothers. The housewives prayed with all their might that they would someday grow into the slim bodies of those who’d borne them, those buttery waves of hair. They learned that this was both possible and impossible. As their bodies stretched and grew and decanted into […]
Weekly Favorites: “Sweet Rotten” by Jen Michalski
Jen Michalski is one of those people who knows everyone else in the literary community. She is one of the kindest, most thoughtful among our ranks. I was so very grateful when Jen sent us “Sweet Rotten” for inclusion in the first issue of Cobalt Review eight years ago, and it has remained one of […]
Weekly Favorites: Rafe Posey Reviews Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil
Rafe Posey, one of Cobalt’s founders and its first fiction editor, has been writing book reviews since 1989, when he found himself admiring a photo book called The Dog in Art. We miss him dearly, but are ever-grateful for the time he spent with Cobalt. I especially love this 2012 review for its take on […]
Weekly Favorites: “The Last Original Guitar Riff in G” by Tom Williams
Here’s one of the snazziest stand-alone pieces we’ve published. Thanks to the great Tom Williams, who first came to Cobalt through the Four Fathers collection with Dave Housley, BL Pawelek, and Ben Tanzer. Tom is among the finest. Go read Don’t Start Me Talkin’. Immediately. THE LAST ORIGINAL GUITAR RIFF IN G Our work doesn’t bring us […]
Weekly Favorites: “Moles” by Timmy Reed
I can’t not love this short story by Timmy Reed. Over the past 7+ years, I’ve pointed to this as an example of the type of fiction I love most. It’s made its way into half a dozen creative writing classes. I’ve even given a dramatic reading of it at Timmy’s book launch event. Hopefully, […]
Cobalt Review: Issue 21
And now it’s time…to say… Well, it’s not really goodbye. It’s just the last standard issue of Cobalt Review. With the launch of the Cobalt Weekly comes the conclusion of the issues series that’s been rolling since 2011. Don’t worry, the Baseball Issue will live on. And we’ll keep bringing you books and books and […]