Welcome, one and all, to the April 2024 issue of Defenestration, which marks our 21st volume. Yes, Defenestration is now old enough to drink alcoholic beverages in the United States, obtain a concealed weapons permit, adopt a child, and gamble at casinos. So if you don’t hear from Defenestration for the next week or so, it’s because it was arrested for getting drunk at a roulette table, betting its new baby on 17 black, losing, and then trying to fight a man dressed as Julius Caesar with a pistol crossbow. It’s all part of growing up, and we’re sure Defenestration will learn a lot from these experiences.

This month features lists and cakes and interesting descriptions of smells, as well as a very compelling video game about slugs. It also has a story about my good friends Salvador Dali and Oscar Wilde, both of whom I first met at a time-traveling convention in 1764 hosted by Immanuel Kant.

Defenestration is once again open to poetry and short story submissions. With one issue down, we’re now reading for the August 2024 issue. I know that sounds like it’s a long way off, but I assure you that, like that tyrannosaurus in your Jeep’s side mirror, it is closer than it appears. So send us your very best. Or even your second best. Please don’t send us your very worst, though.

—Andrew Kaye, Editor-in-Chief

Short Stories:
Maureen Mancini Amaturo, “When Salvador Dali Identified Oscar Wilde in a Lineup”
Patrick Siniscalchi, “Shell-Shocked”
Sisi Carroll, “Karentown”
Will Willoughby, “Remote Meeting Re: Presentation”
Ray Agostinelli, “The Witness at a Loss for Words, Briefly”
Brooksie C. Fontaine, “Out of This World”
Conor Sneyd, “We need to talk about Slug Simulator”

Poetry:
Grace Alamo, “Memories of Hardship”
Sam Kilkenny, “Mustache”
Andrew Urquhart, “Life Lesson”
Laura Zaino, “Reasons for Numbers”
Gary Grossman, “Eleven Ways of Participating with Zoom”

Downloadable Copy:
Defenestration, April 2024