Good morning, friends of the internet, and welcome to the April 2025 issue of Defenestration! I think this is the first time the issue has ever fallen on Easter, so I’m sure many of you are about to enjoy today’s short stories and poems with fingers sticky with chocolate, marshmallows, and jellybeans; that stuff is a pain to clean off your screens and keyboards, so I suggest washing your hands before you continue. That’s probably a good idea, anyway. Y’all touch some weird stuff.
This month’s issue features edible fairytale creatures, unruly children, violent grandparents, at least two dead bodies, and the legendary Mothman. And that’s just a small portion of the humorous feast we’re serving up today. We hope you enjoy what our contributors wrote!
As an added bonus this month, we’ve also got some artwork to share! We normally publish visual submissions on Sundays, and with today being Easter, we have some egg-themed cartoons from Mat Mendonca up today, so pop over and take a look.
Finally, I’ve pressed the required series of buttons to ensure that the Defenestration inbox is now open to poetry and short story submissions. We’re reading for our August 2025 issue. Also, if you’re the sort of person who enjoys social media, our only official account is now on Bluesky, because we’re no longer willing to wade through the mess that was the Place That Shall Not Be Named.
—Andrew Kaye, Editor-in-Chief
Short Stories:
Olivia Frances Hill, “How to Break Ice”
Matt Leibel, “How to Get Elected Mayor with a Hamburger for a Head”
Dana Wall, “Grammar Gone Wild”
Robert Bruce, “A Walker’s Guide to Little Muttling”
Autumn Bettinger, “Black Balloon”
Matthew Blasi, “Beef 9000: The Future of A.I.-Powered Fast Food Drive Thrus”
Carrie R. Hinton, “Moth or Man?”
M.C. Schmidt, “Thirteen Worms Were Killed During the Digging of Your Grandmother’s Grave”
Poetry:
M. Frost, “Menu from the Fairy Tale Restaurant”
Andrew Urquhart, “Battle Plan”
Karen Paul Holmes, “Ode to L4”
Sharon M. Carter, “Banksy Mural, Bristol, England”
Downloadable Copy:
Defenestration, April 2025