In this third issue of Heartlines Spec, the protagonists throughout the works hold true to those who matter the most. Just like real families, sometimes those choices aren’t the best and sometimes they are. There are those who choose their biological family and those who find their own. Many of these pieces discover that blood doesn't always make a family; families can come in any shape and size so long as they are the people we choose and choose us in return.

Each week, we will release two free-to-read pieces on our website. Paid subscribers have complete access. All levels of subscribers can read select pieces ahead of public release.

Buy Issue 3

Paperback

Editorial by Emily Yu

Short Fiction

I Hear The Starwhale Sing by Kanishk Tantia

Italic & Bold by Dan Peacock (British Science Fiction Association (BFSA) Award Longlist 2023)

Nerves Into Circuits by Lyra Meurer

You, Neverland, and I by Vivian (Xiao Wen) Li

From Heaven Itself, They Fought by Alex Langer

Full of Sound and Fury by Yelena Crane

Yaka Mein Lady by Vivian Chou (British Fantasy Awards 2024 Award Longlist)

Poetry

Limitless by Lynne Sargent

The Rainmaker by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe

We Are Orphans by Avra Margariti

The Adar Llwch Gwin or the Egg by Elis Montgomery

Non-Fiction

“Hang in there, kiddo”: A 20-year Animal Crossing Friendship by Sarah L. Hawthorn

My Platonic Love Letter to Krobus by Sam Lesek

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