Just two stories this week!

Apex Magazine

  2026-05-05: The Bathhouse for Long Life, by Claire Jia-Wen

My mother tended to the springs of conception and abortion for a thousand years. Then she passed them to me.

Strange Horizons

  2026-05-05: Senescence, by aegor ray (~3000 words)

Without a name or need for one, he arrives scattered at the base of a tree and he rests like that, in pieces, for sixty-odd years. He is forty-nine sticky droplets of impulse and intelligence, tucked under dried oak leaves, clinging to a stone.

I’m gonna try to do this every Friday-ish from now on, so if you are:

• A pub who regularly posts free-to-read stories, or
• A writer with a free-to-read story or stories posted this week, or
• Another fan with a lead on more free-to-read stories …

Drop me a line and I’ll happily add to the list.

Happy reading! Support your favorite authors! Support your favorite pubs!