CrayfishMag Furnace Run Press

CrayfishMag is an online journal & print experiment in creative writing & visual Art.

We celebrate the vital exchange between our most difficult and joyful experiences — between the familiar and the strange. We respect that making art of any kind is a personal and often private endeavor — that our creativity serves us as equal parts survival and play. We know that sharing it requires bravery and trust. Our aim is to honor the work we receive with this truth in mind. We will publish writing and art that inspires wonder and care. We will take risks. We will experiment. We hope you’ll send us work that does the same.

Issue Number Four : C R E A T U R E S Free Tip Jar Option Open

Closes on Monday, November 30, 2026 11:59 PM EST (in 86 days).

There are few things that bring humans together as well as our love for weird critters. Living in the age of Jimothy & Punch has taught us more about ourselves than sociobiology or raccoon anatomy. Something about the abandoned infant or the misshapen trash panda taps into our otherwise highly guarded reserve of empathy; it opens a mirror within a world we usually keep at a distance. Thus, CrayfishMag has selected “CREATURES” as the theme for our fourth issue.

We’re searching for stories of life: life with leaves, life with fur, life as earthly and fantastical as it gets. We want to laugh, to cringe, to cry. To be driven to bizarre internet searches. To be reminded that, at the end of the day, we have creaturehood, too.

Here’s what we’re most excited about:

Folktales & fables (spiritual or otherwise)
Cryptids, critters, & imaginary friends
Ghosts & spooky stories
Beloved pets & animal encounters
Stories that call on strangeness & the uncanny
Writing that cultivates empathy
Your own creature-y take on the heart of this call

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