Sundial Magazine for Historical Fiction
@sundialmagazine.bsky.social
Your home for short histfic on the web. Cover illustration by Hilary Ayshford. Subs are closed for now as we read through the submissions we received.
Our 6th and final nominee is the #poem "Andrew Goldsworthy's Touching North, 1989" by Merridawn Duckler
Please read and if you enjoy these stories and poems, share with others who might also enjoy.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Please read and if you enjoy these stories and poems, share with others who might also enjoy.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
November 7, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Our 6th and final nominee is the #poem "Andrew Goldsworthy's Touching North, 1989" by Merridawn Duckler
Please read and if you enjoy these stories and poems, share with others who might also enjoy.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Please read and if you enjoy these stories and poems, share with others who might also enjoy.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Our 4th nominee is "The Emperor's Cloak" by Jo-Anne Rosen (first published in The Copperfield Review), which recounts the legend that Napoleon visited a Polish rabbi-seer to ask him what could be divined about his invasion of Russia.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
November 7, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Our 4th nominee is "The Emperor's Cloak" by Jo-Anne Rosen (first published in The Copperfield Review), which recounts the legend that Napoleon visited a Polish rabbi-seer to ask him what could be divined about his invasion of Russia.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Our 3rd nominee is "The Making of a Gimp'd Gut Minikin" by B.B. Schaikes, the story of a young Venetian musician who finds himself suddenly motherless in a London besieged by bubonic plague.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
November 7, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Our 3rd nominee is "The Making of a Gimp'd Gut Minikin" by B.B. Schaikes, the story of a young Venetian musician who finds himself suddenly motherless in a London besieged by bubonic plague.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Our 2nd nominees is "The Book of Hours" by Brooke Bianchi-Pennington, which tells the story of a talented monk who has just learned that there is now a printing press in his own town.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
November 7, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Our 2nd nominees is "The Book of Hours" by Brooke Bianchi-Pennington, which tells the story of a talented monk who has just learned that there is now a printing press in his own town.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Our 1st nominee is "The Gods Decide" by Joyce Bingham, with original art by Kaci Ellison. Set in the #RomanEmpire, this is the story of a fresco painter having a very bad day. #history
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
November 7, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Our 1st nominee is "The Gods Decide" by Joyce Bingham, with original art by Kaci Ellison. Set in the #RomanEmpire, this is the story of a fresco painter having a very bad day. #history
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"'A printed book! I didn’t know we had a press here in Florence!'
'It’s new. They can print almost 15 books a day!'
De’Rossi scoffed. 15 books a day was ludicrous. Where was the art? The craft?"
Read "The Book of Hours", a new #story by Brooke Bianchi-Pennington
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
'It’s new. They can print almost 15 books a day!'
De’Rossi scoffed. 15 books a day was ludicrous. Where was the art? The craft?"
Read "The Book of Hours", a new #story by Brooke Bianchi-Pennington
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
November 2, 2025 at 9:05 PM
"'A printed book! I didn’t know we had a press here in Florence!'
'It’s new. They can print almost 15 books a day!'
De’Rossi scoffed. 15 books a day was ludicrous. Where was the art? The craft?"
Read "The Book of Hours", a new #story by Brooke Bianchi-Pennington
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
'It’s new. They can print almost 15 books a day!'
De’Rossi scoffed. 15 books a day was ludicrous. Where was the art? The craft?"
Read "The Book of Hours", a new #story by Brooke Bianchi-Pennington
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"I do not know how I have become bewitched but it probably happened because I was not pious enough."
For Halloween, read "The Putnams of Salem", and original #histfic #shortstory by Greg Houle, with original art by Sandra Eckert #witchy
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
For Halloween, read "The Putnams of Salem", and original #histfic #shortstory by Greg Houle, with original art by Sandra Eckert #witchy
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
October 31, 2025 at 11:50 PM
"I do not know how I have become bewitched but it probably happened because I was not pious enough."
For Halloween, read "The Putnams of Salem", and original #histfic #shortstory by Greg Houle, with original art by Sandra Eckert #witchy
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
For Halloween, read "The Putnams of Salem", and original #histfic #shortstory by Greg Houle, with original art by Sandra Eckert #witchy
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"I was 1 of 6 to be nubbed off at the Tyburn Tree. After our bodies fall, we belong to the Hangman. He sells our clothing to the poor. Our bodies he’ll fence to the surgeons to be anatomized."
Read "The Resurrection Men: 1722", a new #shortstory by James Vescovi
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Resurrection Men: 1722", a new #shortstory by James Vescovi
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
October 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
"I was 1 of 6 to be nubbed off at the Tyburn Tree. After our bodies fall, we belong to the Hangman. He sells our clothing to the poor. Our bodies he’ll fence to the surgeons to be anatomized."
Read "The Resurrection Men: 1722", a new #shortstory by James Vescovi
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Resurrection Men: 1722", a new #shortstory by James Vescovi
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"The gentleman handed her a gorgeous chitarrone, comically large in her small arms. Mother tuned, then skillfully plucked it. The English tittered at the scandalous display."
Read "The Making of a Gimp'd Gut Minikin", a new #histfic #shortstory by B. B. Schaikes.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Making of a Gimp'd Gut Minikin", a new #histfic #shortstory by B. B. Schaikes.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
September 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
"The gentleman handed her a gorgeous chitarrone, comically large in her small arms. Mother tuned, then skillfully plucked it. The English tittered at the scandalous display."
Read "The Making of a Gimp'd Gut Minikin", a new #histfic #shortstory by B. B. Schaikes.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Making of a Gimp'd Gut Minikin", a new #histfic #shortstory by B. B. Schaikes.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
“In Jamaica, they hung immediately. Except the two women who ‘pled the belly’. Their reprieves were temporary, until the births. Formidable Mary.”
For Talk Like a Pirate Day, read "The Secret Life of Annie B." by Teresa Tennyson, an original #histfic #flash
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
For Talk Like a Pirate Day, read "The Secret Life of Annie B." by Teresa Tennyson, an original #histfic #flash
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
September 19, 2025 at 1:26 PM
“In Jamaica, they hung immediately. Except the two women who ‘pled the belly’. Their reprieves were temporary, until the births. Formidable Mary.”
For Talk Like a Pirate Day, read "The Secret Life of Annie B." by Teresa Tennyson, an original #histfic #flash
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
For Talk Like a Pirate Day, read "The Secret Life of Annie B." by Teresa Tennyson, an original #histfic #flash
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"Before dawn, the famous composer leaves Venice. The gondola brushes the orphanage of Ospedale della Pietà. There, the composer looks away, his jaw tense."
Read "Four Seasons in Mantua, 1720 Circa", a new #flash #histfic by @sgscarso.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "Four Seasons in Mantua, 1720 Circa", a new #flash #histfic by @sgscarso.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
September 12, 2025 at 5:51 PM
"Before dawn, the famous composer leaves Venice. The gondola brushes the orphanage of Ospedale della Pietà. There, the composer looks away, his jaw tense."
Read "Four Seasons in Mantua, 1720 Circa", a new #flash #histfic by @sgscarso.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "Four Seasons in Mantua, 1720 Circa", a new #flash #histfic by @sgscarso.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"You ask for a divorce as if you were asking me to pass you the salt. I reply: no, thank you.".
Read "A Conversation Over Breakfast", a new #histfic #shortstory set in East #Germany by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "A Conversation Over Breakfast", a new #histfic #shortstory set in East #Germany by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
September 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
"You ask for a divorce as if you were asking me to pass you the salt. I reply: no, thank you.".
Read "A Conversation Over Breakfast", a new #histfic #shortstory set in East #Germany by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "A Conversation Over Breakfast", a new #histfic #shortstory set in East #Germany by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Correct. We left the very day E.M. did the Nazi salute.
September 6, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Correct. We left the very day E.M. did the Nazi salute.
“Comrade Rotaru, your son is an enemy of the state. And you will help me bring him back."
Read "The Visit", a new #histfic #shortstory by Alexandra Magearu that takes place during Ceaușescu's totalitarian regime in Romania.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Visit", a new #histfic #shortstory by Alexandra Magearu that takes place during Ceaușescu's totalitarian regime in Romania.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
August 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
“Comrade Rotaru, your son is an enemy of the state. And you will help me bring him back."
Read "The Visit", a new #histfic #shortstory by Alexandra Magearu that takes place during Ceaușescu's totalitarian regime in Romania.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Visit", a new #histfic #shortstory by Alexandra Magearu that takes place during Ceaușescu's totalitarian regime in Romania.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"He will tell his wife that he doesn’t dream about it anymore. It won’t be true. But it will be what she needs to hear."
Read "There Will Still Be Minnesota: A Tale of Convoy PQ-17" by Larissa Sprecher
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "There Will Still Be Minnesota: A Tale of Convoy PQ-17" by Larissa Sprecher
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
August 21, 2025 at 8:58 PM
"He will tell his wife that he doesn’t dream about it anymore. It won’t be true. But it will be what she needs to hear."
Read "There Will Still Be Minnesota: A Tale of Convoy PQ-17" by Larissa Sprecher
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "There Will Still Be Minnesota: A Tale of Convoy PQ-17" by Larissa Sprecher
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"For a while, Jacques and the other priests weren’t troubled by the Revolution."
In honor of #bastilleday, read "Not Being Equal" by Mary Byrne, an original #histfic #shortstory published by Sundial Magazine for Historical Fiction.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
In honor of #bastilleday, read "Not Being Equal" by Mary Byrne, an original #histfic #shortstory published by Sundial Magazine for Historical Fiction.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
July 14, 2025 at 2:24 PM
"For a while, Jacques and the other priests weren’t troubled by the Revolution."
In honor of #bastilleday, read "Not Being Equal" by Mary Byrne, an original #histfic #shortstory published by Sundial Magazine for Historical Fiction.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
In honor of #bastilleday, read "Not Being Equal" by Mary Byrne, an original #histfic #shortstory published by Sundial Magazine for Historical Fiction.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Subs are open! Send us your best #histfic. Please read our submission guidelines.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
July 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Subs are open! Send us your best #histfic. Please read our submission guidelines.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"The first woman who tried to become my Mama had warm eyes and smelled like cinnamon. But when she asked my name, I burped in her face."
Read "A Child of Prestige", a new #histfic #shortstory by Shanteé Felix. Original art by Sandra Eckert.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "A Child of Prestige", a new #histfic #shortstory by Shanteé Felix. Original art by Sandra Eckert.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
July 5, 2025 at 4:07 PM
"The first woman who tried to become my Mama had warm eyes and smelled like cinnamon. But when she asked my name, I burped in her face."
Read "A Child of Prestige", a new #histfic #shortstory by Shanteé Felix. Original art by Sandra Eckert.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "A Child of Prestige", a new #histfic #shortstory by Shanteé Felix. Original art by Sandra Eckert.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
On Independence Day, enjoy the first short story Sundial ever published: "The Islet" by R. Louis Scott, with original art by Yaleeza Patchett. It includes a cameo by my favorite traitor with a breakfast named after him. #histfic #shortstory #revolutionarywar
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
July 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
On Independence Day, enjoy the first short story Sundial ever published: "The Islet" by R. Louis Scott, with original art by Yaleeza Patchett. It includes a cameo by my favorite traitor with a breakfast named after him. #histfic #shortstory #revolutionarywar
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"Arrive anywhere from Norway
or take an icebreaker.
Or fly.
Look for a circle that has no entry or exit,
and lives inside and outside."
Read "Andrew Goldsworthy's Touching North, 1989" by Merridawn Duckler, a new #histfic #poem about massive art at the North Pole.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
or take an icebreaker.
Or fly.
Look for a circle that has no entry or exit,
and lives inside and outside."
Read "Andrew Goldsworthy's Touching North, 1989" by Merridawn Duckler, a new #histfic #poem about massive art at the North Pole.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
June 29, 2025 at 6:54 PM
"Arrive anywhere from Norway
or take an icebreaker.
Or fly.
Look for a circle that has no entry or exit,
and lives inside and outside."
Read "Andrew Goldsworthy's Touching North, 1989" by Merridawn Duckler, a new #histfic #poem about massive art at the North Pole.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
or take an icebreaker.
Or fly.
Look for a circle that has no entry or exit,
and lives inside and outside."
Read "Andrew Goldsworthy's Touching North, 1989" by Merridawn Duckler, a new #histfic #poem about massive art at the North Pole.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"Sometimes I think I am already in the ground. I truly have nowhere to turn. The only thing to do is record this so when I am dead perhaps someone will pity me."
Read "The Lady", a new #histfic #shortstory by Susan Moisan, with original #art by Yaleeza Patchett.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Lady", a new #histfic #shortstory by Susan Moisan, with original #art by Yaleeza Patchett.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
June 4, 2025 at 10:59 PM
"Sometimes I think I am already in the ground. I truly have nowhere to turn. The only thing to do is record this so when I am dead perhaps someone will pity me."
Read "The Lady", a new #histfic #shortstory by Susan Moisan, with original #art by Yaleeza Patchett.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Lady", a new #histfic #shortstory by Susan Moisan, with original #art by Yaleeza Patchett.
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
“'It wasn’t until police saw the pictures that they realized who they’d been up against: Bonnie & Clyde.'
'She can’t be older than you are. 2 policemen dead; she’s bound to come to a bad end.'”
Read "Skyline Drive", a new #histfic #novelette by Rita Welty Bourke
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
'She can’t be older than you are. 2 policemen dead; she’s bound to come to a bad end.'”
Read "Skyline Drive", a new #histfic #novelette by Rita Welty Bourke
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
May 13, 2025 at 10:22 PM
“'It wasn’t until police saw the pictures that they realized who they’d been up against: Bonnie & Clyde.'
'She can’t be older than you are. 2 policemen dead; she’s bound to come to a bad end.'”
Read "Skyline Drive", a new #histfic #novelette by Rita Welty Bourke
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
'She can’t be older than you are. 2 policemen dead; she’s bound to come to a bad end.'”
Read "Skyline Drive", a new #histfic #novelette by Rita Welty Bourke
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
“Edna, I’ve got a surprise for you,” he announced as he walked through the door.
“What’s that, Paul?”
“A new washing machine. A Bendix Dialamatic.”
“You’re joking. We can’t afford that.”
Read "Blue Stars", a new #histfic #novelette by Jennifer Porter
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
“What’s that, Paul?”
“A new washing machine. A Bendix Dialamatic.”
“You’re joking. We can’t afford that.”
Read "Blue Stars", a new #histfic #novelette by Jennifer Porter
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
April 27, 2025 at 9:43 PM
“Edna, I’ve got a surprise for you,” he announced as he walked through the door.
“What’s that, Paul?”
“A new washing machine. A Bendix Dialamatic.”
“You’re joking. We can’t afford that.”
Read "Blue Stars", a new #histfic #novelette by Jennifer Porter
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
“What’s that, Paul?”
“A new washing machine. A Bendix Dialamatic.”
“You’re joking. We can’t afford that.”
Read "Blue Stars", a new #histfic #novelette by Jennifer Porter
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
“The ashtray was beautifully colored with a scene of the Schönbrunn Palace in turquoise and pink. What he would want with this beautiful thing on his last night on earth was another matter."
Read "The Ashtray", a new #histfic #shortstory by Richard Lawrence Bennett
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Ashtray", a new #histfic #shortstory by Richard Lawrence Bennett
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
April 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
“The ashtray was beautifully colored with a scene of the Schönbrunn Palace in turquoise and pink. What he would want with this beautiful thing on his last night on earth was another matter."
Read "The Ashtray", a new #histfic #shortstory by Richard Lawrence Bennett
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "The Ashtray", a new #histfic #shortstory by Richard Lawrence Bennett
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
"The ground rises to meet me like my mother’s hand when vexed. I bite my lip with the force. I stand up. My pulse thumps in my ears."
Read "Woman in a Field, Somewhere in France, 1942" by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "Woman in a Field, Somewhere in France, 1942" by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
March 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
"The ground rises to meet me like my mother’s hand when vexed. I bite my lip with the force. I stand up. My pulse thumps in my ears."
Read "Woman in a Field, Somewhere in France, 1942" by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...
Read "Woman in a Field, Somewhere in France, 1942" by @emmamvenables.bsky.social
sites.google.com/view/sundial...