Issue Fourteen – February 2026

Cover of Issue 14, February 14 of Translunar Travelers Lounge in which skeletons surround a man playing an accordion. The authors names listed are David Anaxagoras, Bella Chacha, Morgana Clark, Arvee Fantilagan, Ikechukwu Henry, Adan Jerreat-Poole, Michael M Jones, Maria Clara Klein, R Lochlann, Monica Louzon & Ramiro Snachez, Tunvey Mou, Uchechukuw Nwaka and Dan Peacock. The Editors are Bennett North, Priya Sridhar and Hannya Kay

The beginning of the year always feels like spring to me, even though the coldest months of winter are still ahead. Even now, with my neighborhood still buried under a foot of snow, I can’t help but think about what I’ll plant in my garden this year. As I hack away at the thick ice in my driveway, I notice with pleasant surprise that the sun is setting later and later every day. It might be miserable outside, but there’s no reason to think it’ll be miserable forever. You just have to hang on a little longer.

Hanging on is a lot easier when you have friends to take some of the strain. This magazine wouldn’t be possible without the help of our incredible staff of volunteers. I would like to give a deep and sincere thank you to our following first readers: Ares J. Benoit, Lizzie Blackwood, Nicole Bazemore, Emry Jordal, Chana Kohl, Heather D. Norton, Jamie M. Boyd, Evelyn Teng, Tom Mock, Cynthia Zhang, Katherine Smith, Bartholomew Redd, J. Neira, Nicholas Jay, and Kate Ravenna. I’d also like to give a special thanks to Neil Wilcox, our social media assistant. Thanks also to Rae Johnson, who did the fabulous cover art. And of course, this magazine would never get finished without the incredible organization and politely insistent watch-tapping of Hannya Kay.

To fortify yourself for the wait until spring, we have a tasting flight of stories that should satisfy every palate. There’s a romance that unexpectedly crosses borders and a romance that cannot; a loyal pet awaiting a long lost owner, and a genie trying to fathom an inscrutable master. There are prisoners in the sapphire mines and slaves in the helium mines; land that has been betrayed, a chair that has been corrupted and a flower that faces exile. There is a sewer worker who dreams of success and an adventurer’s agent who guarantees it. There are abandoned bodies on beaches, forgotten skins behind the counter, and testicles with wanderlust.

So go on and have a sip, and get ready for the coming thaw.

[Buy the ebook here!]

Buy Us a Coffee at ko-fi.com

bourbon

sweet, with notes of caramel and honey

Borders – by Maria Clara Klein

The Cat’s Three Wishes – by Michael M. Jones

A Goat’s Tale – by Arvee Fantilagan

Meet Cute at the Inter-Dimensional Café – by Catherine Tavares

rye

peppery and bold

I Spent A Year In Forced Labour In The Helium-3 Mines on Titan. Here’s What It Taught Me About Work Ethic – by Dan Peacock

When the Land Speaks – by Ikechukwu Henry

Swimming in Sapphires – by Morgana Clark

reserve

smooth and complex

Coat Check Girl – by Adan Jerreat Poole

The Garden of Living Flowers – by Tunvey Mou

Above the Sand, Under the Skin – written by Ramiro Sanchiz and translated by Monica Louzon

The Wheelchair God of Ibadan – by Bella Chacha

moonshine

sharp, with a spicy bite

The Necromancer’s One Weakness – by R. Lochlann

We Dream of Sunrise in our Monochrome City – by Uchechkukwu Nwaka

“We Require an Engine,” said the Testicle Collective – by David Anaxagoras