What’s in Issue 253

Novella	Bob Brill, Adventures of a Botanist Professor Salsify experiences the potency of the plants’ secret weapon, the drug KR22. Meanwhile, Project Exodus turns out to be more difficult than the plants expected: Chapter 3: Project Exodus Chapter 4: KR22 Chapter 5: Escapodium
Serials	Sanskriti’s husband is relieved to be alive... until his new housekeeper, ‘auntie’, drops by for tea: Ranvir Singh Parmar, Creepers and Grapevines, Chapter 3, conclusion. New contributor Resha Caner introduces us to a Graseq family on the planet Calmeron. They live happily... until the Worms arrive: Jargos, Chapter 1: Worm Hunter, part 1; part 2. An offworlder revenant and his head come to visit Rhiannon in her office. Rhiannon summons the Valkyries Freya and Brunhilde to solve the mystery of the undeath: Rachel Parsons, Facing the Twilight, Chapter 1; Chapter 2, part 1; part 2.
Short Stories	Brad Andrews throws a party for Professor Vanual on the 200th anniversary of the professor’s discovering his vocation: Transition. New contributor Jack Johnson depicts two lifelong friends who fall victim to an occult conspiracy: The Head of the Snake, part 1; conclusion. Roget fears clones and comes out of hiding to seek sanctuary among humans. He is a credit to his kind: Lorna M. Kaine, The Imposter. E. S. Strout takes us to the edge of creation to see what a collapsing universe is like: Blue Shift.
Flash Fiction	New contributor Dan McNeil visits a planet that bears more than an eerie resemblance to quicksand: Appetite. New contributor Julie Eberhart Painter recounts an art theft from the painting’s point of view: The Scream.
Poetry	Bill Bowler, Hearing Voices
Short Poetry	Mary B. McArdle, July
Essay	What happens to a text when it becomes a film? Authors are often surprised, but on occasion they may even like the adaptation: Steven Utley, I Wrote That?

Departments

Welcome	*Bewildering Stories* welcomes Resha Caner, Jack Johnson, Dan McNeil, and Julie Eberhart Painter.
Challenge	Challenge 253 finds itself Between the Crunchies and the Munchies
The Art Gallery	Crystalwizard, Rainbow Embrace NASA: Picture of the Day
Editorial	Jerry Wright, An Editorial Comment

Randomly selected Bewildering motto:

Randomly selected classic rejection notice:

Bewildering Stories’ official mottoes:

“Poems are not made with ideas; they are made with words.” — Stéphane Mallarmé
Ars longa, vita brevis. Rough translation: “Proofreading never ends.”

To Bewildering Stories’ schedule: In Times to Come

Readers’ reactions are always welcome.
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