Author Jay Sturner

Wrapping up final edits to a blurb for a fellow writer whose stellar book of poetry will be released in November. I'll share details when they become available.

For over ten years, my poem "A Tree" could be read along Meadow Lake near the visitor center at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. It was written when I worked in the herbarium there. The poem was later published in my book Kairos . Here's the poem. A tree is a treasure burst forth into the sky; a fissured relic covered in emeralds that change with the voice of equinox. A tree is a benevolent caretaker for the wild; a framework of weathered arms holding nests, refuge, and insect treats. A tree is a teacher of patience and endurance; a primeval soul bearing the fruit and labor of the illusion we call Time. A tree is our third parent of unconditional love; a haven of cool shade and wonderment beneath a sentry of leaves.

Officially autumn, but the leaves have only just begun to change: a splash of red here, a wisp of yellow there. It’s as if an uncountable number of dripping paintbrushes are poised over the land, silently waiting to angle down and start their work.

After a short hiatus from writing, I'm happy to share the news that my prose poem "Honorary God" will be appearing in the Winter 2026 issue of Spectral Realms .

"Variations on the I-Ching," co-written with writer Jennifer Crow, has been published in the  Winter Solstice 2024 issue of   Eternal Haunted Summer and can be read by clicking  here .

The latest issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly is now available and includes my story "Moon Masks." The title/theme of this issue is 'Masquerade.' Paperback Version Digital Version (coming soon)

The Autumnal Equinox 2024 issue of  JOURN-E: The Journal of Imaginative Literature  is now available and includes my Clark Ashton Smith-inspired prose poem "The Thing at the Dream Gate." Available in both paperback and PDF versions via the links.

Issue #106 of Yellow Mama Webzine is now live and contains my poems "Venom and Bite," a poem that didn't make it into my chapbook Shadows and Sparks , and "Walking the Suburb," which I wrote in my head while walking the neighborhood. To read "Venom and Bite," click here . To read "Walking the Suburb," click here . Image by Kelly Moyer.

When Confronted by an Elder God... Grab your phone, get video, try for a sample. Then run like hell to a scientist and co-author a peer-reviewed article—win a Nobel! Don’t just stand there and lose your mind. Going mad is so last century. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s penchant for  having characters “go mad” in several of his stories. It  was first published in Aphelion Webzine in 2024.

The September 2024 issue of Carmina Magazine is currently live and contains my poem "Ratri and the Grieving Botanist." The poem is a reprint, having first appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer back in 2021. This newer version is better, I think, than the original, and perhaps warrants a fresh read. You can do so by clicking here . Note: Ratri is the Hindu goddess of night. Many thanks to editor Clarabelle Miray Fields for reprinting this poem!