The Big Black Square – A Dark Fiction Short Story by Kasey Soska

Notch: The Lost Years – A Magical Realism Short Story by Patricia Caspers

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud "Notch: The Lost Years" by Patricia Caspers — a fiction story about a woman named Alicia who has spent her whole life hiding a secret she's carried since infancy: a presence inside her body she calls Notchie, a turtle who has been whispering the word "girlfriend" since before Alicia knew what it meant. Part coming-of-age, part body story, part queer love story told through the language of shame and discovery, this is a tale about what happens when you meet someone who makes hiding feel worse than being seen. Originally published April 2nd and released in audio this week alongside our second poetry issue, "The Body Keeps the Score." You can find the written version right here. [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-closure-of-st-jeromes-home-for-foundlings/] About the Author Patricia Caspers is the founding EIC of West Trestle Review. She is the author of three full-length poetry collections, most recently The Most Kissed Woman in the World. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College (RIP), and her award-winning work has appeared widely in journals such as Ploughshares, Pithead Chapel, and Cimarron. She is a Unitarian Universalist.  * Tip the author [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/notch-the-lost-years/#/portal/support] to support them and say thanks * Explore our full archive [https://www.ceteramagazine.com] of stories and poetry. * Submit your own story [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/submit-to-cetera/] to be featured on Cetera. About Cetera Magazine We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons. Credits * Author: Patricia Caspers * Narrator: Jon Negroni * Editor: Natalia Emmons * Artwork: Jon Negroni * Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] Share This Episode If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Closure of St. Jerome's Home for Foundlings – A Historical Short Story by Tamsin Liddell

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud "The Closure of St. Jerome's Home for Foundlings" by Tamsin Liddell — a historical literary fiction story set in a Baltimore orphanage in the 1950s. Told from the perspective of Lucy Victoria, a blind girl found as an infant on V-E Day, this story follows three years of quiet transformation as the orphanage slowly empties and Lucy learns Braille, mathematics, and typing from a teacher named Miss Wagner. You can find the written version right here. [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-closure-of-st-jeromes-home-for-foundlings/] About the Author Tamsin Liddell was born in Texas and has spent most of her life in the southern US. She lives with her spouse, their daughter, and far too many cats outside of Atlanta, GA. * Tip the author [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-stranger-in-apartment-3a-first-floor-2/#/portal/support] to support them and say thanks * Explore our full archive [https://www.ceteramagazine.com] of stories and poetry. * Submit your own story [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/submit-to-cetera/] to be featured on Cetera. About Cetera Magazine We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons. Credits * Author: Tamsin Liddell * Narrator: Jon Negroni * Editor: Natalia Emmons * Artwork: Jon Negroni * Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] Share This Episode If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Texts After 3 – A Romantic Short Story by Jon Negroni

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new contemporary romance, "Texts after 3." Told entirely through late-night text messages over the course of a year, this story follows Nina, a coffee shop manager who can't sleep, and Adam, a middle school English teacher who can't either. What starts as a post–New Year's check-in between strangers slowly becomes the most honest conversation either of them has ever had, but complicated by the fact that Nina is dating Adam's best friend. You can find the written version right here. [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/texts-after-3/] About the Author Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author and illustrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015) and his debut fantasy novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). He's published short fiction for IHRAM Press, The Fairy Tale Magazine, The Vanity Papers, Discretionary Love, and many more. He’s the chief editor of Cetera Magazine, and his work has appeared or is forthcoming in several anthologies, including Neon Hemlock, Oddity Prodigies, Sinister Smile Press, Inked in Gray, and Speculation Publications. He was a finalist for the 2025 BCLF Elizabeth Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize, received an honorable mention for the Rhonda Gail Williford Award for Poetry, and is a Best American Short Stories 2025–nominated writer. * Visit Jon Negroni's author website [https://jonnegroni.com] to find more of his work * Tip the author [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-stranger-in-apartment-3a-first-floor-2/#/portal/support] to support them and say thanks * Explore our full archive [https://www.ceteramagazine.com] of stories and poetry. * Submit your own story [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/submit-to-cetera/] to be featured on Cetera. About Cetera Magazine We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons. Credits * Author/Narrator: Jon Negroni * Editor: Natalia Emmons * Artwork: Jon Negroni * Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] Share This Episode If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Stranger in Apartment 3A, First Floor – A Ghost Story by Mirav Levy

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud "The Stranger in Apartment 3A, First Floor" by Mirav Levy — a ghost story told entirely from the ghost's perspective. You can find the written version right here. [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-stranger-in-apartment-3a-first-floor-2/] About the Author Mirav Levy is a speculative and horror Latina-SWANA writer who is passionate about creating emotionally resonant stories that stalk messy boys, chaotic girls, sentient Deaths, and memories we don't want to acknowledge. When she's not in her writerly costume, you can find her playing video games. She is currently working on her debut novel. She lives in Colorado with her husband and their menace of a cat. * Visit Mirav Levy's author website [https://miravlevy.com/?ref=ceteramagazine.com] to find more of her work * Tip the author [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-stranger-in-apartment-3a-first-floor-2/#/portal/support] to support them and say thanks * Explore our full archive [https://www.ceteramagazine.com] of stories and poetry. * Submit your own story [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/submit-to-cetera/] to be featured on Cetera. About Cetera Magazine We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons. Credits * Author: Mirav Levy * Host & Narrator: Jon Negroni * Editors: Natalia Emmons and Jon Negroni * Artwork: Jon Negroni * Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] Share This Episode If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Big Black Square – A Dark Fiction Short Story by Kasey Soska

In this special bonus episode of Worlds Without Warning, Jon Negroni reads aloud "The Big Black Square" by Kasey Soska. He also shares Soska's author notes. You can find the written version right here. [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/the-big-black-square/] About the Author Kasey Soska is a professional science nerd and novice fiction writer. His PhD in developmental psychology is from New York University. His academic research has appeared in Developmental Science and Child Development. Kasey studied comedy at Second City’s Conservatory and performed sketch and improv shows in Chicago, Miami, and NYC. He returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he lives with his three-legged dog and two-legged wife. * Explore our full archive [https://www.ceteramagazine.com] of stories and poetry. * Submit your own story [https://www.ceteramagazine.com/submit-to-cetera/] to be featured on Cetera. About Cetera Magazine We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons. Credits * Author: Kasey Soska * Host & Narrator: Jon Negroni * Editor: Natalia Emmons * Artwork: Jon Negroni * Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] Share This Episode If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.