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Auntie taught you her secret

recipe, the one that coaxes

the sleepless into dream.

She taught you how to distill

a potion to protect your lover's

skin from fire. She told you

the secret of your father's

dragon, how its teeth hold

warriors ready to defend

the city in time of need.

But Auntie never taught you

how to transform men, to see

into their hearts. She never

told you of the pain

when your husband leaves

you for a woman—no, a girl—

who knows nothing of potions

nor sacrifices, who would never

bloody her hands to save his life.

Auntie never said: Don't be a wife.




Emily Jiang holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Saint Mary’s College of California and a BA in English from Rice University. Her poetry has been published in Strange Horizons, Stone Telling, and Weird Tales. Her debut picture book Summoning the Phoenix was listed among the Best Children’s Books of the Year by Kirkus Review and The Huffington Post.
Current Issue
14 Sep 2026

Locked Feathers discharged two pulse-beams into the hearts of Shining Director and Fingertip Deluge, killing the patron of stars and the patron of cell division
The fridge asks every morning, without fail, why it is empty, because it cares the most about my consumption.
When the train rattled past the night, something mysterious crawled into us. Maybe the roaring of its silver-encoated wheels, or the hums of its engine, soft as a gangan drum.
Strange Horizons
This has been a year of transition for the fiction department. With the departure of two senior editors, we have recruited new staff members to carry us into 2027 and beyond. First, please join us in thanking senior editors Hebe Stanton and Kathryn Weaver for their tireless work. Together they have contributed more than 17 years to Strange Horizons! We wish them the best in their new projects! New Editors Austin Dewar (Managing Editor - Fiction) Austin Dewar stepped into the managing editor role early in 2026. Austin is a writer, editor, and educator from Fort Worth, Texas. He has
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Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Issue 6 Jul 2026
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