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by Skylar Edwards Looking for a horror novel that’s more than just jump scares and gore? Stephen Graham Jones’ The Only Good Indians is a horror novel that blends supernatural horror with cultural reckoning. Centered on four Native American friends, the novel explores the gruesome repercussions of breaking tradition and the price that comes with it. From the very first chapter, Jones wastes no time. The novel opens with a brutal act of violence typical of a horror novel. What’s most notable, though, is how Jones shifts between different modes of horror: gruesome body horror, creeping psychological dread, and even moments of classic slasher suspense. At first, the changes in style might feel jarring, but they serve a purpose. Each shift reflects how the antagonist interacts with each character. Jones’ choice makes the story unpredictable and keeps readers on edge. The Only Good Indians follows four Blackfeet men, who, as teenagers, trespassed onto forbidden hunting land and slaughtered a herd of elk. Among their kills was a pregnant cow elk. That act of disrespect sets off a chain of consequences none of them can escape. Years later, each man is forced to face the aftermath of that day as a vengeful elk spirit returns for revenge. The narrative unfolds through four different perspectives, one for each friend, which allows us to understand the effects of their mistake from multiple angles. Ricky appears first, and though his section is brief, his violent end sets the tone of the novel. Lewis, who has moved off the reservation and built a life with his wife, carries the heaviest guilt from their hunt; his paranoia pulls the book into psychological horror. Gabe, still on the reservation and struggling as a father, embodies the way that the past bleeds into the next generation through his daughter, Deborah. Cass is rooted in community traditions and seems grounded, but allows anger and suspicion to twist his choices. By the time the story reaches the reservation, it almost feels like you’re reading a new book. The voices of each narrator allow readers access to their unique fears and regrets which turn this into a personal horror. This style not only builds suspense but also forces readers to sit with the characters’ humanity. At its heart, The Only Good Indians isn’t just horror; within it is an important message. It is a commentary on identity and generational responsibility. Jones expands this idea by showing how the younger generation inherit wounds that aren’t their own. Another strength of Jones’ writing is his ability to balance horror with tenderness. Amid the tension, there are moments of love, humor, and hope. These flashes of humanity develop the horror because it seems like something real and fragile is being disrupted. What makes The Only Good Indians stand out isn’t just the scares (though there are plenty of those), it’s the way Jones writes with total freedom, unafraid to break the so-called “rules” of horror fiction. His combination of ordinary characters, genre-shifting, and cultural commentary lends itself to the novel feeling raw and original.. This book will feel like a shock to the system in the best way possible. In the end, The Only Good Indians is more than just a horror story; it’s a novel about memory, guilt, and what happens when traditions are ignored. Readers will find the blood, suspense, and unease they expect, but they’ll also leave with something deeper: the lingering question of how the past continues to hunt us. It’s a novel that unsettles us not just because of what’s on the page, but because of what it forces us to consider about ourselves, our histories, and the debts we can never quite pay off.

by Prisha Mehta Content Warning: This analysis discusses themes and scenes involving graphic imagery, including gore, blood, self-harm, sexual violence, and psychological trauma. Reader discretion is advised. When we hear the title The Vegetarian by Han Kang, one assumes it’s literally about vegetarians. However, there’s a much more profound meaning behind it. It shows how an ideal life begins to fracture after the protagonist becomes vegetarian. It isn’t about whether one eats meat or not, it is about how a vegetarian is perceived in society. As a novel itself, it’s a difficult read, and I had to re-read a couple of parts to truly grasp the intensity of the meaning and understand the finer nuances of the book. The language was easy and simple, yet the way it's written evokes a myriad of feelings in the reader's mind. The novel is set in South Korea where shifting to vegetarianism is seen as an act of social rebellion. Yeong-hye is first shown as an ordinary, submissive housewife, living quietly and never questioning social expectations. Her life begins to unravel after a series of violent dreams compel her to give up meat, setting the stage for her eventual mental transformation into a tree. The novel is centred around Yeong-Hye, yet her voice is never directly heard. The book is divided into three parts, initially we see it through the protagonist’s husband’s lens. The story starts with perfect domestic scenes, which shifts when the usually docile Yeong-hye gets a grotesque dream and stops eating meat. The moment her refusal and opinions are seen, we see how quick he is to dismiss her. He entrenches this objectification when he says “My wife, in other words, was completely unremarkable in every way.”, erasing her individuality. His callousness towards her is shown when he asks her to stop dreaming, as if she could attempt to control the unconscious. Furthermore, his insensitivity emerges when he insists she attend the dinner with his boss, dismissing her discomfort, and again when he forces himself upon her at night, as though her resistance were irrelevant to his desires. In the second part, she is yet again decentralised. Part two is narrated from her brother in law’s perspective, and she is once again seen as an object. Her brother-in-law sees Yeong-hye as a sort of means to an end, since he fantasised about her Mongolian mark, an apparent artistic obsession. We see his indifference towards her mental health and emotional well-being or consent to an extent. His interest lies in her as a sexual object, fantasising about her and her emaciated body. The third part is narrated by her sister In-hye, and she takes us back to Yeong-hye’s childhood through flashbacks. These flashbacks show how patriarchy impacted their household, from being brutally beaten up by her father to the silent compliance from the mother. This early violence, both physical and psychological, had such an impact on Yeong-hye that we see the sudden traumatic dreams she’s inflicted with. The psychological effect must have run so deep that it inadvertently led to her refusal to eat meat. The author’s incorporation of the graphic imagery, particularly in the vivid details of Yeong-hye’s dream, leaves an imprint in the reader’s mind; it reinforces the violence’s allegorical significance. The grotesque sequence “A long bamboo stick strung with great blood-red gashes of meat, blood still dripping down. Try to push past the meat, there’s no end to the meat, and no exit”, creates a claustrophobic confrontation with flesh. This is once again intensified by lines like “Blood in my mouth, blood-soaked clothes sucked onto my skin” and “Pushed that red raw mass into my mouth, felt it squish against my gums, the roof of my mouth, slick with crimson blood.” The repetition of “My bloody hands. My bloody mouth” restates the sensory violation as an identity marker, once again illustrates how deeply the trauma is imprinted upon her body and psyche. It is a mental transformation into a tree rather than a physical metamorphosis, one that unfolds as a psychological and metaphorical process. This transformation symbolizes Yeong-hye’s gradual withdrawal from human society, and it can be read in two ways, either as her descent into complete madness or as a radical rebellion against humanity itself. She begins to reject food, seeking instead only sunlight and water, and comes to describe her veins as roots burrowing into the ground. These moments cause the line between reality and imagination to blur. This is when she reached the point of an absolute breakdown, dissociating from humanity completely. This leaves such a strong psychological impact on her that she not only stops eating meat, we see she thinks of herself as a tree. We see a mental metamorphosis as a result of a mental breakdown. The consequences of her actions percolate and affect her family members mentally, emotionally and physically. This shows us the importance of mental health and lack of concern towards it evolves into a sort of paranoia. The novel fits partly into post-humanism, which challenges human-centred thinking by recognising the agency of the external environment, and then entirely into non-humanism, where animate and inanimate things exist on the same continuum. Yeong-hye challenges the traditional humanist view, that humans are central to the universe. It expands our sense of consciousness to include rocks, nature and even inanimate matter. It also acknowledges animal consciousness and communication abilities. It also challenges how humans have treated animals throughout history. Yeong-hye shifts towards a more fundamental connection with the universe through a simplified almost pre-linguistic mode of being. Ultimately, The Vegetarian is not an easy read. Its unsettling imagery, fragmented narrative, and emotional intensity require patience and reflection. But it is precisely this difficulty that makes the novel unforgettable. Kang forces us to confront questions about autonomy, gender, violence, and what it means to exist beyond humanist boundaries. A disturbing yet profound meditation on the body, identity, and freedom, The Vegetarian lingers long after the last page leaving readers questioning not just Yeong-hye’s world, but their own.

by Skylar Edwards Writing can be challenging, especially when it comes to choosing the perfect word. We’ve all been there, in the middle of a sentence, with a word on the tip of our tongues. You find a placeholder, but it’s not the right one. It doesn’t correctly emulate that feeling that lies within. You find yourself wishing that you could translate yourself without any hindrance. A solution to this problem is to learn more vocabulary words.  Expanding our lexicon is beneficial to us as writers because it allows us to have a greater understanding of our craft. Sharpening our understanding of language allows us to effectively communicate with our audience; you will be better equipped with terms to accurately express yourself and your characters. Additionally, when we are searching for a word, we will have a wider word bank to choose from.  Learning vocabulary doesn’t have to be this big, scary thing. It doesn’t have to be all-encompassing—unless you allow it to be. You may ask yourself these questions: is this word specific to a certain genre? Am I looking for an emotion? Maybe you are just trying to describe how a character looks. There are many literary blogs, like those on Tumblr, which are created for this exact purpose. For example, I may be trying to describe how a character walks into a room. I see it in my mind, but I need some help. Therein begins the search for the perfect expression. Tumblr is a great resource for learning words that are specific to your situation. I’ll browse a blog and learn how I can accurately relay the image in my mind. For example, “he walks into the room” becomes he bounced, ambled, ran, or lurched etc.  Sometimes, you might just need a word that sounds more appropriate. You might find yourself composing a poem that calls for polished words. You’re trying to find another word for cat, but you’re blanking. In this situation, a thesaurus would aid you. Additionally, there are sites like WordHippo that provide synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. Using these resources, you may realize that feline fits into the poem better than cat.  In general, the best way to learn unfamiliar words is to read. Reading can include short stories, novels, poetry, or whatever your heart fancies. Find words that intrigue you, and that fit with the vibe of your writing. As you read, it’s important to keep track of unfamiliar words and words that you know but find interesting. When I read a novel and come across new words, I jot them down in a notebook with their definitions. Yet, there is much more that goes into the expansion of your literary knowledge. Learning must be interactive, or it won’t stick. There are a multitude of apps waiting—like Quizlet—to help you study. These expressions should also be used in writing exercises. For example, do a short story, drabble, or poem using five of the words. Writing is a convenient way to commit the new terms to memory. In addition to writing, use them daily: in email, in conversation, and in text messages. The more you use, the more comfortable you will be.  Remember that while expanding your vocabulary can affect your work tremendously, it is completely acceptable to have what may be considered a small vocabulary. Great writing does not always include what we may think of as sophisticated vocabulary. Distinctive styles require different words. Nevertheless, an expanded vocabulary can benefit you as a writer.

Submit now! Issue X: Modernity Life has never been static, and there has always been something or the other happening at any given point of time. And yet, the world feels heavy right now. 2025 feels consequential and historical in a way that seems unprecedented to our generation, because of the state of the world but also of the collective emotional turmoil that seems to be taking us all by storm. Amidst all of this uncertainty, we bring to you modernity. Drawing upon Baudelaire's definition of modernity as "the ephemeral, the fleeting, the contingent," and Foucault's characterization of modernity as "the will to "heroize" the present," we bring to you a theme that aims to celebrate our decennial issue by chronicling this current year and era through your words. This theme is meant to be as open to interpretation as possible. We provide the words of philosophers to serve as a guiding idea of what modernity could look like, but we give you the freedom to mold the word into whatever you'd like it to be. You could explore your life looks like in the current moment, or juxtapose the present with archaic historical stories to illustrate how modernity has changed over the centuries. You could write about the constants in society as rebellion against ephemerality and proof that humans can create longstanding inventions, or you could romanticize the fleeting as a call to action to take life less seriously and treasure the little things. All that we ask of you is to show us, in your own art, how you define modernity and why. Subs Open June 01, 2025 Subs Close July 06, 2025 Issue X Coming Soon!

Submit to our magazine now! Submissions We are currently accepting submissions for: Blog Article Non fiction - All year round Click here to know more. We are looking for pieces that young readers can relate to, pieces that make you feel something. Stories and poems about the teenage experience, fantasy that readers can use as escapism, worl ds that will suck them in co mpletely, pieces that will strike the very core of human souls are highly encouraged! We also appreciate pieces that are silly, weird, and might be out of place anywhere else. We seek to promote any work that makes us feel any kind of emotion - whether that's amusement, dejection, or nostalgia. Please check our specific themes for what we seek for that theme though! We currently accept submissions for our issues four tim es a year. (March, June, September, December). We are currently closed for issue submissions. Submission Guidelines Submission Inquiries GENERAL All pieces should be in English. If you are including any words in another language, please include translations below Send all pieces as a Google Document/Word Document because this makes it easier to add comments and give feedback. If you are sending a Google Doc, make sure to give us commenting access All pieces should be written in Times New Roman/EB Garamond and font size should be 11 or 12 We have changed our policy of reading name-blind, and will be reviewing submissions with the submitter's context in mind. We highly encourage all creators to add a note to their work so it helps us evaluate the context in which the piece was written and provides more depth to the work. Add the releva nt trigger/content warnings Strictly no smut/anything sexual as this is a magazine for teens Plagiarism, offensive slurs and hate speech are strictly not allowed, If we find any submissions with the same, we will delete it and bar the author from sending to us in the future. ISSUE We allow four kinds of submissions: pr ose, poetry, visual artwork, and creative non-fiction. Per cycle, an author or artist may only submit to one category . Within that category, you can submit how many ever submissions are allowed for that particular category. Specific limits and instructions for each category are listed below. We will design an individual layout for each accepted piece, and reserve the right to design the layout as we believe best fits the piece. For pieces that are accepted, contributors will be emailed about details of publication, issue release parties, and features on our blog. Contributors have the right to accept/decline invitations as they please. Excerpts from accepted pieces will be promoted on our social media. The contributor reserves the right to choose whether they would like to be tagged or not. BLOG No fiction or poetry submissions are allowed for our blog. Any such submissions will be deleted and rejected immediately. Pieces must be engaging and interesting pieces related to the bookish and writing industry. Any unrelated pieces such as makeup or skincare articles will be deleted and rejected immediately. For any research-related article, authors are expected to cite their sources below. Heads of blog department reserve the right to make any edits to the piece as they see fit. We also reserve the right to later archive a blog post if we feel it does not resonate with the theme of our magazine on a later date. We expect blog posts to be written in a fairly formal tone. Conversationality is fine, but a complete disregard of proper spelling and grammar is not. Topics for blog posts are expected to be interesting and unusual, and entice readers. Word count for blog posts is 500-800 words. We may accept longer articles, however this is dependant on the subject of the article itself. Prose: Any forms of prose are accepted with a maximum limit of 1500 words. Format it accordingly with the required line and paragraph breaks and submit as a Word Document or a Google Docs. During a single cycle you can submit a maximum of 1 story of less than 1500 words, or 3 micro stories of less than 500 words each. Attach them in the same document, split it with page breaks and submit it. Poetry: Any forms of poetry are accepted with a maximum limit of 30 lines. We are not strict on line count, however the poem must not exceed 2 pages. Format it accordingly with the required line breaks and submit as a Word Document or a Google Docs. During a single cycle you can submit a maximum of 3 poems. [For issue viii, we are only accepting one poem per author.] Attach them in the same document, split it with page breaks and submit it. Art: We accept both digital and traditional art, however if it is traditional, we expect a good quality picture with no disturbances. We allow a maximum of 3 pieces per submission. [For issue viii, we are only accepting one piece per artist.] We ask that you merge all 3 of them into a single file and submit it. Creative Non-Fiction: Creative non-fiction includes essays on current world issues, book reviews, personal anecdotes, etc. We allow a maximum of 1 piece per submission, with a maximum word count of 1000 words. Photography: A maximum of three pieces can be submitted. The clarity must be high. Should be submitted in JPEG format. Submission Categories Prose Poetry Art Creative Non-fiction Photography Our New Policies If you submitted to a previous issue, you have to wait a whole cycle to submit to RTS again. For example, if you submitted to issue 8, you cannot submit to issue 9 and have to wait until issue 10 to submit to RTS again. This rule will go in place from today, i.e. if you submitted to issue 7 you can still submit to issue 8. This does not apply to features or mini issues, and you can submit to how many ever of those that you please. When we first started our magazine, we didn't have a lot of submitters so we wanted to encourage whoever wanted to to submit. However, now we believe we have a decent enough reach not to worry about reaching an adequate number of submissions, and thus we want to promote more writers instead of the same writers again. Don't get us wrong - we absolutely love recurring contributors! However, we'd like to give new people discovering us more of a chance too :) If you submit a piece that does not adhere to the submission guidelines, your piece will not be read, your submission will be automatically rejected, and you will be issued a warning. In the past we have been a bit more lenient with submissions that didn't meet the requirements, however it becomes extremely hard for our editors to keep track. Please read all the guidelines on our website thoroughly including the number of pieces you are allowed to submit and the instructions on how to title your document. Any piece that doesn't meet the guidelines will be put on a warning list, and if any single person gets three warnings they will be blacklisted from submitting to RTS. This also applies for people submitting our application form to closed positions (if a position is closed, it will be indicated on the application form itself). Note: The only exceptions to this rule we will accept are with respect to word/line counts, and that is only for marginal differences (<100 words). If your piece exceeds the maximum word count, please DM our Instagram or email to make sure it's okay. Only after receiving our confirmation that it's okay to submit can you submit this piece without receiving a warning. Anchor 1 Facts & Questions All Your Questions Answered In One Place Why should I submit? If you wrote a story that you're really proud of, or created an art piece you adore, and want more people to read and see it, we highly encourage you to submit. We understand how difficult it can be to put yourself and your work out there, but we're also young writers who started from humble beginnings, so we hope you trust us and take a chance. At RTS, we review all the pieces and provide individual feedback for all of them (only if requested for). We also take very good care of your piece (check this post for more motivation to submit!). No matter whether we decide to publish your piece or not, rest be assured that we will treat it with the respect it deserves, and make sure you're on the right track of your publishing journey <3 Who can submit? The aim of our magazine is to provide a platform for young and marginalized artists. We hope Rewrite The Stars Review serves as a platform for amateur artists where they can publish for the first time and use this magazine as a stepping stone into the formal literary world. Although we predominantly publish work by young artists in the age group 13-25, we do believe that there is no age for someone to begin writing. We will consider work from older creators, however we may prioritize publishing work by writers submitting for the first time, rather than authors with an extensive publication history. That being said, we encourage artists and writers from any part of the world to submit! What/When can I submit? We have submissions to our magazine which publishes quarterly. Check this page for more details. For our issues, we accept fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, visual art and photography. We accept submissions to our blog year round! We are looking for articles about the reading and writing community, whether this be your hot take on a popular trope or a rant about literary magazine rejections. Check this page for more details. Apart from these, we also will occasionally be having special events and contests! More details on this are published on our socials, follow us on instagram for updates <3 Where do I submit? Check the Issues page to submit to our magazine, and the Blog page to submit to the blog. Please adhere to the submissions guidelines as this makes it easier for us to review them. Interested? Submit now! Blog submissions are open year-round. Submissions for Issue X: Modernity are closed! Submit to blog Submissions closed

Issue IV: Song Of the Earth July 2023 The Earth is our home, our protector and our solace. Nature is the birthplace of all life that has ever existed in this universe. What does this vast and seemingly infinite sphere of life mean to you? Sand underneath your toes, foliage caressing your cheek. The sun setting behind a mountain, a rainbow dispelling the gloomy clouds. Everybody has their own idea of nature, of what the natural world is, and what it means to them. Tell us your story. Show us your image of nature. In honor of World Environment Day on June 5th, we're using RTS's fourth issue to celebrate nature in all its glory. We asked our readers to submit pieces that revolve around the natural world and its connotations for them. We hope this issue gives you peace as you explore various different artistic interpretations of nature and the earth :) Read Now Contributors Poetry Art Arryn Liu Good Intentions, Earth Song Teresa M Medina Soil and Soul Nai Not Quite Sunflowers Elisabeth Flett Cailleach, aberdeen beach, 5 pm Nethi earth. Elisabeth D i wish i could heal you Cyrus Berry he is my world Olajide Overcomer You Can Not Hear The Earth Speak Kiran Emerald Dreams Vastriane The River of Rue Shamik Banerjee To A Fountain Ava Palmer Pondering MG Melody of Agony Maggie Shay Jordan Plants Get Tired, Too Tapasya Bhardwaj Sorry Prose Sophia Wang i want to see the stars one day Jake Malaya The Last Words of the Mud Nymph Grace Symphony of Freedom My Soul's Designs One Breath Granata Andrea Perennial Love Creative Non-Fiction Sunny Solaris Mother Nature's Revenge Smrithi Senthilnathan The Dimnishing Influence of Nature in the Digital World R S Cynefin, Gaia's Lament Featured Indie Authors Kia Ayesha Sinan Ambition MC Pending Untouchable