In a climactic scene from Norton Juster’s unforgettable, allegorical novel The Phantom Tollbooth, the main character is being chased down a mountain by horrible demons. One of these is the Demon of Threadbare Excuses, a ragged creature with a vise-like grip. “Well, I’ve been sick … the page was torn out! … I missed the bus … but nobody else did it …” the D.o.T.E. repeats ceaselessly as Milo (our hero) makes his desperate escape from the throng.
Now it’s your turn to make like Milo, and exorcize your own demons. Tell us a story about a time an excuse went wrong. Share a poem that explains how someone got out of a jam. Have you written a sci-fi piece where the science didn’t work out and everyone was scrambling to explain, or a detective story, where the suspect’s alibi just didn’t hold up? We want to read it.
Or maybe you have a piece that you wrote while you were procrastinating about something else; a story, poem, or essay which is, itself, an excuse. Write about someone who did something inexcusable – or someone who never asked to be excused.
Come to think of it, you got away with something naughty in your childhood, didn’t you, and you’ve been dying to share it (because damn, that was clever of you) but you never had the courage to set it down in black and white. Well, now is the time! Personal essays and nonfiction pieces are especially welcome. They can be funny, or poignant, or sad, or witty, or introspective (or all of the above); all moods are welcome.
Send something in. You really have no excuse not to.
The theme for issue #6 is EXCUSES. Submissions open July 1-31, 2024. Issue #6 will be published in August 2024. Visit our submissions page for more details.