Water Logs, Issue 1 (Q1 2026)

Water Logs is a quarterly science fiction ezine from paperxpencil® Creative Design Lab, built on the belief that speculative futures are inseparable from the histories that produced them. Every issue collects three short stories arranged as a single thesis: origin, rupture, reclamation, where Black coastal memory, cultural memory, and diaspora history aren't backdrop. They're the machinery the fiction runs on. Volume 1 spans four issues. New issues arrive every quarter. ISSUE 1 DIAMOND LIFE The pendant Leo got for his birthday is made from human ashes. His. CAN'T HOLD WATER Everybody in town brings their secrets to Vernell's porch, and she has never once dropped a thing. Then the dead started mailing letters, and one of them knows her name too. PEACE FOR A PIECE It was there during the ups and downs. Supporting and being supported with love and passion. A bittersweet relationship that ends where we all do.