FEATURES: The weird animation of Bill Plympton; Viktor Koen's biomechanical visions; Exclusive excerpt: The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia.

INTERNATIONAL FICTION SPOTLIGHT: "First Photograph" by Zoran Zivkovic; "The Gong" by Sara Genge; "The Dream of the Blue Man" by Nir Yaniv; "The Wordeaters" by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz; "Out of Sacred Water" by Juraj Cervenak; "Time and the Orpheus" by chiles samaniego; more.

POETRY: "The Monster With the Shape of Me" by Brian J. Hatcher.

NONFICTION: The Library: Elizabeth Genco talks with author Lauren Groff about writing The Monsters of Templeton; The Bazaar: Jessica Joslin's crazy steampunk critters; Weirdism: Robert Isenberg on the cinema's latest obsession with apocalyptic futures; Lost in Lovecraft: Kenneth Hite dives literarily into the Pacific Ocean and pulls up H.P. Lovecraft; Harvey Pelican & Co.: special offers from the esoterica king.