Popshot Magazine

I’ll willingly admit to being a bit of a scaredy-cat. Walking home alone at night, or in an empty house, I experience sharp prickles of fear. In these moments, I am five years old again and convinced the stories my sister told me of ghoulish dogs and

Cover illustration by: Millie Baker milliebakerillustration.co.uk Editor: Matilda Battersby Art Editor: Andrea Lynch Publisher: Simon Temlett Published by: Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd chelseamagazines.com Distributed by: Seymour Distribution Printed

if you called me pretty right nowit would haunt every poem I will ever writeor have ever writtenthus is my limited understanding of the fluid nature of timebased largely on Doctor Who reruns and the ringing in my ears after the rock showmouthing into

They keep arriving. Postmark faint. Sometimes I dare not open them.Handwriting not known to me, they’re accusing, I’m always to blame.How can I put things right? They never leave their names. My mother-in-law is kind, stands in the kitchen in her dri

We trawl for the talismans of time travellong pewter shores and craggy poolsOur six-year-old selves caughtin bowls of brine, mirrors to rippleour reflections outwardsYour red wellies a sudden thrillagainst the lash of rock, salted in mistyour edges b

Scaredy-cat, Scaredy-cat,what troubles thee? I get the shiverswhen you stare at me. Is it the scratchon the back of my head or of things supernaturalthat fill you dread or is it the fact thatyou know that I’m dead? Scaredy-cat,what do you see? ■

Years from now, when all we knowhas fallen into memory -relics from an ancient time -will they find our locketshanging from our bony necksand marvel that the birth of love wascontemporaneous with the lighting of the stars? What stories will our bodie

I remember your note,A cheery “back in a mo’”That flimsy piece of paper,Scarred by the inkFrom your hand, And even now,I think of you beside me,More than I thought I would,Hear your hesitant laugh,At dawn, dusk,And the time in-betweenThat deserves it

8 – Al Crow is a writer who works across fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry, exploring the climate emergency and human fragility through these mediums. 10 – Benjamin Herriton is from Wales, but lives in London, where he works as a researcher on

We showcase vivid writing by the literary new blood. Each quarter we announce a new theme for the magazine. Details about our theme for the next issue will already be available on our website. Find out more about how to submit and sign up to the mail

Andrew Haener andrewhaener.com Brooklin Holbrough brooklinstormie.ca Cyndy Patrick cyndypatrick.com/illustration Daisy May Morgan @_daisymorganart_ Dina Razin dinarazin.com Gail Gosschalk gailgosschalkillustration.com Gary Venn garyvennillustration.c