McSweeney's is a San Francisco-based American independent publisher known for its eclectic literary journal which features experimental and high-quality fiction, poetry, and art, often presented in unique, collectible physical formats. Step inside the stunningly illustrated bugs-at-dusk pages of McSweeney’s 81 to devour a portfolio of paintings by Pulitzer Prize winner and national treasure Percival Everett; new stories by Souvankham Thammavongsa, Ashley Nelson Levy, Sam Munson, and Shruti Swamy; a queer Dracula comic by Michael DeForge; and an essay by octogenarian Suzanne Rhodenbaugh in which the story of her life is told in devastatingly brief, decade-long increments; alongside letters by Katie Peterson, Susanna Kwan, Simon Han, and so much more. In this issue, there are swans, mermaids, a Frankenstein with daddy issues, poorly adjusted angels, the afterlife told from three different angles, the gig economy, collage theory, meme theory, murdered uncles, stillbirths, the Berlin wall, Florentine fleur-de-lis, Gypsy camps in Switzerland, bikini lines, the Chicago Seven, treehouses, and the draft. The iridescent worlds of this issue are manifold and teeming. Flip open the gorgeous cover illustrated by Sean Lewis and start reading. Featuring new stories by: Catherine Niu Judith Hermann (Translated by Katy Derbyshire) Shruti Swamy Emily Gray Tedrowe Sam Munson Adam Wilson Souvankham Thammavongsa Kevin Johnston Ashley Nelson Levy Mariella Mehr (Translated by Caroline Froh) A portfolio of paintings by: Percival Everett A comic by: Michael Deforge An essay by: Suzanne Rhodenbaugh Letters by: Katie Peterson Susanna Kwan Meara Sharma Khari Dawson Simon Han
