Submissions are closed!

We received 397 submission across our two themes. Thanks to everyone who sent us your work! We’ve seen a lot of creative twists on our themes, and we look forward to sharing them with you!

We have already responded to roughly two-thirds of the stories and aim to have all responses back by early November.

Stay Quiet. Smile Often.

By: Zachary Taylor

Mindy practiced smiling in the bathroom mirror, making sure her eyes “smiled” with her.

She tried showing her teeth, then keeping her mouth closed.

Her neighbor, Carol, had said the procedure lasted only a few seconds.

In just over an hour, after Mindy’s appointment, she would no longer possess the ability to tell a lie.

Citizens were mandated to “get zapped,” as they called it, but Mindy saw what it had done to Carol’s relationship over just a few days.

“Stay quiet. Smile often,” Carol warned her.

On her way to the car, Mindy caught her husband practicing smiles too.

© 2025. Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor obsesses over anything science fiction, horror, and/or character study. He has accepted but yet-to-be-published work that will appear in The Lunatics Project this fall.

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