Fiction
THE DAY OWL
A fiction piece by Paul Anderson.
THE BASIC TRUTH
A fiction piece by James Hartman.
RING THING
A fiction piece by Katrina Johnston.
A PIECE OF CAKE
A fiction piece by Kate Maxwell.
MOTHER TONGUE
A fiction piece by Franz Neumann.
TEMP NUMBER FIVE
A fiction piece by Phyllis Rittner.
Non-Fiction
BESTIARY AS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A non-fiction piece by Ania Payne.
LISTING
A non-fiction piece by Alice Lowe.
MORTALITY
A non-fiction piece by Susan Wagner.
ADVENTURES TO SOBRIETY
A non-fiction piece by Alexa Dersovitz
Poetry
I WATCHED HER BREATHE TO DEATH
A poetry piece by Sydnie Ard.
LOVE LOST & FOUND: FOR QI HONG
A poetry piece by Yuan Changming.
A MOUTH WITH NO JAW
A poetry piece by Tyra Douyon.
MOTH
A poetry piece by Rachel Grandey.
MEDITATIONS ON A STONE
A poetry piece by Danielle Hanson.
DREAMING OF FALL
A poetry piece by Tamika L. Hughes.
THE DIDEROT
A poetry piece by Kate LaDew.
MIGRATION
A poetry piece by Kurt Luchs.
A STAR AMONGST THE BUTTERFLIES
A poetry piece by DS Maolalia.
I TELL MY HUSBAND I TRANSITIONED
A poetry piece by Maureen Sherbondy.
CROSSING THE WATER
A poetry piece by Robert Wynne.
Screenwriting
KAI
A screenwriting piece by Charlotte T Martin.
MATTHEW AND LUCAS
A screenwriting piece by Charlotte T Martin.
RIP CURRENT
A screenwriting piece by Lara Haynes Freed.
Letter from Issue Three Editors
Dear Readers,
Time. Never seems to be enough of it. Especially for writers and editors, who, you know, love to push out a deadline as long as possible.
We know it’s been a while between issues. But, trust us, we’ve been busy. We think you are going to be pleased with the third volume of Paper Dragon.
Our journal started as an idea close to two years ago. In that time, we’ve seen the journal’s readership skyrocket and submissions have been overwhelming – but in a good way! To our readers and writers who’ve helped make Paper Dragon a success in a short space of time, we are forever grateful.
Because of you, this little journal has come into its own. We’ve made our literary journal accessible to underrepresented voices, incarcerated persons, and we welcome new writers with open arms. That is our proudest achievement as editors—allowing great writing to find a home and allowing new writers to connect with readers. It’s been such a pleasure watching this unfold. Together, we’ve made this possible.
With our growth in submissions and readership we realized it was time to make the journal’s home on the web better. Something that shows our vision and reflects the input of writers and visual artists. That’s what you’ll see when you open the third volume. Writing that jumps off the page and a visual presence that adds to the ambience of each piece. We hope you enjoy the new Paper Dragon as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together for you.
So yeah, it took some time. Time that we didn’t want to see slip away. After this issue, Paper Dragon will no longer be our baby. It’ll pass on to the next cohort. But we don’t own it—you do. Our time with Paper Dragon is a gift, and we are simply its caretakers. Keep on reading and keep the dream of Paper Dragon alive. To all the artists, writers, and poets who have trusted their work with us, thank you. Together, we’ve all made something that will last long after the last page is turned.
That something is us, a community of readers and artists.
Keep turning those pages.
All the best,
Paper Dragon 2022 Editors
Nick Perez, Fiction Editor
Sarah Campli, Art Director
Dylan Brown, Screenwriting Editor
Anthony Chatfield, Nonfiction Editor
George MacMillan, Poetry Editor
Issue Three Masthead
Managing Editors
Sarah Campli, George MacMillan, Nick Perez, Anthony Chatfield, Dylan Brown
Art Director
Sarah Campli
Social Media Manager
Anthony Chatfield
Fiction Editors
Becky Titelman, Ashley Bhasin, Paul Bekendorfer, Kyra Sampson
Non-fiction Editors
Emily Mras, Bianca Cuie, Rachael Weaver
Poetry Editors
Maura Morgan, Julie Tran, Karl Okamoto, Rylee Cella
Screen Writing Editors
Danni Sonnenberg, Rachael Weaver
Website Designer
Yashfa Azizi
Publisher
Drexel Publishing Group