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issue twenty-two

Cover of 'The Good Life Review' showcasing an orange sunset with silhouettes of birds in flight, featuring text that reads 'Issue XXII Winter 2026 Omaha, NE "Best Of" Edition'.
“Impressions of Waking Cranes” by Kim McNealy Sosin
Artwork
Announcement
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Issue #22 ~ Winter 2026 ~ “Best Of” Edition

Release Date: January 8th, 2026

Featuring some of our best pieces from the past two years, plus bonus new work from Matt Mason, Jake Bienvenue, Frank Gaughan, and the Nebraska Writers Collective 2025 Kate Sommer Memorial Poetry Prize winner, Rebecca Oliver!

Poetry

Eight Beautiful Things by Matt Mason
d’Arc by Rebecca Oliver
True Apothecary by Ellie Gold Laabs
ephemera 31 by Chris Lisieski
How to Hear God While Making Thanksgiving Dinner  by Charlene Pierce
Mosaic by Muiz Ọpẹ́yẹmí Àjàyí
They Put the Graffiti On by Matthew James Babcock
what to make of autism by Tim Raymond
Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O LORD? by Yin Cheng
The Year I Carried You by Sara Shea
Autobiography of a Violin by Cassie Burkhardt

Short Fiction

Palimpsest by Jake Bienvenue
The Grieving Scar by Frank Gaughan
Tbilisi by Sara Maria Hasbun
Mall Goddess by Marilee Dahlman
When Mr. Boppo Joined the Cohort by Sharon Lee Snow 

Flash Fiction

Razia, Razia by Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar
The Next Empty Cup by Myna Chang
While Making Out the Lineup for Tomorrow’s 12U Softball Championship Game by Jim Parisi
The Summer He Left by Alison Ozawa Sanders

Micro Fiction

Return by Adesiyan Oluwapelumi
Drunk Husband Crashes Yard Sale by Alice Kinerk  
Closure by David Obuchowski  
A Haunted House at the End of the World by Autumn Bettinger
Once I Lived in Heaven by Mea Cohen

Short Creative NonFiction

The Laundry Hangs at Noon by Ginger Tolman
Rearview Mirror by Brad Snyder

Flash Creative NonFiction

My Mother, the Story-Weaver by Kiana Govoni
The Crush of Dusk by Michaela Evanow
I Am a Body Lying in the Grass by Allison Hughes
the doctor says i must milk her body by Camila Cal Mello 
I Conjure My Great-Grandmother In a Dream; She Gives Me a Lesson on Revision by Alayna Powell

Micro Creative NonFiction

Alary Things by Hilary Fair
Boyfriend Jeans by Heidi Bell
Detroit Salt by Linda Drach
i use google more than i care to admit by Jessica Hudson
Dungeons and Dragons is by Ryan Stiehl 

A young man wearing a T-shirt and a headband makes a 'shh' gesture, standing in a restaurant with a colorful menu in the background.
Cover of The Good Life Review Issue #22 featuring a winter theme and a collection of artwork and poetry highlights.
A woman smiling outdoors, wearing a straw hat and glasses, against a backdrop of traditional architecture.
Portrait of a smiling young man wearing a blue traditional outfit, standing outdoors in front of a building.
A portrait of a woman with glasses resting her chin on her hand, looking thoughtfully at the camera.
Portrait of a man wearing a plaid shirt, standing in front of a yellow light source.
A portrait of a person with short hair, wearing a black sleeveless top, resting their chin on their hand with a thoughtful expression, set against a black background.
A black and white portrait of a bald man standing by a river, with trees in the background.
A person wearing glasses and a pink beanie holds two cats, one tabby and one white, while looking at them. The person is wearing a t-shirt that reads, 'IT IS TOO LOUD.'
Black and white photograph of a woman smiling while holding a child on her back, both appearing joyful.
A smiling woman wearing a black cap poses in a car selfie with a fluffy dog beside her.
A professional portrait of a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, wearing a dark blazer and smiling at the camera against a dark background.
A woman smiling in a colorful patterned top, standing in a garden with green grass in the background.
A portrait of a woman with medium-length brown hair, wearing a white embroidered top and earrings, smiling outdoors.
A headshot of a woman with long, light hair, wearing a black top, smiling at the camera.
A portrait of a person with short dark hair and glasses, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.
A black and white portrait of a smiling woman with long hair, wearing a denim jacket, standing outdoors in front of foliage.
A portrait of a young man with short hair, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, standing against a backdrop of green leaves.
Cover image for The Good Life Review Issue #22, featuring a winter theme with artistic elements.
A woman with long hair sitting near a window, wearing a lace top and a skirt, gazing upwards with a serene expression.
Portrait of a young woman standing in a forest during winter, wearing a dark coat and a checked scarf, with trees and fallen leaves in the background.
A person wearing glasses and a white jacket poses in front of a backdrop with logos and awards.
A smiling man wearing glasses and a light-colored shirt, seated in front of a bookshelf filled with books and a globe.
A woman with long, wavy hair, wearing a colorful, patterned top, smiles while standing in a field of flowers.
A woman with red hair and braids stands outside, wearing a gray shirt, with trees and a house in the background.
Self-portrait of a young woman with curly hair, wearing a light sweater and standing against a textured wall.
A smiling person with curly hair and pink highlights sitting in a car.
A person with short hair, wearing earrings, stands in a well-lit setting with a soft smile.
Artwork and Photography:
A watercolor illustration of a bee in shades of orange and yellow against a black background.

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

Image credit: Michael Yuan

This week’s feature…

She tells us how we feel and we agree. The therapist we didn’t hire.             Her misremembered facts become our story.             She trades in gossip: who has an addiction, a love affair.             No lovers allowed. She’ll be our only love. She leans…

Keep reading

TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Frank Gaughan

We understand through story. In good stories, we also empathize. If I can create a story where there was nothing before and also have that story that help someone understand and empathize, I’ve done my job….

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan
Artwork featuring a creative design representing natural hues.

Exclusive interviews with our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz
Welcome sign for Nebraska, featuring the phrase 'the good life' and a depiction of a mountain, with 'Home of Arbor Day' below.
TGLR News & Announcements…

December 2025: Pajama Pants Are the New Black
November 2025: Wedged Together We Are Tumbling Toward The End
October 2025: Golden Hours and Hot Whisky Sours
Oct. 17, 2025: Introducing Issue #21 ~ Autumn 2025!
September 2025: As Summer Slips Into Autumn
2025 Honeybee Prize Results and Issue #20 ~ Summer 2025 Release
May 2025 (Inaugural Substack): Today Is A Good Day To Start
April 9, 2025: Introducing Issue #19 ~ Spring 2025
Jan. 29, 2025: Issue #18 ~ Winter 2025 “Best Of” Edition

More news and announcements here!
A stylized white silhouette of a person pushing a cart with an umbrella, set against a solid blue background.
TGLR nominates for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions, and the Pen/DAU Short StoryAward.
This year’s prize noms plus lists of past nominations are available here!
Bonus Plan: A delicious history of HoneyBee Prize winners is available here!

from the archives:

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more

Bend by Jim Peterson

Bend | Jim Peterson   I found you walking beside a horsewithout halter or lead.  It shadowed you,sometimes resting its enormous headon your shoulder.  I’d been alonefor a long time. …

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive

Submissions:

We are currently open for all genres.We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions, and more! Plus…We are a paying market! $60 per piece published in a seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, and $25 for cover art.

The Good Life Review is seeking previously uncurated work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

IMAGE: Cover Art “Early Rising” by Amuri Morris

Artwork featuring a golden bee on a black circular background.
The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue twenty-one

Cover art for The Good Life Review Issue XXI, Autumn 2025, featuring a landscape painting of a sunset over a body of water with silhouetted trees.
Cover Art “Early Rising” by Amuri Morris
Artwork
Announcement

Issue #21 ~ Autumn 2025

Release Date: Friday October 17, 2025

Featuring Two Poems by Rodrigo Toscano
Plus…

Short fiction

Layover by Simon Ashton
Looking for a Friend by Ben Seabolt
A Boy Who Thinks Quite a Deal by David Hutto
Alice by Mikaela Conley

Flash Creative Nonfiction

Two essays by Camila Cal Mello: the doctor says i must milk her body and my mother says she wants to go out tonight
The Percolator by Marlene Olin

Flash Fiction

The Moon and Nothing Else by Charlie Rogers
Drained by Sarah Schiff

Short Creative NonFiction

Rearview Mirror by Brad Snyder
Swan Song by Sarah Safsten

Poetry

Prairie Witch by Rayni K. Wekluk
They Put the Graffiti On by Matthew James Babcock
Low-key Midwest Girl Dad Vibes: My Wardrobe is Mostly Kohl’s Middle-Class Casual & My Skin Care Routine is $1.59 Men’s 2-in-1 Total Body Wash by Bob King
Callicarpa americana by Elizabeth Anguamea
More People Die in the Winter by Caroline Sutphin

Spoken Word

Airport Security by Eve Addams
On Election Day by Dufflyn Lammers
Translation by Esman Rodas Calderon

Self-portrait of a young woman with curly hair, wearing a light sweater and standing against a textured wall.
Portrait of a person wearing glasses and a denim jacket, standing in front of a colorful painting.
A monochrome portrait of a woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a black shirt, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.
A smiling person standing by a body of water, wearing sunglasses and a casual green t-shirt.
Artwork titled 'Zephyr' by Mary Amato, featuring a contemplative woman in a stylish coat, illuminated by blue light.
A man speaking into a microphone at a poetry event, with an audience partially visible in the foreground.
A black and white portrait of a woman with long hair, smiling softly at the camera.
A woman with gray hair wearing a black jacket stands outdoors, smiling.
Cover art for The Good Life Review Issue #21 featuring abstract design
A still life painting of sunflowers in a brown vase, with some petals scattered around.
A portrait of a woman with curly hair, smiling confidently against a natural background.
Cover art for The Good Life Review Issue #21, featuring vibrant autumn-themed artwork.
Artwork titled 'Zephyr' by Mary Amato
A portrait of a young woman with long blonde hair and glasses, set against a dark background.
A smiling man wearing glasses and a light-colored shirt, seated in front of a bookshelf filled with books and a globe.
A black and white portrait of a bald man standing by a river, with trees in the background.
A portrait of a person with long, blonde hair and striking blue eyes, looking directly at the camera with a soft expression.
A smiling person wearing a pink hat with text, glasses, and a checkered shirt, sitting indoors near a window with light filters through.
With Artwork and photography By:

Amuri Morris, J.C. Henderson, Crystal Angeles, Fabio Sassi, and Harry Bauld

A watercolor illustration of a bee in shades of orange and yellow against a black background.

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s feature…

TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Brad Snyder

At some level, the process of writing this piece reminded me of how much music has been a constant companion through the seasons of my life. It’s pretty extraordinary to realize how music, or really any work of art, can be both a reflection of and a catalyst for new understanding and insight…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan
Artwork featuring a creative design representing natural hues.

Exclusive interviews with our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz
Welcome sign for Nebraska, featuring the phrase 'the good life' and a depiction of a mountain, with 'Home of Arbor Day' below.

TGLR News

2025 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
Introducing Spring 2025
2024 Autumn Issue released on October 17th
2024 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!

More news and announcements here!

A stylized white silhouette of a person pushing a cart with an umbrella, set against a solid blue background.

TGLR nominates for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and Best Small Fictions

2026 Best of the Net nominations
2025 Best Small Fictions
2025 Pushcart nominations
2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more

Tbilisi by Sara Maria Hasbun

Tbilisi | Sara Maria Hasbun The morning I arrived back in Tbilisi, I messaged my old trainer, who met me just inside the door to Urban Garden. He rested his…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions and… YES we are a paying market! ($60 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously uncurated work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

IMAGE: “Zephyr” by Mary Amato

Artwork featuring a golden bee on a black circular background.
The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue twenty

Cover art for The Good Life Review, Issue #20, Summer 2025, featuring abstract design in blue tones, with a butterfly and stylized text.
Cover: “Zephyr” by Mary Amato
Artwork
Announcement

Issue #20 ~ Summer 2025

Release Date: July 15, 2025

Featuring work from the 2025 HoneyBee Prize…
Poetry

Winner selected by Julia Kolchinsky:
Autobiography of a Violin by Cassie Burkhardt
Editors Choice:
The Widower Writes From the Shipwreck & True Apothecary by Ellie Gold Laabs
The Year I Carried You by Sara Shea
Red and Yellow Light Over the Top of Houses by Dolapo Demuren
Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O LORD? by Yin Cheng

Flash Creative Nonfiction

Winner selected by Kristine Langley Mahler:
I Conjure My Great-Grandmother In a Dream; She Gives Me a Lesson on Revision by Alayna Powell
Editor’s Choice:
The Leftovers by Michelle La Vone

Flash Fiction

Winner selected by Tom Paine:
While Making Out the Lineup for Tomorrow’s 12U Softball Championship Game by Jim Parisi
Editor’s Choice:
The Summer He Left by Alison Ozawa Sanders
Solitary Creatures by Charlie Rogers & Jaime Gill

Short Creative NonFiction

Winner selected by Brenna Womer:
The Laundry Hangs at Noon by Ginger Tolman

Short fiction

Winner selected by Michael Czyzniejewski:
When Mr. Boppo Joined the Cohort by Sharon Lee Snow
Editor’s Choice:
Take Me Through the Finish by Tom Ziemer

Cover artwork for The Good Life Review Issue #20, Summer 2025, featuring a vibrant design.
A joyful black and white photograph of a woman smiling widely while a young girl hugs her from behind, both displaying happy expressions.
Black and white portrait of a man wearing glasses, looking directly at the camera.
A joyful woman with long blonde hair smiles warmly against a backdrop of a tree.
A smiling woman wearing a straw hat and glasses, dressed in a light green top, standing outdoors with colorful structures in the background.
A colorful abstract artwork titled 'Natural Hue' by Sarah Kohrs, featuring vibrant colors and organic shapes.
Artwork titled 'Natural Hue' by Sarah Kohrs.
Abstract artwork featuring swirling blue and white patterns, creating a sense of movement and depth.
A person wearing a knitted hat and jacket, standing outdoors with trees in the background.
A black and white portrait of a young person resting their chin on their hand, gazing thoughtfully at the camera.
Artwork titled 'Natural Hue' by Sarah Kohrs featuring vibrant colors and organic shapes.
A black and white portrait of a woman smiling in casual attire against a blurred, natural background.
Artwork related to literary work and announcements for Summer 2025 issue.
A woman with red hair wearing glasses and a white jacket poses in front of a backdrop featuring logos of a film festival.
A woman with short blonde hair smiles while standing in a garden, wearing a colorful patterned top.
With Artwork and photography By:

Mary Amato, Roger Camp, Britnie Walston, Nataliia Burmaka, Ferris Jones, Milena Makani, Maud Bocquillod, Joe Hernandez, and Sebastian Mark

A watercolor illustration of a bee in shades of orange and yellow against a black background.

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s feature…

House Party by Dory Rousos Moore

When her new boyfriend’s black Grand Am swerves into our complex, she jumps up, her drink spilling over the edge. The way she falls in love is with a whoosh, like she’s being sucked into a vacuum, and the way I fall in love is by pretending not to…

Keep reading

TGLR Spotlight…

2026 Best of the Net Nominations

Hello friends. Fall has arrived here in Omaha and the cooler weather means it’s nom-nom-nomination season again. Today, we’re thrilled to kick off this gourmet meal with a healthy dish of Best of the Net Noms!

This year’s two creative nonfiction essays, two fiction stories, six poems, and three pieces of art being nominated are…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan
Artwork featuring a creative design representing natural hues.

Exclusive interviews with our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz
Welcome sign for Nebraska, featuring the phrase 'the good life' and a depiction of a mountain, with 'Home of Arbor Day' below.

TGLR News

Introducing Spring 2025
2024 Autumn Issue released on October 17th
2024 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

More news and announcements here!

A stylized white silhouette of a person pushing a cart with an umbrella, set against a solid blue background.

TGLR nominates for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and Best Small Fictions

2025 Best Small Fictions
2025 Pushcart nominations
2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more

Tbilisi by Sara Maria Hasbun

Tbilisi | Sara Maria Hasbun The morning I arrived back in Tbilisi, I messaged my old trainer, who met me just inside the door to Urban Garden. He rested his…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions and… YES we are a paying market! ($60 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously uncurated work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

IMAGE: “Natural Hue” by Sarah Kohrs

Artwork featuring a golden bee on a black circular background.
The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue nineteen

Cover Art: “Natural Hue” by Sarah Kohrs
Artwork
FULL PDF
Announcement

Issue #19 ~ Spring 2025

Release Date: April 9, 2025

Poetry

Enumeration by Katharine Jager
ephemera 31 by Chris Lisieski
Two Poems by Alex Dodt: Yesterday is and Somewhere Between Childhood and Your Vertical Abandoning You
Ode to the Wet Towel on the Floor by Alicia Elkort
if by Keira Deer
Don’t Ask Me About the Hymns by Ezra Fox
In Defense of Liquor by Pamilerin Jacob

Flash Creative Nonfiction

I Am a Body Lying in the Grass by Allison Hughes
I like when my ass hangs out of my shorts by Rose Marie Torres

Short Fiction

Tbilisi by Sara Maria Hasbun
Mall Goddess by Marilee Dahlman

Flash Fiction

The Next Empty Cup by Myna Chang
Flying Fish by Corinne Harrison
Taco Bell Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire by Susan L. Lin

Short Creative Nonfiction

You Come Now You Leave Now by Ramona Emerson
Space / Time by Siobhan Ring

A person with curly hair sitting at a table outdoors, smiling softly at the camera.
With Artwork and photography By:

Sarah Kohrs, Kim McNealy Sosin, Ellen June Wright, Sholanke Boluwatife Emmanuel, Ferris Jones, Erin Song, Pieter Janaldo, Mostafa Meraji, Albert Stoynov, Juan Burgos, Raymond Kotewicz, and Luke Chesser.

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s feature…

The Taste of Absence by Bethany Bruno

My father drank black Maxwell House from a repurposed Big Gulp cup, the kind with a faded NASCAR logo and a plastic straw he never used. Every morning, long before the world stirred, he filled it to the brim and cradled it between his knees as he drove to work. No cream. No sugar. Just heat,…

Keep reading

TGLR Spotlight…

Cid Galicia Reviews “Freeland” by Leigh Sugar

Navigating Leigh Sugar’s collection, FREELAND, is like being caught in an argument between Han Solo and Gnarles Barkley on how to rescue the Rebel Princess from the Galactic Empire’s prison, The Death Star. At least they weren’t caught in the 1900s, still naming prisons via historical indigenous geographic locations. Because we are, and Leigh is, and that is where we find ourselves, with her, in this collection….

Keep reading
by Cid Galicia

The Latest News…

Fashionably Late, but Coming In Red Hot

We missed Valentine’s Day and all those feels. But being fashionably late is cool. All the hopeless romantics know that hearing “I love you” when it’s *almost* too late is so satisfying. (As evidenced by the frequent use in rom-coms in Hollywood.)

In all fairness, in our December newsletter, we also said we were gearing up to hibernate for the winter. Still, where do all the weeks go? But enough about romance and the calendar,…

Keep reading
by Shyla Ann Shehan
For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR News

2024 Autumn Issue released on October 17th
2024 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!
2024 New Year’s Revelations
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

More news and announcements here!

TGLR nominates for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and Best Small Fictions

2025 Best Small Fictions
2025 Pushcart nominations
2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

Funny by L. L. Babb

Funny | L. L. Babb Kiki spent six years in prison learning how to shut down. When she was released to the halfway house, her counselor tried to help her…

read more

Two Poems by Bob Hicok

Fire | Bob Hicok Is your solitude crushing?Do you feel like a milk cartonat the bottom of the oceanwith your face on it asking the abyss,Have you seen this child?The…

read more

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions and… YES we are a paying market! ($60 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously uncurated work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

IMAGE: “Forever Again” by Gabrielle Miller

The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue eighteen

Art by Gabrielle Miller
Artwork

Issue #18 ~ Winter 2025: “Best Of” Edition

Release Date: January 28, 2025
Featuring the best of our best from 2024

Poetry

The Hammock by Jim Peterson from Issue #15, Spring 2024
Beacons by Jamie L. Smith from Issue #16, Summer 2024 
Death of the Moth by Annalee Fairley
from Micro Monday, June 3, 2024
Mosaic by Muiz Ọpẹ́yẹmí Àjàyí from Issue #13, Autumn 2023
(Non)detrimental Reliance by Esther Ra from Issue #15, Spring 2024
Obit by Kait Quinn from Micro Monday, August 13, 2023
How to Hear God While Making Thanksgiving Dinner by Charlene Pierce from Micro Monday, November 20, 2023  
Those Who Can’t by Taylor Franson-Thiel from Micro Monday, April 8, 2024  
Little Sparrow, Baby Mole (The MoMo Twins) by  Carey Salerno from Issue #17, Autumn 2024 

Flash Creative Nonfiction

The Crush of Dusk by Michaela Evanow
from Issue #17, Autumn 2024
My Mother, the Story-Weaver by Kiana Govoni from Issue #17, Autumn 2024

Short Fiction

Funny by L. L. Babb from Issue #15, Spring 2024
Grasshopper Gut Punch by Jacob Orlando from Issue #15, Spring 2024
Things To Talk To Jim About by Jaime Gill from Issue #16, Summer 2024
Babygirl by Mychal Hope from Issue #17, Autumn 2024

Flash Fiction

Razia, Razia by Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar from Issue #15, Spring 2024 
Rainbow Mittens by Lea Pounds from Issue #15, Spring 2024 

Short Creative Nonfiction

Life Must Go On by Cynthia Landesberg from Issue #13, Autumn 2023
Origin Stories by Frankie Concepcion from Issue #16, Summer 2024

With Artwork By:

Gabrielle Miller, Kathleen Frank, Cynthia Yatchman, John Widdowson, Matthew Fertel, Devdatta Padekar, Jules Ostara, 紫月 李, Li Ziyue, Ann-Marie Brown, Barbara Sarvis, Michael Kunzinger, and Muhammad Ashraf

TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Katharine Jager

This poem emerged from archival research I conducted at Texas Southern University, looking at their Heartman collection of artifacts related to enslavement. There was a register contained in that collection that documented the enslaved people who’d been taken from Mississippi to Texas in the 19th century; this register actually named each enslaved person, which was somewhat unusual…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s feature…

Chia Shower Pet by Crockett Doob

and what else besides chop sticks could get in the hole but then I thought, the shower head (the water gun setting) and I tried it and it worked, nailing the middle of the funnel, blasting the seeds out and I made my chia drink, finally, with herbal tea, and it looked beautiful and red and I made…

Keep reading

The Latest News…

2025 Best Small Fiction Nominations

Today, and for the first time ever, we’re tossing our proverbial hat into the “Best Small Fiction” ring. Best Small Fiction is a contest facilitated and judged by editors at Alternating Current Press.

We’re not really tossing “our” hat, though… We’re tossing the hat of these five authors whose stories we published in 2024…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan
For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR News

2024 Autumn Issue released on October 17th
2024 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!
2024 New Year’s Revelations
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

More news and announcements here!

TGLR nominates for Pushcart, Best Small Fictions, Best New Poets, and Best of the Net

2025 Best Small Fictions
2025 Pushcart nominations
2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

Funny by L. L. Babb

Funny | L. L. Babb Kiki spent six years in prison learning how to shut down. When she was released to the halfway house, her counselor tried to help her…

read more

Two Poems by Bob Hicok

Fire | Bob Hicok Is your solitude crushing?Do you feel like a milk cartonat the bottom of the oceanwith your face on it asking the abyss,Have you seen this child?The…

read more

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, Best Small Fictions and… YES we are a paying market! ($60 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously unpublished work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

IMAGE: “Kunik” by Hiokit Lao

The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue seventeen

“Kunik” by Hiokit Lao
Artwork
PDF Version

Issue #17 ~ Autumn 2024

Release Date: October 17, 2024

Poetry

Little Sparrow, Baby Mole (The MoMo Twins) by  Carey Salerno
Uncountable by Marina Cooper
Asset Management by Karissa Ho
Trauma is a Lullaby in Igbo by Nwodo Chukwu Divine
A Convalescent Home for Retired Prophets by  Chase Dimock
In Memory of Birdperson by William Bonfiglio

Flash Creative Nonfiction

My Mother, the Story-Weaver by Kiana Govoni
The Crush of Dusk by  Michaela Evanow

Short Fiction

Babygirl by Mychal Hope
Puppy by Deidre Jaye Byrne
Before the Waters by Corrina Chan

Flash Fiction

Regular Headed Calf by Rory O’Neill
The Great Swim Divide by Amanda Siri Hill
Empty Nesting by Andrea Villa Franco

Short Creative Nonfiction

Amongst Women by Kathryn O’Day
A List of Missoula Area Grocery Stores to Cry In, Ranked by Daniela Garvue

With Artwork By:

Hiokit Lao, Cynthia Yatchman, Karissa Ho, John Widdowson, Rovaida Saleh, Britnie Walston, Lizzie Falvey, and Audrey Larson

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s Feature…

The Echo of Footsteps by Ibrahim Abdulhakeem

Each step carried the weight of exhaustion, of dreams deferred and dignity swallowed in silence. Ayo would listen from his room, curled up with his homework, his hands clammy as he gripped his pen. Would today be different? Would the tension in the air dissipate, leaving room for laughter instead of raised voices?…

Keep reading

TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Ezra Fox

I think oftentimes writers are asked about their subjects, and for me, currently, it would be queerness, spirituality, lineage, all of which are present in this piece. But recently, during my Master’s thesis defense, my thesis advisor Ross Gay commented that throughout my manuscript, all my poems seemed to hold a lot of grace. The word “grace” has ever since stayed with me….

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan

The Latest News…

2025 Best Small Fiction Nominations

Today, and for the first time ever, we’re tossing our proverbial hat into the “Best Small Fiction” ring. Best Small Fiction is a contest facilitated and judged by editors at Alternating Current Press.

We’re not really tossing “our” hat, though… We’re tossing the hat of these five authors whose stories we published in 2024…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan
For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR News

2024 Honeybee Prize Results and Summer Issue
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!
2024 New Year’s Revelations
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

More news and announcements here!

The Good Life Review nominates for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net

2025 Pushcart nominations
2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

Funny by L. L. Babb

Funny | L. L. Babb Kiki spent six years in prison learning how to shut down. When she was released to the halfway house, her counselor tried to help her…

read more

Two Poems by Bob Hicok

Fire | Bob Hicok Is your solitude crushing?Do you feel like a milk cartonat the bottom of the oceanwith your face on it asking the abyss,Have you seen this child?The…

read more

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and… YES we are a paying market! ($60 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art).

The Good Life Review is seeking previously unpublished work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to sent us your work.

IMAGE:  “Haley and Celeste” by Cameron Shipley

The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue sixteen

“Haley and Celeste” by Cameron Shipley
Artwork
Download Full ISSUE

Issue #16 ~ Summer 2024

Release Date: July 30th, 2024

Featuring work from the 2024 HoneyBee Prize…
Fiction

Winner: Things To Talk To Jim About by Jaime Gill
Runner Up: Veer by Ryan Mattern
Honorable Mention: Echocardiogram by Olivia Torres

Bonus Fiction

Strawberry Moon by Megan Monforte

Creative Nonfiction

Winner: Origin Stories by Frankie Concepcion
Runner-Up: Eloise by Kelsey Ferrell
Honorable Mention: How to Be Made by Men, 1981 by Anne Falkowski

Poetry

Winner: Electric Eclectic Strong by Randy Bynum
Runner-Up: A Beginners Guide to Yoga by Genevieve N. Williams
Honorable Mention: Night Sweats by Molly Sturdevant
Honorable Mention: Beacons by Jamie L. Smith

With Artwork By:

Cameron Shipley, Matthew Fertel, Olude Peter Sunday, Emily Rankin, Sharon Reeber, Muhammad Ashraf, and Beth Horton

This week’s Micro Monday Feature…

micro monday

Rocks by Mk Smith Despres

In the waking world, she asks for pajama pants for Christmas so she can wear them to school. So she can go cozy up the front walk, the one where she saw her friend last week, neck red and swollen with trying and trying and trying. So she told, right away she told. The friend went home. Went somewhere. And she went to class. Swallowed rocks. Took a math test…

Keep reading

In other news…

2025 Best of the Net Nominations

Hello friends. Despite being more than a few days late with this announcement, we are thrilled to reveal this year’s nominations for Best of the Net (which we managed to get submitted just before the clock struck midnight on September 30th).

Read on to learn which pieces were nominated this year…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan

More exclusive interviews with our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR News

2024 Honeybee Prize Results
2024 Spring issue is HERE
Winter 2024 Best Of edition is available in print!
2024 New Year’s Revelations
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

More news and announcements here!

The Good Life Review nominates for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net

2025 Best of the Net nominations
2024 Pushcart nominations
2024 Best of the Net nominations
2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

“Guten Tag, Baby!” by Scott C. Sickles

“Guten Tag, Baby!” | Scott C. Sickles Cast of Characters  ELEANOR: 75-years-old, in early stages of dementia. Given to flights of nostalgia.   VIVIENNE: 42-years-old. ELEANOR’s daughter. Tired from the long…

read more

Limerence by Levi Cain

Limerence | Levi Cain   ok now i am beholding u / yes i am bewitched bythe stubby curl of yr ponytail the wide open arcof shoulders the single black…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and… YES we are a paying market! ($75 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday, $50 for cover art)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously unpublished work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

COVER IMAGE:  “Depths of the River” by Tona Pearce Myers

The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue fifteen

COVER IMAGE:  “Depths of the River” by Tona Pearce Myers
Artwork
Full ISSUE

Issue #15 ~ Spring 2024

Release Date: April 12, 2024

Featuring:

Three poems by Jim Peterson: Bend, Faraway, The Hammock

Plus…
More in Poetry:

(Non)detrimental Reliance by Esther Ra
Incoagulable by Lucy Walker
After the Bombing by Eneida P. Alcalde
Biotic by Adesiyan Oluwapelumi

Flash Fiction:

Razia, Razia by Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar
Rainbow Mittens by Lea Pounds
Shades of Jade by Marlana Botnick Fireman
Smoke Break by Cat Casey

FLASH NONFICTION:

Odore di Neve by Jacqueline Goyette
Lineage by Gail Hosking

FICTION:

Funny by L. L. Babb
Grasshopper Gut Punch by Jacob Orlando
Blue Light by Cortez

Poetry to me is a medium by which I experience the world in its ability to elevate my consciousness beyond the faux limitation of my mind.

From “Emotional Resonance and Self-Discovery: A Conversation with Adesiyan Oluwapelumi“

The emotion, feeling, and insight of the poem is conveyed down the poem and into the mind of the reader.

From TGLR Exclusive Interview with Jim Peterson

This year feels like a year of questions, for me. Maybe the prophecy lies somewhere inside that notion, like we can find the future in how we ask for it.

~ Jacqueline Goyette

I write in recognition of their courage, convictions, sense of justice, and what they stood for. I write to honor what they left behind, what they withstood, what they lost, and what we gained as a result.

~ Eneida Alcalde

Perhaps it’s important to me that we recognize the human-ness of these sort of lost individuals and acknowledge those traits in ourselves.

~ L.L. Babb

I listened to many people’s experiences around a particular issue, looked for themes in their answers, and drew conclusions. I bring that experience to my writing by examining how a character’s outward behavior reveals their inner life.

From our Q&A with Lea Pounds “Exploring Writing, Public Health, and Historical Fiction“

I was talking to my mother on the phone when she told me that in the old days people used to buy birds and free them in the hope of having a wish fulfilled. That thought was in my mind when I wrote Razia Razia.

From our Author Q&A with Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar

I often felt like I had to lose my sense of humanity in order to continue working in customer service, especially food service. It might sound like an obvious sentiment but if there’s one thing I can get across with ‘smoke break,’ it’s to treat service workers with some grace – and perhaps to highlight the complex inner worlds experienced by all people, even those that are paid to serve you.

From TGLR Author Q&A with Cat Casey

I hope that their complicated relationship gets at the trauma behind the numbers of dead and injured at these mass shootings. Everyone means something to someone, and relationships can be complicated and tangled and messy, even between two guys.

From TGLR Exclusive Interview with Jacob Orlando: On Writing About Gun Violence and Human Relationships

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s Feature…

wedged together we are flying by Reva Elise Johnson

The spinning top is a tailbone stuck upright, wrapped in broad swaths of gluteus, squashed into the middle seat of an airplane row that my favorite 9-year-old would say smells exactly like a freezer full of farts. We are wedged together; we are flying. There was someone on a plane when the divorce decree was stamped…

Keep reading

TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Marina Cooper

Although this poem references school violence, it was born most directly out of the anxiety I felt while covering classes as a substitute teacher. In my own classes, I knew all my students’ names and faces and had built up a rapport with them; as a substitute, I rarely had a preexisting relationship with the kids in the room and found myself counting them constantly to make sure that, in case of emergency, I would…

Keep reading
by Christine Nessler

The Latest News…

2024 Honeybee Prize Results!

For us at TGLR, summer means celebrating the highly anticipated results of our annual contest, the Honeybee Prize. For those new to TGLR, this is the 4th year we’ve run the contest and 100% of the funds received from submission fees are used to pay contributing writers and artists. So a huge THANK YOU is due to all who participated!!

It was difficult to narrow down all the incredible work we received to just…

Keep reading
by Shyla Shehan

More exclusive interviews and Q&A with our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR News

2024 Honeybee Prize Results
2024 Spring issue is HERE
2024 New Year’s Revelations
2023 Honeybee Prize Finalists and Winners
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

The Good Life Review nominates for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net

2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations
2021 Pushcart nominations
2021 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

“Guten Tag, Baby!” by Scott C. Sickles

“Guten Tag, Baby!” | Scott C. Sickles Cast of Characters  ELEANOR: 75-years-old, in early stages of dementia. Given to flights of nostalgia.   VIVIENNE: 42-years-old. ELEANOR’s daughter. Tired from the long…

read more

Limerence by Levi Cain

Limerence | Levi Cain   ok now i am beholding u / yes i am bewitched bythe stubby curl of yr ponytail the wide open arcof shoulders the single black…

read more
For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive


submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and… YES we are a paying market! ($75 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday)

The Good Life Review is seeking previously unpublished work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

Cover Art: “Focus” by K.A. Wesly

The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate

Categories
cover

issue fourteen

COVER IMAGE: “Focus” by K.A. Wesly

Artwork

Editor’s Note

Full ISSUE

Available in print for $20 donation. If interested, please email editors@thegoodlifereview.com.

Issue #14 ~ Winter 2024: “Best Of” Edition

Print Release Date: January 5, 2024
Online Release Date: January 23, 2024

Featuring the best poetry, prose, and art from the past year plus select favorites and prize winning pieces from the archives…

Poetry:

Uprooting a Tree by by Jamie Wendt (Issue #1), Pushcart Honorable Mention
Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson (Issue #5), 2023 Best of the Net Finalist
What They Carried With Them by Ellen June Wright (Issue #6), Pushcart Prize Nominee
Felis Ellipses by Jack Phillips (Issue #6), Pushcart Prize Nominee
For Those of Us Forced to Flee by Jane Muschenetz (Issue #8), Honeybee Prize Winner and Pushcart Nominee
dear sister by Sequoia Maner (Issue #8), Honeybee Prize Runner Up and Pushcart Nominee
The Wax Poem by Andy Winter (Issue #9), Best of the Net Nominee
This is How the Body Knows by Soon Jones (Issue #10), Best of the Net Nominee
Nikah by Sarah Aziz (Issue #10), Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Nominee
Migrant Wish by Moni Brar (Issue #10), Best of the Net Nominee
Mugshot by Sara Burge (Issue #11), Best of the Net Nominee
Why We Cry by Rock Star State Poet Matt Mason (Issue #12)
Amnesty Week by R.J. Lambert (Issue #12), Pushcart Prize Nominee
“For Kenny” by Kelsey Smoot (Issue #12), Honeybee Prize Winner
To Brother-Ghost on Halloween by Pell Williams (Issue #12), Pushcart Prize Nominee
Fire by Bob Hicok (Lucky #13), Pushcart Prize Nominee

Flash Fiction:

Extra Large for the Lord by Tomás Baiza (Issue #1), Pushcart Prize Nominee
What I Lost in September by Autumn Bettinger (Issue #3)
Love, Dad by Alex Sese (Issue #8), Best of the Net Nominee
Where by Rhea Bryce (Issue #9), Best of the Net Nominee
Birds of Prey by Tiffany Promise (Issue #12), Honeybee Prize Winner
Rock, Shore, Thunder by Maria S. Picone (Lucky #13)

FLASH NONFICTION:

Blinding by Ali Bryan (Issue #4)
Nanami in the Blue Dress by Jessica Mendoza (Issue #6) , Pushcart Prize Nominee
Mutation of a Body by Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter (Issue #9)
Selfishly, I Planted Flowers by Rachel Sussman (Issue #12), Honeybee Prize Winner

FICTION:

Go Get the Gun by Jim Peterson (Issue #2)
Who Takes the Bus in LA by Marc Eichen (Issue #10), Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Nominee
Clam! by Jason Arias (Issue #13), Pushcart Prize Nominee

NONFICTION:

Backwards and Blind by Helyn Trickey Bradley (Issue #8), Best of the Net Nominee and Honeybee Editor’s Choice Award Winner
Iowa Blues, and Greens by Summer Hammond (Issue #10), Best of the Net Nominee
Nocturnal Lagophthalmos by Christi Krug (Issue #11)

Artwork:

COVER IMAGE: “Focus” by K.A. Wesly
“Within the Oak” by Kate (Junehyo) Choi, Cover ~ Issue #5, 2023 Best of the Net Finalist
“Scarred Beauty” by Gerburg Garmann, Cover ~ Issue #10, Best of the Net Nominee
“Braided Platte” by Kim Sosin, Cover ~ Issue #7,023 Best of the Net Nominee
“Inheritance” and “And Yet” by Ann-Marie Brown
“Among Sparks and Scions (Night)” by Aaron Lelito
“Fish Tail” by Leslie Brown
“Chartreuse Woods” and “Baby Breath” by Vian Borchert
“Ocean of Stillness” and “Where Two Infinites Meet” by Shrishti Tassin, Best of the Net Nominee
“Like Sand Through An Hourglass” by Yuchen Shi
Unnamed by Malia Nahinu, Issue #8 Cover
“East Side Gallery, Berlin” by Jeremiah Gilbert

TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Kathryn O’Day

Becoming a teacher was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (yes, despite all the heartache—maybe even because of it!). At first, I was simply trying it on, desperate to make use of my English degree without having to sit in an office all day. I had no idea whether I’d be any good at it. But then I found myself face to face with actual teenagers, and I was almost instantly disarmed by…


Keep reading


by Christine Nessler


Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s Feature…

Return by Adesiyan Oluwapelumi

You did not understand the words but that didn’t matter. God hears his creations in all the dialects of their yearning. You remember weeks of the storms on the ship sailing the Caribbean Sea where God was a thin thread you hanged on for dear life…


Keep reading


More from our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR News

2024 New Year’s Revelations
2023 Honeybee Prize Finalists and Winners
TGLR is officially a nonprofit

The Good Life Review nominates for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net

2023 Pushcart nominations
2023 Best of the Net nominations
2022 Pushcart nominations
2022 Best of the Net nominations
2021 Pushcart nominations
2021 Best of the Net nominations

from the archives:

“Guten Tag, Baby!” by Scott C. Sickles

“Guten Tag, Baby!” | Scott C. Sickles Cast of Characters  ELEANOR: 75-years-old, in early stages of dementia. Given to flights of nostalgia.   VIVIENNE: 42-years-old. ELEANOR’s daughter. Tired from the long…


read more


Limerence by Levi Cain

Limerence | Levi Cain   ok now i am beholding u / yes i am bewitched bythe stubby curl of yr ponytail the wide open arcof shoulders the single black…


read more


For more good stuff from all our issues
visit the archive

submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart and Best of the Net and are a paying market ($75 per piece published in the seasonal issue, $25 per piece published in Micro Monday).

The Good Life Review is seeking previously unpublished work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

Cover Art: Ann-Marie Brown

The Good Life Review is a 501C3 nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.

about us

donate

Categories
cover

issue thirteen

Cover Art: Ann-Marie Brown
Artwork
Editor’s Note
Full ISSUE

Lucky #13 ~ Autumn 2023

Released October 17th, 2023

Featuring:

Two Poems by Bob Hicok: Fire and Green Thumb
& Amazing by Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason

More in Poetry:

La Niña by Gathondu Mwangi
Limerence by Levi Cain
Mosaic by Muiz Ọpẹ́yẹmí Àjàyí

Flash Fiction:

Rock, Shore, Thunder by Maria S. Picone
Moon by Mrityunjay Mohan

FLASH NONFICTION:

Grandfathered by Haley Larson

FICTION:

Clam! by Jason Arias

Nonfiction:

Radio by Chelsea Yates
Life Must Go On by Cynthia Landesberg

Poetry to me is a medium by which I experience the world in its ability to elevate my consciousness beyond the faux limitation of my mind.

From “Emotional Resonance and Self-Discovery: A Conversation with Adesiyan Oluwapelumi“

The emotion, feeling, and insight of the poem is conveyed down the poem and into the mind of the reader.

From TGLR Exclusive Interview with Jim Peterson

This year feels like a year of questions, for me. Maybe the prophecy lies somewhere inside that notion, like we can find the future in how we ask for it.

~ Jacqueline Goyette

I write in recognition of their courage, convictions, sense of justice, and what they stood for. I write to honor what they left behind, what they withstood, what they lost, and what we gained as a result.

~ Eneida Alcalde

Perhaps it’s important to me that we recognize the human-ness of these sort of lost individuals and acknowledge those traits in ourselves.

~ L.L. Babb

I listened to many people’s experiences around a particular issue, looked for themes in their answers, and drew conclusions. I bring that experience to my writing by examining how a character’s outward behavior reveals their inner life.

From our Q&A with Lea Pounds “Exploring Writing, Public Health, and Historical Fiction“

I was talking to my mother on the phone when she told me that in the old days people used to buy birds and free them in the hope of having a wish fulfilled. That thought was in my mind when I wrote Razia Razia.

From our Author Q&A with Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar

I often felt like I had to lose my sense of humanity in order to continue working in customer service, especially food service. It might sound like an obvious sentiment but if there’s one thing I can get across with ‘smoke break,’ it’s to treat service workers with some grace – and perhaps to highlight the complex inner worlds experienced by all people, even those that are paid to serve you.

From TGLR Author Q&A with Cat Casey

I hope that their complicated relationship gets at the trauma behind the numbers of dead and injured at these mass shootings. Everyone means something to someone, and relationships can be complicated and tangled and messy, even between two guys.

From TGLR Exclusive Interview with Jacob Orlando: On Writing About Gun Violence and Human Relationships

Micro Monday

Features brief fiction, cnf, and poetry. It’s like a shot of literary adrenaline to jump start your week.

This week’s Feature…

The cure to all the maladies that ail us by Jonathan Greenhause

won’t be scooped from a ballot box, nor delivered on the wings of a dodo. You may ask yourself why seek what’s extinct? Why brush your filling-packed teeth with Sriracha, then wonder why your gums are a 5-alarm fire? Your skin’s a jellyfish armored with translucence, the paleontology of a fragile skeleton divined underneath…


Keep reading


TGLR Spotlight…

Author Q&A with Anne Falkowski

“Today there is so much pressure to be curated or performative on social media, which adds a whole other dimension we didn’t have in the 80’s. The act of Roe V. Wade being overturned activates the power men have over women’s bodies. Also as a writer I’m aware of the blowback of personal narrative. Every time I publish creative nonfiction I run the risk of being deemed too real, too personal or intimate which I don’t…


Keep reading


by Christine Nessler


More from our contributors…

For all the news, interviews, book reviews, and Micro Monday features visit The Buzz

TGLR 2023 Honeybee Prize Results

Finalists
Winners
The whole enchilada:
Issue #12 ~ Summer 2023

We are a 501C3 nonprofit and we pay our authors and artists

Nonprofit Announcement

The Good Life Review nominates for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net

2023 Pushcart Noms
2023 Best of the Net Noms
2022 Pushcart Noms
2022 Best of the Net Noms
2021 Pushcart Noms
2021 Best of the Net Noms

from the archives:

Summer Elegy II by Todd Robinson

Summer Elegy II | Todd Robinson Nebraska’s bare branchespaw at skies full of pointless blue, mercurial daymoon.Powerless like me or my disabled wifewobbling our broken palace in cashmere and bracken. She…


read more


dear sister by Sequoia Maner

dear sister | Sequoia Maner   i’d like to think we never experienced a world where foster care fostered absence. we went to the roller rink for birthdays. later we…


read more


What They Carried With Them by Ellen June Wright

What They Carried With Them | Ellen June Wright They carried everything one can bring              when one can bring nothing. They carried everything they knew:              languages and dialects, songs mothers taught…


read more


For more good stuff from all our issues
visit our Archive

submissions:

We are currently open for all genres plus artwork! We nominate for Pushcart and Best of the Net and are a paying market ($25-$75 per published piece).

The Good Life Review is seeking previously unpublished work by writers from all walks of life. Please read submission guidelines and when you’re ready, head over to Submittable to submit your work.

Cover Art: Sarah Louise Wilson

The Good Life Review is a 501C nonprofit literary journal made with ♥ from Omaha, Nebraska. We are committed to exploring the overlooked and are taking active steps toward a more diverse and equitable publishing platform.
about us
donate