Soft Star Magazine is open to submissions for Issue Four: Arcana! ✨🗝️ Since Soft Star is a speculative fiction publication, and last issue was very heavily sci-fi, I thought it was time to give fantasy a little love. The defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is magic, which is why Issue Four’s theme is “Arcana.” Magic, to me, represents the greatest unknown in all of speculative fiction. Wormholes, auroras, and other cosmic phenomena can all, in theory at least, be explained and understood through science. Magic is all of those things outside of science which we may never fully understand. In fact, the word “arcana” itself refers not only to magic, but to secrets and mysteries. These mysteries will form the heart of Issue Four. Although this issue will be more fantasy-focused, I do not want to ignore the importance of science fiction to Soft Star’s ethos! Works of science fiction and science fantasy are very much encouraged (the line between those genres is often quite blurry anyways), as long as they fit the overall theme. Fairy tale, folktale, and myth retellings are welcome as well. Get all the info here: https://softstarmagazine.substack.com/p/theme-announcement-for-issue-four